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I'm thinking of buying a bike to ride to the gym. I'd also like to use it all winter, and we do get snow - some years more than others. This last winter I don't think we had more than a couple inches, and only a few episodes. Some winters we get 6 to 10 inches most of the winter.
I'd like a fat bike just in case it snows more than a couple inches, but if it's difficult to ride on dry pavement it wouldn't be worth it to me. I doubt I'd ever go more than 5 miles round trip on it, dry or snow.
Hey! Sounds like you and the bike will both do well, it can lose the stigma of being called FAT and you get to garner some Leg strength. its a win all around.
PS- Had to actually look up what a fat bike really is- Its the tires that give it such a name. Back in my riding days we had mountain bikes....Guess these are the new rage for riders perhaps?
Seems based on the design they should be comparable for pavement.
Fat tire bikes are no comparison to high pressure narrow tires, but by increasing the tire pressure a bit you will get a satisfactory road/trail/sidewalk ride.
Good to know! The few I've seen around, the rider seems to be working pretty hard to pedal, but it could be an optical illusion due to the bulky look of the bike.
If you're talking about those bikes with the enormous tires (almost car-sized), they're absolute pigs on pavement. They will wear your butt out just trying to keep them going. Heck, even a regular mountain bike with knobbies is far less efficient than road tires on dry pavement.
Now, if you get a normal bike and put say 32 mm tires, you'll have reasonable traction in SNOW and sand, and they'll ride nice on dry pavement, but of course when you hit a patch of ice it won't matter whether your tires are 32 mm or 120 mm, you'll be going down.
The real winter solution is studded tires. These are readily available in northern climates. You change them out twice a year just like snow tires on your car.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rabbit33
If you're talking about those bikes with the enormous tires (almost car-sized), they're absolute pigs on pavement. They will wear your butt out just trying to keep them going. Heck, even a regular mountain bike with knobbies is far less efficient than road tires on dry pavement.
Now, if you get a normal bike and put say 32 mm tires, you'll have reasonable traction in SNOW and sand, and they'll ride nice on dry pavement, but of course when you hit a patch of ice it won't matter whether your tires are 32 mm or 120 mm, you'll be going down.
The real winter solution is studded tires. These are readily available in northern climates. You change them out twice a year just like snow tires on your car.
I have no idea why people think that fat tires are better...
If you think you need more comfort, find a seat that has springs built into the seat to give you a better ride.
Thin tyres are better overall, summer or winter and in winter the knobby ones will keep you on the road (traction on snow).
Good to know! The few I've seen around, the rider seems to be working pretty hard to pedal, but it could be an optical illusion due to the bulky look of the bike.
Much more rolling resistance with the fat tires. They're best for offroad or deeper snow, providing flotation on soft surfaces and a softer ride over rough trails. For your purposes, it wouldn't make sense to get one.
Sounds like you will be riding mostly on pavement. In that case alone, the super-fat tire bikes are not what you need - that would be way overkill. You also don't need the other extreme, which is a skinny tire racing bike. Look for a more all-around, comfort oriented city bike.
As for your stated interest in riding year round, get a bike with fenders. However, since your area only gets about 10 inches of snow, that is probably only 5 to 10 snow days per year. I don't recommend riding in the snow on those handful of days - it is simply not worth the element of danger or the hassle of getting studded bike snow tires. Stay at home, walk, take a Uber ride, a bus or whatever other way of getting from A to B for those few snow days - it is not a big deal.
Here in Germany, I don't have a car and I ride year round, except on the 15 or 20 snow days. I wait a day or so for the plow and salt trucks to clear all the roads and make sure it is not icy when I ride. My bike has 2.15" wide tires, which is wider than most road bikes, but they do well on the variety of cobblestones, rough roads and sometimes unpaved roads and trails I ride on.
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