Old Man Mountain Racks is showing off two new prototypes at Eurobike that they say are almost ready for production. First is what they are calling the Axle Pack. The Axle Pack mounts to their Fit Kits to add 3-pack mounts to any fork. If you’ve tried the old zip-tie or clamp system on a […]
Archive | 29+
Kona Unit Singlespeed 29(+)
In an effort to keep things weird and one’derful, we tracked down the deets on the latest release of the Kona Unit from Kona! I’m a huge sucker for metal singlespeed mountain bikes and the new Kona Unit is a real ‘looker’! The ’23 Unit comes in a Gloss Metallic Grey w/ Chocolate & Tan […]
Singlespeeding a Krampus (the hard way?)
My first Krampus back in 2013 I’ve ridden a Surly Krampus since they came out back in 2013. I started with the OG Green Krampus but that bike died in a freak accident and it was replaced by the Black Krampus named Silver which has been my “Mountain Bike” for quite a few years. Over […]
The Dose of Fat – Summer 2022
It’s Summer cats and kitties! Have you ridden your bike to a large body of water and then gone swimming? Time to do a cannonball into the deep end!
Spring Bike Safari – Made U.P. Lake Ehfect
I’ve had a plan to get up to the UP to ride for at least a couple of years. Ever since Jason at Bearclaw Bikes announced their drop-bar fatty called the TOWMAK I dreamt about returning to the vast Huron National Forest and its hundreds of miles of rustic roads, trails, and beaches. So when […]
2022 Sea Otter Classic Bike Expo (Part 3)
We’re back with Part 3 of our coverage of the 2022 Life Time Sea Otter Classic presented by Continental. The bike industry came out of hiding and brought out all of the new toys for all of the girls and boys! #alicecooper Surly Bicycles wove themselves into a new taller tent during the pandemic. They […]
2022 Sea Otter Bike Expo (Part 2)
We’re back with part 2 of our coverage of the 2022 Life Time Sea Otter Classic presented by Continental. Let’s get right back to the parade of cool bike schwag. Our friends from Corvus Cycles made the trip down the coast to Sea Otter to show their wares. I got to ride the new Ti […]
2022 Sea Otter Classic Bike Expo (Part 1)
The 2022 Life Time Sea Otter Classic presented by Continental was last week. Racers, fans, and our favorite brands gathered at the Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey California! I walked the aisles of the expo to bring you the latest and greatest products coming to the US market from all of the best companies. It […]
Klunkedelic – REEB-a-palooza
With things getting back to normal(ish) as far as getting together with friends to ride, I hatched a plan to get together with our resident singlespeed expert, Spinner Ryerson and REEB super-fan JP Syverud so they could ride the Hopptie that we have on loan from Tim at REEB. These cats are both seasoned product […]
Teravail Coronado 29×2.80 Tanwall Tire Review
About eighteen months ago we took possession of a set of 29×2.80 Teravail Coronado tires. You might say that this was the set of tires that started the thought process that gave birth to the new set of Bike Nerd inspired 35mm (id) wheels. This is what I closed our first article about the tires […]
First Look Bontrager XR5 Team Issue TLR 29 x 2.60 MTB Tires
It’s been one hell of a good spring for hitting the dirt and a new set of wheels that Adam Blake built up provides the right width rim to delve into the ‘don’t call me plus-sized’ 29 x 2.6 category. I peeled off the set of Teravail 2.8″ Coronados (full review is in the works) […]
(bikenerd) 29+ Wheelset – RaceFace AC 35 Rims, DT Comp Spokes & White Industries M16 Hubs
If you follow the site, you may have seen Bikenerd’s Plus Bike Editorial that we published at the end of 2019 and maybe you’ve been following some of the podcast discussions that we’ve had with Adam Blake about plus bike rim width. After digesting all of that information, I decided to have Adam build a […]
Why Cycles Introduces the Wayward V2
(Carbondale, CO 3/5/20) – Why Cycles received a ton of feedback from a multitude of amazing adventurers with their OG Wayward and the V2 is the product of them listening to real-world input and making a few tweaks to make their Ti adventure sled even better! The Wayward V2 is still the same 29+ adventure […]
Plus Bike Editorial – by Bike Nerd
—-How the bike industry screwed up Plusbikes—- By Bike Nerd
Trek 1120 (29+) Adventure Bike Review
The Trek 1120 isn’t a new bike. It’s been around for a couple of years now. From the time that I saw an early photo of one of the rack prototypes, I’ve been intrigued by the cargo-carrying (bikepacking) capacity of the 1120 and its signature integrated rack system. The 1120 is very similar to a […]
Jones Plus LWB Complete Bike Review
When I heard there was a possible chance to test the Jones Plus LWB Complete Bike through Fat-Bike.com, I was immediately interested. First, I was interested because I have only personally seen a few Jones bikes. Secondly, I have known of a few folks who made the switch to the Jones H-bars, in recent years and […]
Day Trip’n with an ELEMNT Roam
I recently embarked on a journey down the rabbit hole of GPS bicycle computer technology. I was born at the very tail end of what’s considered the baby boomer generation so I recently started to qualify for senior citizen discounts. I was curious to see if this old dog could learn to use one of […]
Jeff Jones launches – Plus LWB (Long Wheel Base) Complete Bicycle!
Fresh from the Jones Bikes home office – Check out the Press Release below. Available with big smooth tires for road, touring, city, gravel or with bigger knobby tires for dirt, gravel, city, touring and road riding. – MSRP – $2050. Ships from Jones Bikes in Southern Oregon. Shipping (with insurance) for this bike in the contiguous […]
The Weekly Dose of Fat – Summer Solstice Special Edition
509 Jabit III 27.5+ at Hartmans Creek State Park (WI) Photo by Kurt Geiger Welcome to Summer 2019! We thought that it would be nice to celebrate the first day of Summer with an old school WDoF post like we used to do before we started the podcast with the same name. I’m headed to […]
2019 Sea Otter Classic SITREP
The 2019 Sea Otter Classic has become the best bike show in the US and they just announced expansion plans for Sea Otter Europe. The US version of the Sea Otter Classic is held at the Laguna Seca Race Track out near Monterrey, California about an hour drive from Silicon Valley. It’s quite beautiful there. […]
Teravail Coronado 29 x 2.8 Light & Supple Tan Wall Plus Tires
Just when you thought (or perhaps hoped) that 29 plus might be fading into history, QBP’s newest tire brand, Teravail has come out with the 29+ Coronado. Our pair of test tires is the Teravail Coronado 29 x 2.8 Light & Supple Tan Wall version. They also come in black sidewalls if you happen to have a […]
Comparison of Four 29×2.6″ Tires
If you follow bike media you will know that at one point not that long ago 2.8-3″ plus tires were the greatest thing ever. Now the talk is that they are too squishy and vague but 2.6″ tires are the goldilocks size, splitting the difference between traditional MTB tires and “full” plus tires. Personally, 2.6″ […]
2018 Sea Otter Classic – Special Report
In addition to hosting every denomination of bicycle racing, the 2018 Sea Otter Classic has become the best bicycle industry trade show in these United States. Even the corporate giants of the industry come out and show their wares and simultaneously support their race teams. Along with the big boys, the Sea Otter expo area features […]
CABDA – Fat & Plus Report
CABDA is a show held by the Chicago Area Bicycle Dealer Association where vendors and distributors show Independent Bicycle Dealers what they have available to offer their customers for the coming season. It’s a show that has a rich history and has changed quite a bit over the last few decades. This year’s […]
2017 SURLY KRAMPUS – GNOT-BOOST AND NOT BAD by Nick Holzem
Finally, the snow has fallen, and we are in prime fat bike season. But just before the addicting white stuff was laid out in front us, I got to spend some time on the new Surly Krampus for 2017. Let’s just say the ride was surprisingly good, and somewhat addictive. THE BASICS The Surly […]
509 Jabit III 29+ Review
Last time we spoke, I had just taken possession of one very green 509 Cycles Jabit III. This particular Jabit was decked out a la fat-bike in Plus bike clothes. My initial impressions were good. The Jabit was a good-looking bike that had an equally nice ride (steel and curved seatstays will do that). Fast […]
Terrene McFly Plus Tire Review by Smithhammer
Over the last couple months I’ve taken the Terrene “McFly” 29 x 2.8 tire on a variety of overnighter trips, singletrack rides and dirt roads. I’ve even commuted on it, which in my rural part of Idaho is a little different than the typical urban commute, and encouraged me to take a lot of detours […]
Product Spotlight – 2017 Surly Krampus – By Spinner Ryerson
I’ve been a fan of Surly bikes ever since I threw a leg over the Purple Pugsley. I came to love the feel of steel while everyone else was trying everything else. A memory that will stick with me forever is when someone was explaining the benefits of a belt drive to Sov and asked […]
Product Spotlight – 509 Jabit III 29+ – By Julio dot com
Recently the Pangalactic Test Hanger Bay at Fat-Bike dot com World HQ was informed of the incoming arrival of a steel 509 Cycles Jabit III clad in its 29+ configuration. As a lover of steel 29+ goodness (as covered here), I was excited to get the call to throw a leg over this bike and […]
Product Spotlight – Terrene “McFly” 2.8” 29+ Tires – By Smithhammer
Marty McFly: Hey, Doc, we better back up. We don’t have enough road to get up to 88. Dr. Emmett Brown: Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads. Terrene Tires hit the niche tire market hard right out of the gate in 2016, focusing primarily on the gravel, plus and fat sectors (with a […]
Foto Gordo – Loaded Krampus
This week’s wallpaper image is my Krampus loaded for bikepacking down along the Little Fox River in Western Kenosha County in Wisconsin. The bags from our amigos at Oveja Negra and Revelate Designs. My Krampus allows me to go just about everywhere, from asphalt to dirt and gravel and I agree with Bruce Smithhammer’s view […]
Yakima HighRoad Roof Rack Review – By Dave Krueger
I generally have a choice when I want to travel with one or more of my bikes: do we leave my bikes home and take the kids, or leave the kids to fend for themselves and bring whatever two-wheeled steed I favor? Of course the kids always win. Well, most of the time. Another issue […]
Fat Camp – Jeff Jones Interview
Jones bikes are unconventional to say the least but amazingly versatile and well thought out bikes. After you listen to our interview, if you are interested in checking more, the first stop is the Jones website and specifically Jeff’s blog where he gets into a lot of detail about the different products and design philosophies. He has also produced […]
2017 Sea Otter Classic Report – Part 2
I think that they purposfully set up trade shows and expo’s in a maze to confuse and delight the folks that attend and Sea Otter is no exception. So I set out to cover all of the things that I might have missed in part one of this year’s Sea Otter coverage. You can view part […]
2017 Sea Otter Classic Report – Part 1
With the near death of Interbike, the Sea Otter Classic has become the pinnacle of the bicycle industry ‘show & tell’ in these United States of America. In addition to every kind of bike racing known to mankind, the Sea Otter presents an exposition area that features every cool bicycle company that you’ve ever […]
Maxxis Summit – Plus Tire News
Plus Stuff From the Second Annual Maxxis Summit at Mulberry Gap Maxxis jumped into plus tires in a big way in recent years and has developed what is arguably the most complete lineup of plus sized tires (at least for 27.5+) of any tire company. They have everything from the fast rolling Icon all […]
Quick Review of the Bearclaw Balthazar as a 29+ Bike
Bearclaw Bike Co. is a name that many people may not be familiar with but I am guessing if you follow the fat bike race scene (in Michigan) it will be a name you start to see a whole lot more. The first offering from Bearclaw is the Balthazar and it is an unapologetic race […]
Burley Flat Bed – by Spinner Ryerson
Ed – Here’s a trailer that will work with your fat-bike! In addition to that, we’re testing the new Fat Kit and Ski Kit that Burley offers for this trailer. For now we have the trailer in it’s stock configuration, which is a pretty good place to start a series of reviews that will take […]
Fresh from the Show Floor – Interbike 2016
Direct from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, we have all of the freshest fat and plus bike hotness for y’all! I was going to try to separate the plus from the fat, but there’s a lot of cross-over. I saw fat-bikes that were designed to run plus and even one plus-bike that can run, […]
Otso Cycles is Born!
The same crew that founded Wolf Tooth Components are launching Otso Cycles, which is a new bike company focused on bringing innovative bikes to the mountain bike and mixed surface road markets. They’re coming out with 2 bikes and the one that we’re going to focus upon is the Voytek. The Voytek is a carbon fiber hardtail mountain bike […]
Industry 9 Introduces New Fat & Plusbike Wheels
Straight out of the heart of Western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, Industry Nine, is introducing new rim options for Mountain, Fat Bikes, and Plusbikes. Two new tubeless Fat Bike rim options join the well-received BigRig 825 Carbon, The new BigRig 975 Carbon and the alloy BigRig 845 are built on Industry Nine’s proven Torch FatBike […]
Fat-Bike Destination – Free Soil Michigan
Last week, I made good on a long standing plan to continue my exploration of the Lake Michigan Shoreline, just north of where I left off on a trip in 2012. The plan was to explore the area north of Ludington to the river town of Manistee. Over the years, I’ve visited and written […]
Dirt Wizard – First Contact
Our pair of test Dirt Wizards arrived at the Fat-Bike.com – Colonel Steve Austin Memorial Test Bunker and Proving Grounds late this afternoon and all plans for launching the fat-bike.com mobile command center got put on hold…..because this is the tire that we’ve all been waiting for! You know the first thing that we do, […]
Surly Dirt Wizards – 29 x 3 – In the Wild
Editor’s Note : We shot the video above at interbike back in September of 2014. In a strange twist of fate, Eric Sovern (from the planet Surly) shows us both a Dirt Wizard and Surly’s five inch Knard in the video. The Knards are in stores now, and Dirt Wizards just went live on QBP.com […]