And so it’s come to this.
After YEARS of resisting, I think it’s finally time to consider buying a fat bike.
I’ve avoided it mostly because I hate the cold. However, my winter layer/ gear game has vastly improved and anything has to be better than indoor training for the winter.
I already own 4 bikes ranging in price from 1000-3800. I don’t want to spend a fortune in case I discover I hate it. That said, I’m pretty spoiled with components/ features. so if I go too cheap I could regret it. My main mtb is a specialized stump jumper.
School me: what are my must haves / nice to haves/ top considerations as I embark on this latest n+1 endeavour. Will I die without a dropper post, disc brakes, or studdable tires? Specific brand recommendations ( to buy or avoid) are welcome. New vs used. Norco. Salsa. Trek. Garneau. Other.
Any advise or guidance is greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Considering that it is the bike you are going to be spending the least amount of time on I wouldn’t worry too much about being used to upper tier components and going down to the lesser stuff. I rode a rocky mountain blizzard (?) for a day at the Railyard and had an awesome time and it only had alivio or deore drivetrain with some off brand crankset (I think) Bike worked flawlessly and didn’t notice any problems. I mean, it’s a fat bike, not a whole lot can go wrong.
Never owned a fat bike, but from local experience a decent modern MTB with good studded tires in the 2.6-2.8 width range seems to be a lot of peoples go to these days. With $ focus spent on good quality winter kits.
Good luck.
This sounds like a great time for a spreadsheet to compare components, pricing, and geometry! Like @tossedsalad said, even the lowest end component groups are good enough these days. I’d prefer Shimano Deore to SRAM SX. If you’re riding technical terrain, go with a dropper. I think hydraulic disks are worth the extra money. Definitely studded tires. You’re buying a bike just for winter riding, why struggle or end up skipping rides when it’s icy (which is often!). Happy shopping!
I’d try and avoid bikes with 170mm or 177mm rear hubs. They are much harder to find good quality replacements for compared to the more common 197mm standard.
That being said, if a good deal is found on a bike with the narrower rear end, I don’t think I’d skip the bike just because of this, but it’s with considering if you are hard on parts.
I have an older (2014 maybe?) Salsa Muluk (good bike, I like it, but don’t LOVE it) with the 170m hub. I kept blowing hubs (cracking drive rings) and had problems finding a reliable replacement. Ended up on Hadley hub (excellent!) but it took over 6 months for the hub to show up as it had to be custom made.
You can also rent, and likely borrow, fatbikes to try and see if you like it. I tried a few before I bought. Unfortunately I got hooked by riding one with a carbon frame, carbon wheels, and a suspension fork. I bought a cheap one and didn’t get along very well with it. I ended up selling it and going the route that @Enduro_Performance mentioned. I run studded 2.8 tires on wider 27.5 wheels in the winter.
I love my Surly Wednesday, steel frame with trail friendly geometry. I’ve been upgrading pieces here and there, much more cost effective than blowing $4k (or however much) in a single transaction.
Depending on your weight, tire width might be a consideration. I’m around 90kg without gear, I get by okay with Dillinger 4 studded tires. I should have gone with the Dillinger 5’s though (4.0” vs 4.6”). If you’re much heavier than me or carry a lot of gear, 197mm rear hub spacing would help you get up to 5.25” tires depending on the bike.
I love the Surly bikes and recommend the Wednesday and Ice Cream Truck (steel frames), also loved my RSD Mayor (I had aluminum, but also available in steel and titanium I think).
Dropper is nice but not necessary right away, upgrade components as they wear out of you need to; or upgrade your other bike(s) and hand down to the fat bike from them. Biggest keys are a frame with geo you like, and decent wheels/tires. Cheap wheels out something with a QR axle will make it hard to upgrade later.
My Fat Bike is a Kona WO with an 11 speed Deore drivetrain. The 11 speed drivetrain is reliable and I’m happy with it.
I’ve made a few upgrades to my bike:
I added a Manitou suspension fork. Most of my fat biking is on snowshoe packed trails in Bowater and the fork really helps keep the front wheel planted in the janky terrain, I’ve got the fork set up soft and slow.
In my opinion studded tires are a must locally. Our temperatures really like to bounce around the freezing mark over the winter, creating icy trails and studded tires have a massive traction advantage on ice. I also use Revoloop TPU tubes that I got on sale. They are a lot lighter than butyl rubber tubes and I’ve had no issues with them. I did try fat bike tubeless, but the mess and hassle outweighed the benefits IMO. If you do decide to go the tubeless route I recommend investing in the Fatty Strippers tubeless kit. It was the only way I could get my tubeless set up to work reliably.
I’ve also added a dropper post (PNW Ranier, it works well below freezing).
I use foam grips, and handlebar pogies for warm hands on long rides. I can also drop my snacks and a handwarmer into the Pogies to keep the snacks and my fingers warm. Nobody likes a frozen Clif bar.
My favourite upgrade was rebuilding my rear wheel with a DT Swiss 350 rear hub. Most fat bikes come with very basic rear hubs that don’t tend to last too long. I had already rebuilt a few rear wheels for other folks with hub problems and when mine started slipping I upgraded to the DT hub. I also use Dumonde Tech Pro X lubes in my fat bike hubs. It remains viscous down to -40 C and I’ve had no issues with hubs freezing and sticking since I started using it.
I run a half frame bag that I keep an extra warm hat and gloves in, as well as a folding saw, pump, and multitool.
I got tired of frozen waterbottles so I picked up a Camelbak hydration vest that I wear under my outer layer. I keep my phone and a few extra snacks in it as well. Blowing air back into the tube after drinking keeps it from freezing.
I’ve ridden them a few times before. Hated it the very first time but am starting to dig the vibe they give. Figured it was worth a try.
I still won’t go out in crazy shitty weather but there are gorgeous snowy days where skinnies just won’t work.
I should have clarified that I’m not good with mechanical stuff so upgrades and swapping out parts or tires is low key terrifying to me. I’m 5’9 about 160lbs and don’t haul a lot of gear.
I was debating getting pogies but someone pointed out to me on the trails yesterday that if you wipe out, you’re screwed 
So far all of this information has been extremely helpful. Keep it coming folks. You’ll make a fat bike rider out of this ( semi reformed) fair weather roadie yet!
1 thing to add, I test rode a bunch before I purchased new and would recommend you doing so also. I personally found that some fat bikes due to the fat tires had funky steering. It was mostly on under 1k bikes, but not limited only to that. It seemed like the tire was always trying to fall to the side and I was constantly fighting the extra weight to keep the bars straight. I went in with a 1000-1500 budget and ended up dropping 2500 because of handling.
Right now, some contenders at shops that post their current stock online are:
Devinci Minus $1500
Mukluk Deore 11 $2300
Trek Farley 5 $1800
Louis Garneau Big Chill $799
Giant Yukon $2100
Any thoughts on any of these?
I have yet to contact Banks/ Hub to see what they have.
Check with Sweet Ride Cycling in Mahone Bay as well! They have some nice fatbikes on sale and are wonderful folks to deal with.
That’s where I saw the mukluk, and yeah they are great to deal with.
I liked the trek and giant when I rode them, cant speak on the others. Giant specs were best bang for your buck when I was shopping but it was over COVID and they didn’t have my size otherwise I would have got that. Ended up with a Norco Bigfoot, I’m not a Norco fan but I can’t complain about it.
I purchased a Devinci Minus a couple of years ago; it’s a great bike. I invested in studded tires, which have paid off already. I find it much more fun riding that being laid up recovering and having to take time off from work. The only upgrade to date has been a dropper post (OneUp). The stock Tektro brakes work fine, but I’m looking to switch to hydraulic brakes for the next upgrade.
As for gloves, I received a pair of the Spyder Gloves from Costco and started usign them for biking. My hands have not been cold so far. The gloves allow great mobility for braking and shifting.
That’s a myth, Pogeys don’t trap your hands.
I’m reasonably tolerant to cold, but think pogies are overkill in nova scotia. A good pair of gloves is fine in the woods where you’ll probably be riding (road pogies would be awesome though).
I think you should put a premium on decent hydraulic brakes - nothing is worse than trying to ride in the cold with crappy sram brakes that get really inconsistent in cold weather.
Definitely worth checking with Hub Cycle, a friend recently bought there and apparently there are a few decent deals to be had on fat bikes, if they have your size in stock.
I don’t have much to add:
Studs or a “studdable tire” are necessary here in our freeze/thaw climate. Studing yourself (I did mine) is easy (if the tire is made to have studs) but the studs and the tool must be calculated in the overall price as they are not inexpensive. Use alcohol, not soap to lube the studs if you install them yourself.
A fat bike tire has a few inches of give if you keep your pressures low - with this in mind I would stick with the cheaper ridged front forks.
I have (2 years) a “Moose 2” with 12 speed, Deore and sort-of heavy tires that came with it. I have, and would recommend a short dropper. This meets my needs nicely.
I bought the bike, studs, and dropper from Hub and the prices were good.
Now we just need more snow… I rode the railyard today on my MTB with no studs - its January?!