With restrictions being lifted here its great to be able to get out and do what I’ve missed doing for the past few months. So I’ve got some catching up to do! For this bikepacking overnighter I went to a local area that rich in slate history, the Cwmorthin & Rhosydd slate mines. The mines […]
Archive | Bikepacking
Blackburn Outpost Bag Review
I’ve been running a set of these Blackburn bags this spring on our Framed Basswood groadie test-bike. Blackburn sent us four of these soldiers, so we gave a couple of them away in a contest. John Lackey (2015 ITI-350 Champ) won the other pair. This is what he had to say after he won. “Got […]
Fattest Day Ride – Pagan Bike Chicanery at Levis
Shortly after launching the #fattestdayride celebration, I started to think about what I should do to celebrate the Solstice. I thought that a pagan weekend of bike chicanery at Levis sounded like a good plan for what mi amigo, Erv Spanks reminded me is the third fat-bike holiday on the calendar. I somehow managed to […]
Fat (video) Tuesday – Fatbike Touring – Quebec to Ontario – by Foresty Forest
I follow Foresty Forest on Instagram, but I just discovered his YouTube Channel! Every Tuesday is Fat Tuesday at fat dash bike dot com! Hey while you’re surf’n YouTube we sure would appreciate it if you would subscribe to our YouTube Channel. We’ve been recording some interesting interviews and you get to see all of […]
Niche Bike News – Ritchey Outback V2 – Kindernay IGH – Tifosi Sledge – New Moots – Wolftooth Gold – Silca Super Secret Lube – Pirelli Tires – Stashers Contest Winners
Ritchey Outback V2 Tom Ritchey rides about 10,000 miles (16,000 km) per year, and most of that is off-road. Combine that with his more than 40 years of designing and building bicycles, and it’s no wonder the Outback has become an icon in the gritty world of gravel and adventure bikes. Updated for 2020, the […]
Stashers Bag Review by Andy Amstutz
Bags…Bags…get ya bags here. I have fallen in love with bags on my bikes. What used to be a simple “under the saddle” bag with a tube, tire lever, multi-tool and maybe some CO2, has evolved into carrying keys, phones, pumps, snacks and oh, maybe, just possibly, a few adult beverages for the mid-ride social […]
CABDA MidWest SitRep
I made a trip to what I like to call the belly of the beast, Schaumburg, Illinois, yesterday to browse groovy cycling wares at the CABDA Midwest Expo. CABDA has been around for a long, long time. Way back in the last century, the shop that I worked at (ABC Cyclery) used to prep and […]
New Trail Ready Gear From Revelate Designs
Check out the latest addition to Revelate Designs’ collection of bikepacking gear that leads the industry in innovation. This is their official product news release. For Release November 27, 2019 Anchorage, Alaska – Answering the call for carrying capacity in hard to use spaces, Revelate Designs releases the Hopper frame bag and Joey downtube bag. […]
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 […]
UK Packrafting Meet Up
John ‘Climber’, one of Fat-bike,com’s friends decided it would be a great idea to get people who are packraft curious together in North Wales, UK. Luckily for me the venue was just a 1 hour drive away which was on the shores of Bala lake. However the attraction of trying out packrafts attracted people from […]
Bikepacking Laggan Loch Ossian to Loch Treig via Corrour Bikepacking Laggan Loch Ossian to Loch Treig via Corrour – by Illya Rudkin
Bikepacking like other similar pursuits is I think you would agree about the adventure and what you may hope to find. Like with most bikepacking trips I have prepared for I scope out a plausible route while trying to second guess the terrain, the quality of the track (for excitement) along with the kind of […]
Fat Bike above the clouds
We’ve all got that idea in our minds prior to going on an overnight camp whether it’s your first time or if you’re a seasoned veteran camper. You know when you want the perfect weather window, no wind, dry not too wrm/cold, great views and basically an overnight trip that will stay in your memory […]
The Torngats by Fat Bike – by Alain Lagace
Alain Lagace is a private floatplane pilot and was the owner of a lodge in the Torngats region for 28 years before he sold his lodge two years ago. Glacier rounded mountains tops Alain wanted to share a new destination for the Fat Bikers who want to experience something unique. It looks like exploring the […]
(Time to Start Planning…) Global Fat Bike Day 2019
Let’s kick it up a few notches… Summer, this time of year is when I start thinking of shorter days and colder temps and with that brings Global Fat Bike Day. This year the date falls on December 7th for peeps from all around our universe to get out on their own or with a […]
Kettle Moraine Bike/Hikepack – Trek 1120 Adventure Bike
Last month was the hottest July in recorded history and true to form, it was sweltering in the days leading up to my reservations for a bikepacking trip to the Kettle Moraine State Forest. I’d managed to reserve a sequential pair of backpacking shelters along the Ice Age Trail, which is why you see the […]
A Fat Bike Bivvy and Welsh Goats
3 years ago I walked this area with one of my sons as a reccy for a fat bike ride. It soon become clear that this was no place to try to ride a bike as it would have involved a fair bit of pushing. Fast forward a couple of years and in May of […]
The Burning Bike Podcast – Bikes-Boat~Goat
Spinner Ryerson is the host of our new podcast called the Burning Bike Podcast. The premier episode was recorded at Silver Lake State Park on the shores of Lake Michigan in the State of Michigan. Spinner is joined by Sven & Gomez along with two Daves and my old QQQQ amigo Robb. on a 100 […]
Revelate Designs Egress Pocket & Salty Roll Dry Bag
Testing bags at Kettle Moraine photo by Justin (Case) We have two bags from our amigos at Revelate designs in for review. The Salty Roll Dry Bag and the Egress Pocket. I’m integrating these two new components into my bikepacking set up alongside the fork bag test that we’re running. Egress Pocket Let’s take a […]
Fat (video) Tuesday – Munda Biddi Trail – Australia
Today’s video has the International House of Fat-Bikes seal of Approval! Tres amigos in matching green shirts chronicle their trip to Western Australia and the good times roll! This is Episode one, so follow FatTraction on YouTube to see more from these cats. Would you share your Plus or Fat Pixels? Give us your tired, your […]
Summer Solstice Bivvy
June 21st and the summer solstice luckily fell on a Friday, and luckily for me I finish work early on a Friday! YEAH!! The sun was shining, the forecast was good so a quick plan hatched to bivvy out for the night. I’ve had my eye on this sheltered spot facing east for some time […]
Bikepacking Glen Affric Scotland 2019 – by Illya Rudkin
A micro-adventure film exploring Scotland’s Glen Affric. The Highland Trail 550 bike race included it as part of their route it is that good. The competitors some of whom we bumped into will remember this if nothing else. Scotland’s weather is unpredictable! The weather forecast is a mere guideline then moves. So, through the art […]
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 […]
Fat (video) Tuesday – Fraser Island
Fraser Island, off Australia’s eastern Queensland coast, is the world’s largest sand island, encompassing seventy-one square miles. Our amigo Eckart Altenkamp clued our staff and readers into just how beautiful Fraser Island call look through a camera lens with his Wallpaper Wednesday Series, but this isn’t Wednesday. This is Fat Video Tuesday! So here’s a […]
Fat Bike The Ridge-Y Cribau
This year’s bivvy a month campaign hasn’t really got going as much as I had planned. In January I managed to get a couple of days riding in the heart of mid Wales on my gravel bike. February saw me ride to a mountain cottage in the local snowy hills which was great on the […]
JayP’s 200k Fat Pursuit- Challenging Ourselves Through Sun, Snow, and Wind
On January 4th and 5th, this year, Jay Petervary hosted the 200 mile and 200k Fat Pursuit events, in Island Park, Idaho. We are very familiar with this event. Bryon participated in the event last year and I volunteered at the West Yellowstone Checkpoint. Jay is our neighbor and we try to get out and […]
Fat News – Revelate Releases Fork Mounted Polecat and Overhauls Flagship Seat Bag
News Release from our friends at Revelate Designs Anchorage, Alaska, January 23, 2019 – Constantly innovating and improving, Revelate Designs pushes forward with the release of the Polecat, a unique drybag built for use in large volume cargo cages, and the Terrapin System 14L, a full redesign of their flagship seat bag. “Cargo cages have […]
Fat (video) Tuesday – Bivvy a Month 2018, the best bits!
Jeff Price sent us a compilation video that covers all twelve of his Bivvy a Month trips from 2018. If this doesn’t get you stoked to take up the quest to complete the Bivvy a Month Challenge for 2019, nothing will! I got out a few times in 2018 in what some might say was […]
Henty Enduro 2.0 Backpack
Who’s Henty? That was my first question too. Founded in Tasmania, Australia, (yeah, that’s a real place) Henty started out making suit and garment bags for business clothes. They’ve been adding different versions of these bags and have a line of bags and packs specifically designed for active commuting. The Enduro was launched […]
Fat (video) Tuesday – #BAMfatbike2018 – By Tom Ice
Tom Ice sent us a compilation video that covers all twelve of his Bivvy a Month trips from 2018. If this doesn’t get you stoked to take up the quest to complete the Bivvy a Moth Challenge for 2019, nothing will! I got out a few times in 2018 in what some might say was […]
Bivvy a Month Challenge #12 GFBD2018
Bivvy a Month Challenge Global Fat Bike Day 2018 We all know December 1st 2018 was ‘our’ special day as it was this year’s Global Fat Bike Day. However it was made even more special for me this year as I bagged my final Bivvy a Month for the year. I’ve organised the last […]
Bivvy a Month Challenge #11
Fat Bike Snowdon #BAMfatbike2018 I must admit, I’ve not been ‘feeling it’ the last few months when it came to getting out and that probably showed by the last 3 BAM’s being on the last weekend of the month. I needed that to change, so I picked an area that ‘ticks’ my boxes and […]
Fat videoTuesday – Bivvy a Month #10 – #BAMfatbike2018
Fat Bike to the Bothy #BAMfatbike2018 Despite trying to get more organised with my bivvy a month rides October took place on the last night of the month, Halloween night!! I initially had plans to spend a couple of days on one of the islands on the west coast of Scotland but the impending forecast […]
Oregon Timber Trail Gear List
People like to geek out on gear lists. I am one of those people. I always get ideas by seeing how other people roll. To give back to the bike packing community, here is my addition to the gear list cannon. This is what I used for 18 days and around 800 miles of riding […]
Fat Camp Podcast #34 – The Oregon Timber Trail – Part One
This turned into a two-part podcast because of how long it ended up being. In the first part of the show, Ken interviews Gabe Tiller who is the executive director of the Oregon Timber Trail Alliance and the primary route creator for the Oregon Timber Trail. Here is a link to Ken’s geeky summary of his […]
Product Spotlight: Burley Coho XC
Burley Design celebrated it’s 40th anniversary this year. The company has grown and changed over the years since, Alan Scholz, co-owner of Burley Bike Bags designed the first Burley trailer to transport his hand-made bags (30 miles) to a market where he sold them each week. Along with the bags, Alan also carried his daughter and […]
QuietKat Fat Bike Trailer – First Look
QuietKat is not a company I was familiar with until recently. This is mostly because they specialize in e-fat bikes which are not exactly my jam. Based on the QuietKat site it looks like a big part of their clientele are hunters so they offer a single wheel fat bike trailer to haul hunting equipment […]
Bivvy a Month Challenge #9 – Foel Fras
So bivvy a month number 9 came by way to quick, so once again I got out on the last weekend of the month! Luckily the weather was on my side for this again. Once again I stayed fairly local to me with just a short 25 minute car journey to the start of the […]
900 miles through Alaska Part 3: The Denali Park Road and Parks Highway
Our family spent 3 weeks biking 900 miles in Alaska. This is the third of three parts describing our journey. Read Part One Here and Part Two Here. After a day and a half of rest, much-needed showers, laundry, and resupplying on food, while binge eating pizza and ice cream, we started the next segment […]
900 miles through Alaska: Part 2 Anchorage to Cantwell
Our family spent 3 weeks biking 900 miles in Alaska. This is the second part of three parts describing our journey. Click here to read Part One. Our adventures of fat biking through Alaska began in the city of Anchorage. Anchorage is a typical metropolitan area. There are tall buildings, lots of traffic, and plenty of […]
900 miles through Alaska: Part 1
Alaska, the 49th state, is the largest of the states. It is three times the size of Texas, with 57,432,650 acres of wilderness. Most of this great state is not accessible by road. Of the miles accessible by road, our family tackled 900 miles of Alaska pavement and gravel this August. Our family’s journey, […]
First Look – Backcountry Stitch Works – Aww Snap Custom Frame Bag
I spied one of the prototypes for the Backcountry Stitch Works (BSW) Aww Snap (strapless) frame bags on Will Ross’ Hawt Pank Langxx last year just around the time of the Fat Nationals in Michigan. I quizzed Will about his fuchsia bike purse and he told me that the bag was pretty sweet. So I tried to get […]
Bivvy a Month Challenge #8
Bivvy a Month #8 – Take Two!! Well, when I set out to do the Bivvy a Month Challenge I knew they’d be challenges. Despite a so far successful year with my rides and the weather, my luck seemed to run out towards the end of August. I had my route planned so I […]
Bikepacking Glencoe to Loch Etive Scotland By Illya Rudkin
This bikepacking adventure was born out of looking at the map and seeing what looks remote yet kind of flat for the bikes. It was also to tick off visiting another part of Scotland we had not been to before. A small further motivation to visit Loch Etive was to find the location of the […]
Fat Video Tuesday ♦ #BAMfatbike2018 ♦ By Tom Ice
This is the second Tuesday in a row that our Fat Tuesday Video carries the #BAMfatbike2018 banner. Last week, the Commissioner of the Bivvy a Month Challenge, Jeff Price posted from the UK and this week…Tom Ice gives us a look at BAM No. 7 from Colorado. I’m gonna go by the sign (with all of the stickers) […]