fat biking ⁽¹⁵⁾

While the previous weekend was spent single-speeding, last weekend was all about exploring the first snow on my fat-bike. What both weekends had in common was a short drive to get me closer to the Chasseral. From home, this favorite peak of mine is now a 7-hour loop away. While that's doable, I can currently not be away from home for such a long time. For the two single-speed rides, I started in Frinvillier on Saturday and just above Biel on Sunday. For the two fat-bike rides, my point of departure was Les Prés d'Orvin.

My first fat bike, the Big Boy, was designed at a time when fat bikes ran 135/170 hubs and 3.8-4.0 inch tires. It was also designed with a year-round use in mind. Good for snow but fun on dirt trails, too. I kept updating it over the years and after several winters it became clear that fat-biking totally is my thing. So, five years later I pulled the trigger on a snow-specific FortyFour, a Snakedriver with 27.5” wheels with room for 4.5” tires. The geometry was optimized for snow riding. A slightly lower BB to bring the center of gravity down, a longer wheelbase, and a slacker head tube for more directional stability. Hub spacing grew to 150/197 and the frame received a T47 BB shell. Kris also convinced me to use a dropper, for which I did see a number of benefits for snow rides. After time with a dropper, I would now also equip any dirt MTB with one. I can ride without one, but it’s truly nice to make use of one. As with all my other bikes, the Snakedriver was equipped with a Jones bar. In this case an H-Bar Loop Carbon 710. Winter rides often happen at night in the dark, and the Loop was the perfect bar for a custom front light mount. In February 2019 I studded the Bontrager Gnarwhal tires. How did I fat-bike without them for 5 years?

A broken down car right ahead of Christmas and New Year, meant driving a loaner until we purchased a new car. No roomy vehicle meant no fat biking. That was followed by one of the poorest winters in years for snow cover. No snow, oh well, no fat-biking. A new vehicle in our parking spot created another necessity - to safely transport my studded fatty inside the new car without damaging the interior. Tire studs are short, but they're awfully sharp and will scratch interior plastic panels and tear fabrics or leather. In our old car, I did my best to be careful. But a scratch now and then wasn't a big deal. With a brand-new car, however, being careful isn't quite enough. I wanted something that would protect our car from those sharp metal studs. Thanks to Google I came across a post in the fat-bike forum on MTBR which pointed me to Amy Middleton's Bike Jackets. I ordered one and then waited ages because it got hung up at Swiss customs. It didn't get much use during the no-show winter of 19/20, but will hopefully come in handy for winter 20/21.

Sometimes a bike comes along that totally changes the way you have been going about things. I started mountain biking in the mid-80s and have been practicing that sport very much the same way ever since. Sure, bikes got better, gained suspension and more gears, then in my case lost both while living in California. In 2006, 26" David was kicked off the trails by 29" Goliath, but none of that dramatically changed how and where I was riding.

In 2012 I decided that I wanted a fat-bike. I had been riding my 29er single-speed bikes in the winter and carried them a lot through deep snow. A fat bike would have me carry the bike a little less, so was my thinking. Most of the time I jump into a new bike category by buying an affordable big-brand production bike first. Not this time. I had Kris Henry of 44 Bikes build me a rigid steel fat bike. Construction started in the fall of 2012 and my first ride on my all-blue Big Boy happened at the beginning of March 2013.

Most Swiss my age basically grew up skiing. I didn't. I only got my first pair of skis a year before we went to skiing camp with high school. I sold my skis the same year I graduated from high school and have never skied again. For one, it's an expensive sport, but more importantly, it's a hobby that requires traveling each time you want to hit the slopes. And that's the biggest turnoff for me. Driving an hour or more on busy weekend highways, arriving at filled-up parking lots, then standing in line at the lifts to get up the mountain and meet more long lines at mountain restaurants when hunger calls - that's not how I care to spend the weekend.