New bike in the house

As anyone who has read this blog knows I love my fat bike, and this winter has been really good for a fat bike with fat bikeable snow on a quite a few weekends where a regular bike just wouldn't work. I also rode it quite a bit before the snow came, having quite a few excellent rides on dirt.

After a few months I couldn't help but think how much better the fat bike experience would be with a lighter bike, just to be clear "couldn't help but think" is a synonym for "obsessed about". I considered upgrading parts on my bike bike, but it just didn't seem like a good investment to put expensive parts (fat bikes are stupid expensive just because they are fat?) on a cheap frame. The frame is actually not that heavy, though there are surely lighter frames out there.

I had pretty much decided to build a bike based on a China direct carbon fiber fat bike frame. None are available yet, but I got an email from a manufacturer saying they would have frames available in June or July. I researched and searched for parts and even bought a few. I posted a few questions up at MTBR and someone suggested that I could buy a pretty nice bike for about the same amount. While that's true, I think you could probably end up with a lot lighter bike.

I can't say why, but I started calling some Specialized shops in the area asking if anyone had the Fatboy in stock. Its been a very hard bike to find apparently, but the bike shops are starting to get them in. As I called around all the bike shops told me they had customers who had deposits down, but no bikes incoming. Eventually I called Family Bike in Agawam, MA and they said they had two on the way that were unspoken for - one was a Large.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm pretty cheap and I don't spend this kind of money on a whim. After talking to Dawn and thinking about it overnight, I called the bike shop back and told them I wanted the large.

This week I was traveling for work and I got a text from the bike shop with a picture of my new Specialized Fatboy. I got the chance to take a ride this morning, conditions were great for the first hour while temps were below freezing.

I was seriously concerned that this fat bike would be just like my other fat bike and I'd have buyer's remorse, even though the bike looks awesome and its about 8 pounds lighter than my other fat bike.

I had nothing to worry about, the bike was awesome! The 4.6" tires were a great improvement over the 4" ones on my old bike. So much more control and traction, there were definitely hills that I didn't expect to make up that I made no problem. I like the geometry and the lighter weight is definitely noticeable. I would love to know the weight difference between the old and new wheels - it really seems like this bike accelerates a lot better than the old one. Conditions are so much a part of fat biking that its hard to say too much, but so far so good. By the second hour the temps got above freezing and things started to get kind of mashed potatoe-y. Great morning out on the trails.