Fat-Bike Adventures

Fatbikes – arguably the most fun way to explore snowy forests! Fatbikes are the new fascinating way to enjoy the arctic nature. These easy-to-ride mountain bikes will take you through new-fallen snow with ease. Wide tyres offer a great grip and make the bike very agile – and will put a big grin on your face.

So what exactly is it? In essence, it’s a specialized mountain bike built to accommodate extremely wide and knobby tires, about 4-5 inches compared to a traditional mountain bike’s 2.5. By running these ultra-wide tires at a low pressure (think 5 – 10 psi), they provide a ride that floats over soft terrain like sand, mud and snow.

The original fat bikes – not counting gold rush-era Klondike bikes or this amazing 1930s-era “bicycle fitted with balloon tyres” – first appeared in the 1980s as a grassroots evolution of the then-surging mountain bike craze to ride on sand and snow. In 1986 French engineer Jean Naud had Michelin make special tires so he could bike across the Sahara. Around the same time, the Iditabike race, following a famed Alaskan dogsled trail race, the Iditarod, inspired riders to lash two or three wheels together to avoid sinking in the snow.

Meanwhile in New Mexico, a dune rider started manufacturing wide rims and wide tires, which found their way up to Alaska in the late 90s for use on custom-built snow bikes. Then in 2005 Minnesota-based Surly Bikes’ released the Pugsley, the first mass-produced fat bike. Surly designer Dave Gray says fat bikes have since evolved for “racing, off-the-beaten-path exploration, groomed-trail riding, agriculture/industrial uses, hunting/fishing/foraging, electric motor-assisted riding, commuting, and off-road touring/bikecamping.”

So they’re not new, but fat bikes were thought of as a novelty before taking off in recent years. The Associated Press declared it “the fastest growing segment of the bicycle industry” while Outside Magazine called it “the hottest trend in cycling” and compared the experience to “a human-powered monster truck” and gushed over the “white Velcro” tire traction grip.

The appeal for bike-lovers is that they can safely ride through winter, whether it’s their daily urban commute or hitting the trails and backcountry like they would during the rest of the year. But the surging sport is also attracting curious newbies because unlike, say, snowboarding, it’s as easy as riding a bike.

Hop on a fat bike this winter and hit the snow. Check out our new exciting trip.