6ix
Posts:485
 |
| 09/25/2015 01:06 PM |
|
Good lord, it seems that the only thing being released in the cycling industry are fat bikes and disc-brake road bikes these days. The media just can't get enough. It's quite obvious that rim-brakes are going to fade away over time on road bikes but I just can't quite wrap my head around fat bikes. Sure, they makes since for riders on sand and in horrible winter climates but that would be more of a subset of mountain-biking than a replacement. Personally, I don't want a mountain-bike with horrible rotational mass and is just plain heavy/bulky. Not to mention the crazy wide Q-factor.
At the end of the day I don't understand why the industry is jumping all over fat-bikes when they only really serve a very small market. You'd think they are the only bikes worth mentioning at all. I'm sure they are fun and a joy to ride in certain conditions but they aren't an answer for everyone. I find it difficult to imagine they are the answer for more than 15-20% of the market but yet garner 100% of the attention. |
|
|
|
|
ChinookPass
Posts:809
|
| 09/25/2015 01:46 PM |
|
Haven't tried one myself, but I always thought that the bike industry operates under the principle that it needs to sell more bikes to it's existing customers since the growth of new customers is slow. You have a road bike and cross bike and an xc rig. But maybe you don't have a fixie and an SS and a gravel bike and an aero bike and tt bike and hardtail ...
|
|
|
|
|
huckleberry
Posts:824
|
| 09/25/2015 02:29 PM |
|
| FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! FATBIKE! |
|
|
|
|
Gonzo Cyclist
Posts:568
|
| 09/25/2015 03:32 PM |
|
hmmmm, NO, last year it was FAT BIKES...................I bought my Carbon Beargrease over the winter, that thing rips, 22lbs, have ridden it quite a bit this past summer, rides and feels like a 29er, and with a monster traction patch, you would be amazed at how they handle, and clear obstacles
This year is the whole PLUS thing, 29er+, 650B+, which are really friggin' cool, I want to do a long travel 650B+ hardtail, with a something like a 66 degree head tube angle, 150mm or 160 fork, 2.8" tires |
|
|
|
|
Orange Crush
Posts:4499
|
| 09/25/2015 03:57 PM |
|
Its not like this is different from any other industry trends, cars, phones, electronics etc. Most is just gimmickery.
Its up to the consumer to resist. Hell, I still have alu bikes, a blackberry, one of those big desktop PCs and our car dates from 2007. |
|
|
|
|
Dale
Posts:1767
|
| 09/25/2015 03:58 PM |
|
| The trend of the day is the only thing that keeps most show and a lot of manufacturers in business |
|
|
|
|
Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
|
| 09/26/2015 07:14 AM |
|
I felt similarly about fat bikes for awhile...an extreme niche product. Then I rode one...gotta admit, they are a blast to ride and nowhere near as sluggish as their looks would suggest.
I would seriously consider getting one if I had the space to store it. Would be great to ride on the local river trail on the winter when it is snow packed. But our garage barely fits two cars and our basement ain't that big, either.
They will be a much bigger segment of the bike business than I anticipated. |
|
| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
|
|
|
longslowdistance
Posts:2881
|
| 09/26/2015 07:18 AM |
|
| I just tried one too: like a monster truck, it just rolls over everything, which really was fun. Getting all that rotating mass up to speed again and again on our twisty east coast single track would be exhausting. |
|
|
|
|
Nick A
Posts:625
|
| 09/26/2015 08:47 AM |
|
OK, who wants to set up a pool? First sighting of a fat bike with aero bars.
N
Edit: Oh boy. My comment inspired some Googling. Pics are NOT pretty. |
|
|
|
|
Gonzo Cyclist
Posts:568
|
| 09/28/2015 08:59 AM |
|
ha ha ha Nick, I have been toying around with the idea of a Krampus with a Drop Bar.And Salsa has the new Deadwood, 29+, 3" tires, that bike looks cool. I call it a Fat Drop
Aero Bar? whoa, those things don't even look good on road bikes
http://salsacycles.com/culture/introducing_deadwood |
|
|
|
|