Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

FatMuz wrote:I took it for a short ride the other day... an awesome ride, different to the Hoggar, bit still great fun.

So how different do they feel Muz? Does the 97 feel more playful?

Do you have any rocky down hill sections to compare the two? I imagine that the Hoggar will shine on that.

The 97 is a bit more upright. They both make you feel like a carefree kid again. For me, the 97 is the hooligan, the Hoggar is the racer.
But to be fair, I still haven't ridden the Hoggar enough to make a call. Will be riding lots over the next 5 weeks.

FatMuz

Carbon fat bike ...



More at GearJunkie.com

Andrew

Whilst I understand it is a prototype, it has the look of a paper mache frame

All for innovation though with use of a 83mm crankset though

I rode my Sandman Hoggar Ti in a race for the first time. More of a time trial, it was 2 laps of the three key tracks at “Ruff End” mountain bike park (Sunshine Coast, Qld)… approximately 7 km.Some fun flow trails with tight, downhill bermed switchbacks and a surprising amount of steady climbing. Still under development, given time this could be a great resource for mountain bikers on the Sunshine Coast. For me, the highlight was in the social gathering of almost 40 riders and their friends and family. With the race run and done, it was time for deck chairs, cold beer and lots of stories. Hopefully it will become a regular Friday afternoon event.



The fatbike certainly got a lot of attention. Can’t wait to race it in some of the bigger events this year.

Cheers
FatMuz

Cross posting here only because most people interested in this would be on this thread. If it's not permitted, Mods please delete.

I have finally put my 9:ZERO:7 fatbike up for sale on these forums

http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewt ... 25&t=60146

Cheers
FatMuz

Thanks re: size FatMuz, I was after smaller as the 17" Fat Sand Bike is at the limit for standover for me, so considering trying the smaller 97 for exploring with it as a training mountain bike (not that I'm super fit on regular MTB's yet and need more lung burning heart popping challenges). The 2012 ones don't have the horizontal dropout like my FSB for IGH chain length adjustment, but running a tensioner would be cheaper than a 2013 frame with sliding hanger and split stays for belt drive.

Lazarus thread... I'm sure this one will horrify some and delight others.

As far as cheap & nasty chain stores go, Walmart (at least for the US) has cottoned on to the Fat Bike craze



Actual shop product page here

Plenty of Google results from the hubbub about them. They've got our bike minded Seppo mates all-a-tizz.

(sorry, and a bit of a cross post from the Big W bike thread)

This is absolutely brilliant... ^^^ few things will enable a certain kind of riding to become cheaper and mainstream like a BSO.

HappyHumber wrote:Actual shop product page here

It's only got coaster brakes!

They do look like loads of fun though. If Big-W or K-Mart start bringing these in, I will seriously consider one. They'd be great for riding to the park with the kids, etc.

22.26kg with the kickstand. Full breakdown here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... wWlE#gid=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

How does that compare to a known brand?

It looks kind of badass but the reviews are not good at all.

cray- wrote:How does that compare to a known brand?

It looks kind of badass but the reviews are not good at all.

I liked this one: "It feels like riding an asthmatic child"

Of course you can't compare it to bikes costing 10x the price... but I'm sure that it is capable of doing the job when it comes to a fun outing with the kids.

I'd wonder about spare tyres at that price... but then again, 9 out of 10 BSO purchasers don't seem to worry about spares. KMart/BigDump/WallyWorld obviously know their market.

Who rides an asthmatic child? Sounds positively illegal!

Anyone expecting to go across the Simpson on this BSO is a fool, however it's about popularising a style which does drive down price across the segment. If you can put a Fat to market for 300 bucks, you can buy tyres for only 25 bucks each instead of 100. You can expect Trek and Giant to put out alu versions. It's a big win. 22kgs is something else though. WOW.

cray- wrote:How does that compare to a known brand?

A friend imported two of these as beach cruisers. They live in St Kilda and like to visit pubs..... The purchase was made after such a visit.....late at night.

If you go to KMart and look at their mountain bikes and compare them to your own bicycle then you'll get an idea of what to expect. I have never felt a bike so heavy and so ponderous. I just can't see anything good with it. Friend hated them as did his partner and to cut a long story short, they took them to a Salvation Army depot and donated them. It's put them off fat bikes though.

For what it's worth, race weight on my Mukluk was just under 14kg.

I was wondering how the weight compared as I have no experience with proper fatbikes. 14kg vs 22kg is a massive jump.

I know exactly how bad department store bikes can be, but much like the aforementioned So how bad is a Big W bike, really? thread, I'd definitely be curious to ride one of these to see exactly how bad a US$199 fatbike could be. I'm sure we'll see them down here soon & hopefully specialled off for $100 or less even sooner.

They would be a good cheap way for the rest of us to get tyres and rims to abuse, cheap steel frames to donate to cruiser/chopper builders as wide wheel frame donors.

cray- wrote:22.26kg with the kickstand. Full breakdown here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... wWlE#gid=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

How does that compare to a known brand?

It looks kind of badass but the reviews are not good at all.

My 97 is 13.4kg

Hi, I went to a race over here in WA. One of the guys had a moonlander with Bud and Lou tyres, verrry impressive.
They made the pug look like a kids bike. His nike was considerably lighter than the pug. He loved the tyres but he was having issues with rear tyre tubeless setup.
The float they must give would be incredible If anyone knows of a secondhand moonlander for sale please PM I have just bought some On One Floater tyres when they are setup I will post review.
Cheers
Ron

Here is some proof that the Wallmart Fattie is actually awesome

http://www.bikemag.com/news/news-fat-and-furious/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Haha, entertaining article, but I kept re-reading it trying to find any substance to it, and couldn't find much substance at all let alone proof of its awesomeness. Seems to have the depth of a twitter post with a lot of expanding foam padding it out.

Proof of athletic display sounds right:

Words hardly explain our amazement at the athletic display played out by Manuel Beastley at the 2013 Sea Otter Classic

hah the pictures are great.... and I can definitely vouch for the powerslides, I've done some on my own fattie completely by accident!

Andrew

Interesting Andrew, drop bars for ergonomics.... though I don't think the aero benefit of being in the drops would mean much at fattie speeds...

Is being folded in half like a taco ergonomic?