Hey guys,
Went out for my first fat bike ride this weekend on a mixture of dirt, mud, snow, and ice. I was amazed at the traction (I think everybody probably has this first impression), even riding up icy hills. I rode a Beargrease with a carbon fork and 4" tires. As a result, I'm considering a fat bike for the winter.
I don't need to have the latest and greatest - I'm happy to buy used or cheap (i.e. Diamondback or Bikes Direct), but was curious about whether it's worth trying to find a bike that could work with a standard 29er wheelset or if this is just dumb. Before that ride this past weekend, I was angling more toward finding a steel or Ti 29er (or 26er if I couldn't find a 29er cheap enough) to build up as a xc, bikepacking, all around bike that I could also use to pull a chariot for the next few years while kids are still small.
If I want to be able to ride snow this winter, is it stupid to try to find a bike that can check both boxes? Budget says that I can't have both, and I would rather have one bike that does one thing well that I liked to ride vs one bike that does neither thing well that I hate riding. What size tires do I need? Is 5" overkill (probably)? Should I try to find something with suspension? Budget is probably ~$1000.
I also own a Tallboy for general mountain biking, so whatever I get should compliment this.
Thanks in advance,
Seth
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