March In Like a Lion Rides

[north woods gal]

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.

[north woods gal]

For beach riding, a fat bike would be tops. Can't say what ocean salt would do, but I do know that road salt can definitely take its toll on aluminum, too. A lot depends of the aluminum alloy used and its finish. For sure, in the winter in Chicago, had to clean off my bikes after every ride. Both the aluminum and steel frames held up pretty well as long as I did that. It was some of the small parts that took the hit with the salt because it was harder to clean in the small areas where the salt would collect. As for carbon, have no experience with how it reacts with salt. Not being metal, it might not be as sensitive to salt. Maybe we can get some feedback on this.

[north woods gal]

Update

We finally dug out from our storm, Bill with the snow blower and me with the cleanup work with the shovel. No small task, since our driveway is 500 feet (longer than football field) long. Snow blowers are great, but they don't get down close to the surface. Leave a coating of snow that will turn to ice if you don't get rid of it. Anyway, over two hours of work.

The good news is that I can now ride the bike out to our paved roads, which were plowed shortly before I finished with the shovel. Was dead tired and cold, but really felt a morale booster was needed, so took one of the fat bikes with studded tires for a short three mile run around the neighborhood. That was enough, though. Felt much better knowing I could still ride.

[Crankin]

Sounds tough, and for the last day of March, too much snow!
Had a wonderful ride with our friends. We had done this ride, or I realize now, a version of it, last fall, and I thought it was 22 miles, but today was 18.5. Anyway, bright sun, temperature going up from 49 to 55, with a light wind. Lots of cyclists out there.
Nothing felt bad, a little tough in the beginning, as we have to climb a short steep hill after a mile, but then, all was well. Three out of the four of us pushed it on my favorite road, good for gauging your fitness, and then we went back to our moderate, slower speed.
Now getting ready for our Seder.