Sheila, do you really need a fat bike? Not that need has a lot to do with it, sometimes. They really are trail bikes at heart, but can be used as utility bikes and be ridden on the road for other uses, too, like touring and all weather commuting with the appropriate tires. Just about everyone has one, up here in snow country, and a lot of us ride them as our standard trail bike all year, long. Minnesota and Wisconsin is kind of the mothership for fat bikes.

The Wednesday would make a good choice for a fat bike just to have a fat bike without spending a lot of money. Components are low end, for that reason, but the frame design is sound and it's steel, of course. My Norco fat bikes are aluminum and that's fine for trail work. Those big tires soak up most of the bumps and vibrations, anyway, and the geometry on the Norco frames is all about trail riding.

For actual road work, though, I'm a big fan of steel, even if it is heavier than aluminum. My Pugsley is a decent road warrior when it has the right tires.

Here I go, rambling, again. Sorry. I'll give you my nutshell on fat bikes versus plus bikes and shut up. A plus bike with 3" tires can do 90% of what a fat bike can do three seasons of the year for trail riding and do it, faster, with the exception of riding in the very soft stuff, such as deep sand on the beach or roads, deep mud or loose, anything. That's fat bike country.

Plus bikes with 3" tires can do a lot of snow riding, too, out on the roads when they are plowed or when the snow is only a few inches deep or even if it is packed hard. Still not as good as fat bikes, but there are now 3" plus tires with studs, now, so that opens up some more snow riding possibilities for plus bikes. For ice and trail riding on groomed snow trails or slushy or deep snow, or anytime traction is a serious issue, a fat bike is really is a must.

To be honest, if I didn't live in snow country, I could manage with a plus bike for most of m riding.