At long last I finally had a chance to ride on a borrowed fat bike, with 4" wide tires. This was of interest because my 3" tires aren't wide enough to travel loose gravel dry washes (arroyos).
There were about five differences between the borrowed bike and my regular full-suspension mountain bike (with 3" tires). So I had to mentally screen out those differences, and try to focus on the fat tires themselves. The weight of the 4" tires did not seem like a big disadvantage.
You hear it often from reviewers that fat bikes make you feel like a 10-year-old kid again, since you have the freedom to go exploring. And it was true! Following trails, marked with brown carsonite signs, makes a person feel repressed. (That is not an advertisement for going anywhere and everywhere in the desert, and making ugly ruts.)
Now I have to decide if three months per year in arroyo country justifies the expense and inconvenience of traveling with a second bicycle.
There was a group of people who had a different style of exploration.
They certainly don't have trouble going through sand or gravel! Dog, man, horse: what a sucker I am for this combination.
Do you think these riders have any idea of how much pleasure they give other people just for being seen out there!? They stand out from the hordes of motorsports people like gold stands out from grey, brown gravel.
Comments
I prefer hiking, than bicycling. But also putting along, exploring on quiet 200 cc motorbike. Let me explore 50 miles instead of 5-20 miles on bicycle, or 5 on foot. Little worse than yahoo’s in any motorized vehicle marking up virgin ground with wheel marks.
But than I also think labradoodles brings out the best in both breeds! :)