- I'm at a Mountain Bike Trail Center.
Look at all the bikes.
We got all sorts.
We got hardtails, kid's bikes, gravel bikes,
ebikes, downhill bikes, gravel bikes.
But no one's got a fat bike, except for me.
Am I mad, or is everyone else missing out?
(upbeat music)
Right, so I've got Blake's Canyon Dude that he's lent me
and I've got my Nukeproof Mega in the background.
What's the difference?
Well they're both carbon fiber frames,
short stems, wide bars, dropper seat posts.
Really, it comes to width.
Look at the size of this fat bike.
It's like a cartoon bike.
Those hubs are massive, the fork's massive.
These are four inch tires.
Yeah, not the biggest fat bike tires by any means.
You can go up to about five inches.
The rims, these are DT Swiss.
They're 76 mil wide.
Look at that, you even got that
sort of big drill bits in the middle
compared to the 30 mil tire rims on my Nukeproof Mega.
Like I said, just cartoon bikes.
Are they cool?
I know it is a completely subjective thing.
and you're talking to a man who's got
a 40 year old motorbike that's a complete
pain in the ass, really unreliable.
But, it's fun and it's cool.
And to me, I like that.
Let's ask a few people here at a Mountain Bike Trail Center
what they think about fat bikes.
- Swell to know, I've got a fat bike as well.
I've ridden a MATE's fat bike down at Wind Hill.
Even though it was fully rigid,
it was a bit rally, but it still great fun.
- I think if I was, you know, doing
some cross country, I might have a go on one.
But I wouldn't use it, sort of, on the trails.
But maybe for a longer run, maybe I would.
- No, I wouldn't give up that bike for a fat bike
Whether I'd buy one though, I'd probably,
it depends how much fun they are.
I'd ride one a little bit, but not enough
to make me buy one, yeah.
- They look nice, but they don't look
good enough really, maneuverable.
- I was expecting it to be more draggy
than it actually was.
And it was a bit firmer than I was expecting, as well.
I was expecting the big tires to give a bit more cushioning.
But no, it was surprising.
- Fat bikes, are they cool?
- Uh.
- Um.
- Uh, I wouldn't say cool.
They look fun.
I don't think they're cool, but they do look fun.
- Yeah, definitely, absolutely.
So I rode it down the Blue at Wind Hill, as well.
I was sending it over the tables
and having having a right laugh, but yeah.
I definitely think they are cool.
- Not really.
I wouldn't say it's cool.
Bit of a novelty, maybe.
- I think they're quite unique.
- Maybe if you're a big guy.
- Do you think you'd get judged
by other mountain bikers for riding this bike?
- Yeah, obviously.
- Middle aged, fat.
- [Interviewer] Beard or not?
- Yeah, beard.
- [Man] Picturing yourself there, aren't you?
- Might see myself on one.
- Are they light?
- They're quite light, yeah.
Quite light, I'd say.
- They look heavy.
- Heavy.
- [Interviewer] Fast or slow?
- Generally slower.
- Quite fast, I suppose.
It looks like you get a lot of friction with the wheels.
But, it does look quite quick I suppose
because you float over everything.
- They look slow, they do look slow.
- Next, we ask some riders what they rated
the bikes out of 10 for desirability.
So, if these bikes are both in the bike vault
and you no longer rated them
nice or super nice, it was out of 10.
What would they give them?
The results came in on average,
so 6.25 for the fat bike and an eight for the Mega.
I would say probably seven and a nine, personally.
What about some of those other myths
that make that fat bike rate so lowly?
So, are they fast?
Well, yes, we've already proved that.
I've done some times on a fat bike
and I've shown that they can be super fast,
especially on the right terrain where it's rough.
Even downhill tracks can be really fast on a fat bike.
They're loads of fun.
Definitely the smile on my face
after riding this first time proved that.
Blake has also proved that, especially,
not that much that you can't do on a fat bike.
He's done loads of big tricks,
hit some massive jumps.
Really, they're much more capable than people think.
What about dispelling some of those other myths?
Are they heavy?
So, the bike weighs 14 kilos or about 30 pounds.
So not a shell, but not as fat as you might think.
But, enough about stats.
Let's try and get someone to ride this bike.
Right, this is Anth.
I've just met him in a car park.
- Hi.
- You've never ridden a fat bike before?
- I've never ridden a fat bike at all.
- What was your normal bike?
- I ride a Yeti.
I don't know what that says about me, but yeah.
I wouldn't necessarily choose a fat bike.
It's not something that's really
crossed my mind when buying a bike.
- I think it's time you take it for a ride.
- Okay.
- And, tell us what you think about it.
- Alright, I will.
Cheers, fellas.
(energetic music)
- Right, what's the initial reaction.
- Handling wise, I thought it was pretty good actually.
Only, I looked, it was popping out the pedals
as I tried to hook it over something.
But, yeah.
Yeah, it handled really well.
Absorbed all the roots and things like that.
- What about the noise?
I really notice that, that sort of brr, the roll.
- Yeah, there's a rumble, isn't there?
It's quite distinctive.
Yeah, it doesn't put you off though.
I think it's a bit like a motorbike sound.
- [Interviewer] Still a novelty bike, do you think?
- [Anth] After riding one, I'd give it
some more consideration than I would have before.
- It's never gonna replace your Yeti though, no?
- No, I don't think so.
I was surprised at how well it climbed.
Yeah, it's easy to pedal.
I though that would be a bit of a,
you know, bit of a grind.
But no, it's pretty sprightly up the hill.
But yeah, I don't know.
I think I like my full-sus, it's awesome.
Can you get full-sus fat bikes?
- You can, you actually can.
- Would that be a bit daft?
- Probably would be, I think.
- I'm daft in my head.
- You initially rated it as a seven,
has that changed?
- I think, you know, going on looks,
it looks pretty good for a fat bike.
I think, you know, taking it into a ride,
it certainly kind of lives up to the looks
if that makes sense, so.
It wasn't a disappointment, riding it.
Whether I'd give it anymore and that,
I guess with just doing a few minutes on it,
I'd probably stick at about a seven,
maybe push me to an eight.
- So ride wise, it's as you expected
or better than you expected?
- It's better than I expected, I'll be honest.
It was a little bit surprising
on how sprightly it was, how well it handled,
really absorbed all the roots and ruts and stuff.
Be interested to see what it was like,
you know, getting a bit.
Especially with these large volumes,
especially with the landing, see what that was like.
But yeah, maybe next time.
- So fat bikes, I think what Anth said,
his initial reaction better than he expected
is what, I think, everyone really feels
when they ride the fat bike for the first time.
I know I did, I know Blake did.
We proved that they can be really capable
for being fast, being fun,
for doing massive tricks that Blake's done on them.
But, will we see more of them at Trail Centers.
Well, I don't think so.
There's just that bit too niche.
You're average trail bike these days,
your journey bike, is so good all around
that these just aren't as good for most things,
but they are much more capable than people realize.
If you wanna see the previous videos
on fat bikes, are they fast?
Click over there.
Click over there to Blake abusing this very bike.
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