I recently bought a 20" fat tire bike, so really 22" diameter with the 20x4" tires. At low PSI, like 10, the tires smooth out just about wnything I care to ride over at speed. But, the ride is very bouncy, if I try to pedal at higher cadence. And disturbingly noisy too, due to the knobby far tires. I will probaly swap the knobbies for smooth tires like Sunlite Stingray
For comparison, I run my 26x1.95" mountwin bike at 30-ish PSI and, while I do feel slightly more of the small stuff that the 4" fat tires absorb, the full suspension absorbs bigger bumps much better and overall the ride is more enjoyable on the FS bike vs the fat tire.
The fat tire also induces torque steering, which I am getting used to, but was wierd and unnerving initially, especially when the tires are at very low PSI as they tend to do it ore then.
So, unless one needs to ride over sand, gravel, snow, grass a lot, I think skinnier tires, maybe 2-2.5" work better, especially in combination with a good full suspension setup.
Where I live inthe DC area, there are virtually no fat bikes. People stare at my "wierd looking" bike.
I think the fat 20x4" folder still works better for me than the equivalent 20x1.75" as it rides smoother over uneven terrain. And it seems the frame is slightly bigger, so the skinny-tired version would have been too small for my height. So overall plesed with the fats, but not completely satisfied due to lack of suspension dampening. I wonder if some of the seat post supension options offer dampening?
For comparison, I run my 26x1.95" mountwin bike at 30-ish PSI and, while I do feel slightly more of the small stuff that the 4" fat tires absorb, the full suspension absorbs bigger bumps much better and overall the ride is more enjoyable on the FS bike vs the fat tire.
The fat tire also induces torque steering, which I am getting used to, but was wierd and unnerving initially, especially when the tires are at very low PSI as they tend to do it ore then.
So, unless one needs to ride over sand, gravel, snow, grass a lot, I think skinnier tires, maybe 2-2.5" work better, especially in combination with a good full suspension setup.
Where I live inthe DC area, there are virtually no fat bikes. People stare at my "wierd looking" bike.
I think the fat 20x4" folder still works better for me than the equivalent 20x1.75" as it rides smoother over uneven terrain. And it seems the frame is slightly bigger, so the skinny-tired version would have been too small for my height. So overall plesed with the fats, but not completely satisfied due to lack of suspension dampening. I wonder if some of the seat post supension options offer dampening?
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