I wish I was a hard core cyclist, you know the ones that bike all year round no matter how cold or icy the roads or trails are. Unfortunately I am not, I like to be warm, but one day I decided to give Fat Biking a try. I wanted to see what all the rage was about.
We went to the Catamount Family Center in Williston, VT. The day was a 20 below 0° day so lots of layers were of key importance. Since it was so cold we had the entire trail network to ourselves.
The trails were a mix of smooth crushed gravel double track to start, then we went to the single track which was a mix of buffed out, rooty, and rocky. There was a nice mix of flat, rolling hills and some steeper hills. The day we went there was only a few inches of snow on top of frozen ground and ice! We made the first tracks of the day.
We started out on the easier flatter trails to get used to the bike on snow and the big tires, and worked up to the single track w/ roots and rocks.
I haven’t been on a mountain bike since college, and I found the fat tires made it more enjoyable and easier to get around. I normally ride my road bike with skinny tires. Fat tires are amazing, they can go over anything!!!!
The Fat bike was pretty easy to maneuver. The one thing I learned was to stay seated when climbing or you spin out and fall over 🙂
After a few spin outs and a few falls we got the hang of it and spent 2 hours exploring the trails. The Fat bike handled every type of terrain and went over pretty much anything from big rocks and stumps to big logs, and it handled very smoothly.
I think an experienced mountain biker could go anywhere on a Fat Bike, but the deeper the snow the harder it might be! Fat Bikes are not very light. Rumor has it they are not as fast as a road bike or a bike w/ skinnier tires.
If you get a chance, go buy a fat bike or rent one. It is a fun way to burn calories in the winter and you warm up pretty quick even on the coldest of days.
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