Mark, On Nov 19, 2015 12:10 PM, "Mark Reimer" <marknrei...@gmail.com> wrote: > > I can see that. I'm no expert either, just going based on the bikes that have come and gone from my circle of riding friends. A few years back there were probably a dozen fat bikes showing up on our weekly winter rides. Now there might be one. Everybody sold them. The general consensus was that there is a very small margin of terrain where a fat bike really excels, the kind of terrain and snow where no other bike can manage. Anything less and they are just slow and overkill. Anything more and no bike at all can ride. Sand is interesting though, and not something we have much of here. It's possible we just don't have the best fat-bike friendly terrain here. > > On snowy rides, most people I know find narrower tires are an advantage in, as the tire cuts through to a hard surface. This is not true in deep powdery snow of course. But if there is a trail or road down there somewhere, and it's been snowing a lot, narrow tires can be pretty great IMO. > I appreciate the first hand observations very helpful.
> For commuting, I definitely find that my experience dictates anything wider than 32ish mm is not an advantage. On roads where there is snow piled up here and there from poor/no plowing, wider tires just float up on top and slide around, losing all control and traction. > > Personally, I'd love something in the 3" wide platform for groomed/harder packed snow trails, but more importantly for summer dirt and trail touring. I have dreams of riding the divide some year very soon, and I think that'd be the perfect bike for it. I'm sure the Atlantis could do it, but might be a little out of its element in the sticky mud and weight category. Yep 3" seems like a sweet spot. I spoke with Mike Schiller and we figured that a bike optimized for max 3.25 could also run 700×2" for more pavement oriented touring and not affect bottom bracket height. Plus there are a decent number of tire choices below 3" so that's the direction I'm headed. Tail Winds, ~Hugh > > On Thu, Nov 19, 2015 at 1:01 PM, Hugh Smitham <hughsmit...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> Hey Mark, >> >> No expert here, but what I've read from folks who obsesse about ride characteristics claim that 4" and above is where you gain the performance/float in sand or snow. A 650b plus 3 or 3.25" or 26×3 is a compromise at that end of the spectrum on those surfaces. >> >> I'm in the process myself on a different beast so I've been thinking more on what kind of rig is optimal for the bulk of riding I want to do. >> >> Personally, I'd like a bike optimized for 650b+× 3.25 and if I hit a super sandy patch I'll live with the reduced performance. This is where the N+1really comes in. >> >> Tail Winds, >> >> ~Hugh >> >> On Nov 19, 2015 9:47 AM, "Mark Reimer" <marknrei...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> I've been working on selling some road bike stuff to fund the purchase of a Crust Evasion frame - it's a new company a friend of mine has just launched. It's built around a 26" x 3" tire. There is a second model coming out in January that fits a full 4" fat tire, or 27.5x3", or standard 29er. I'm pretty keen on the mid-fat 26" though. I'm hoping to have it arranged by January or so! >>> >>> On Thu, Nov 19, 2015 at 11:44 AM, hsmitham <hughsmit...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>>> Mark it seems like you're a candidate for a plump tire ride 26x4/5?? >>>> >>>> Enjoy your Winter Wonderland while I sweat it out. >>>> >>>> Tail Winds, >>>> >>>> ~Hugh >>>> >>>> On Thursday, November 19, 2015 at 9:19:29 AM UTC-8, Mark Reimer wrote: >>>>> >>>>> I woke up this morning to a fresh layer of the white stuff. November 19th is really late for snow here, so it's not very surprising. I still had the Compass Barlow Pass tires with fenders on my Atlantis, which were not going to cut it on the fresh snow and ice. I scrambled to change to some 2.1 Thunder Burts and no fenders before work. These were brand new Thunder Burts, as I've been using 2.25's all summer. I've rubbed the paint clean off the frame and had the wheels grind to a halt a few times because of the marginal clearance. The 2.1's have quite a lot of room all around and will be a great trail riding tire I think. >>>>> >>>>> Anyway, I rode in to work today. The first snow is always absurd. All the drivers forget how to drive in snow, and being anywhere near a cyclist causes absolute panic. Thankfully I made it in safely. 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