Fat Bike First Ride : Just A Fad?
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- Опубліковано 15 сер 2024
- Where to start?
Firstly thanks to everyone who offered advice on tyres, you were spot on!
Secondly, gravel forks really don't like trials riding!
This video was a lot of fun to make and I learned a lot. Despite not riding in snow or sand the big balloon tyres are whacky and and pretty fun. Trials stuff was difficult but definitely doable and I'm glad I got some practice done before the upcoming comp.
I'd like to take this bike on some more trails and also explore this quarry more, keep an eye out for those in the future.
Please leave a comment with your thoughts :)
Thanks!
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#fatbike #lauf #bikebuild #aliclarkson - Спорт
If you watched to the end and heard my spokes…turns out my rear ones weren’t as tight as they could’ve been. I’ve tightened them up and wired the crosses and that send to have silenced it :)
Also I should mention my tyre pressures. The first tyres I ran harder because they’re so lightweight I didn’t want to risk rimming out on the sharp rocks and damaging my rims.
The second set I checked the pressure when I got back and it turns out I was at 8.5psi in the front and 9.8 in the back! Pretty nuts how low you can go!
Just wait until you start riding them at 4psi!
Or riding with 2 or 3 PSI in moderately deep fresh snow.
thats a sweet fat bike! i was worried when you dropped it on rocks but those carbon forks dont have stanction scratches to worry about! sucks that the break mounts cracked. i have a supercycle fat tire bike from canadian tire it weighs over 50lbs xD lol
Hey Ali, you've still got a ways to go, I run my 29x3.0" at 10-11PSI front/13-14 PSI rear, on i35 rear/i39 front rims and I'm about 185lbs geared to ride. You'll get a crap load more grip on stuff like that steep, loose DH once you drop those pressures down a bit more. Pro Tip, ALWAYS have a good tyre pressure gauge with you if you running tyres over 2.6", a 1/2 PSI when you get to what you're running can make a big difference in feel.
Nice to see, Cambusbarron woods are still as good!
As I grew up riding there, 40 years ago!
Will need to go back & ride there again, next time I am passing!
Would recommend having a look for trials lines in the other small quarry just in from where you park?
but will have changed a lot since have not been there in 20 years
Channeling some Pat Smage with the Fattie Trials mate! Love to see you on this bike, i can see you killing it as you get used to it!
Thank you :D
Hi, Algorithm, Al’s Dad and I did some good road rides in Northumberland this week. The only fat tyres I’ve got are those persistent ones round my midriff!
If you dont mind me asking, anybody else in the family ride trials? If not we are all looking forward to Ali's "teaching my parents trials" video series.
@@dansacco1964 You may be underestimating how old Al’s parents are! At our age we don’t bounce so well. I took up cycling when a knee replacement put paid to fell running which is possibly the equivalent of trials but without the bike.
@@dansacco1964 Parents were runners (pretty good ones too!) but I'm the only trials rider. My older brother did have an interest in bikes when he was a teen and that's how I was exposed to bikes in general but I'm the only one who didn't grow up :P
Glad to hear you are still active and on bikes. Thanks for believing in Ali. I think a lot of parents would see the bike as a distraction rather than a career.
Uncle G’s going to leave the biking to Ali as well!
Congratulations on being a house owner! Thanks for the vid!
Thanks Alex!
I’m glad you included a little trail riding. I know “out of control” is sort-of the antithesis to what you do but I can tell you that the thing that made me fall in love with a fatbike was skidding sideways, foot out, down a snowy trail above Jasper in the mountains in Canada. Now I have a fatbike of my own, I use it almost exclusively in snow (planning to add mud to that in the summer). To me that’s really what it’s about: riding conditions any other bike just couldn’t.
You mentioned losing grip. You can go lower on the tire pressure. I have cheap, stock tires on mine and, at 5psi, I get the full width of the tire in contact with the ground. With that footprint, even ice feels like pavement.
Forget about that, fatbikes are stupid fun anywhere! If you pull the pressure higher so that it's ideal for the road you have the handling of a sportbike, you can almost let youself fall and you will stay on the bike on the corners, and tyre friction is way less than they tell you, it's not gonna be fun going uphill, but it's not gonna be stupid slow on flat ground. They are awesome, but having a large hand pump to set up your tyre pressure on the go for various conditions is definitively something to consider
yeah that bit of trail was pretty fun, I'd like to take it out on some more with lower pressures :D
Hell yeah Ali! Always mad excitement when you upload
Yaaay 😁
That thing is rad!
Don’t know if you remember but I asked about a trials fatbike earlier this year. You’re an awesome creator, and I appreciate that.
Thanks Josh 👍🏻
I had a fat bike that I rode year round for a few years. Three forks, two frames, one freehub... And I loved it!
The past few years I have transitioned to mostly riding fat bikes here in Colorado year round, my full suspension MTB is for sale as a result. So fun and capable.
Bruh, when this guy was doing the rocky stuff, I swear I kept thinking he was gonna seriously hurt himself or something. Glad he made it in one piece.
Tire choice and pressure, even one PSI makes a huge difference on fat bike performance. I have a Salsa Mukluk with a Lauf and love it.
yeah that's becoming more apparent the more I ride it :)
Ali, I really appreciated all the effort you put into this video. You’ve really captured how versatile a fatty can be. I have a Salsa Beargrease and in all my years of riding, I’ve found that its the most fun bike I’ve owned.
Holy smokes, those Lauf Forks won't know what's hit them... I've been after a set for years, but now I have pair of Manitou Mastodons on the way! You steady on in that quarry dude...
Poor fork 😖
Poor cute things wallet 😉
I'm also now looking at the Mastodon, as the Lauf's are hard to come by second hand, and are quite expensive new.
@@motopreneur8058 the mastodon fork is a fantastic fork, I run one on my fatty.
You, Blake and Pat Smage should start a fatbike team! 😁
dream team :)
Those rocks at the end were epic! You know it's good trials riding when it seems to defy the laws of physics.
Thanks, I've got a plan for them :D
Congratulations to you, Jane and the cute thief on your home ownership.
Overall the video really made me smile 😃😃😃 great start to the weekend.
Thanks Graham! It's nice to finally have an actual home :D I'm glad you liked the video too :)
I think a rigid fat bike is the best bike to start on when building trials skills. The problem with a fat bike is the same thing that makes them cool... the tires. The rebound in tires is tricky to get correct for varied terrain. Too much air and the tires are bouncy basketballs, too little and you don't feel the trail or the rolling resistance is SLOW. Have never run PSI above 18 on my 26 x 4.25 's, even on pavement. I only ride mine in slop and snow. Got other bikes. You are great rider, man. Fun to watch.
I love the classic GT Avalanche hanging in the garage! That was my dream bike back in the day!
Wow, that was crazy steep, I have tried to video hills like that on my trials motorcycle and bike and they never look as steep on the camera as they really are. Looks like you had a fun bit of riding. Love your videos as always. Thanks!
New Ali video hell yeah!
Congrats on the house! That fat bike is sick too
hello from Yosemite California. Very much enjoyed your video. Your a very skilled rider
Thank you! Also you live in an utterly gorgeous part of the world …but I may also be showing my complete ignorance for US geography in not realizing there’s more than one Yosemite 😂
@@Ali_Clarkson No you got it,Thats the right Yosemite. I'm about 35 min outside of the national park
Very cool to see you putting your own weird ideas on suitable weird bikes.
It's very fun to watch!
I do kinda love this bike.
Colour way also fits as I also got them minions on my bike.
The rest is a raw aluminium full sus dh frame with orange manufacturer decals. A rare ol beauty but I love it.
Nice to see whats all possible on a Fat Bike. And thanks for the vid!
Greetings from Germany!
Thanks Malte :D
Those are the low knob, low rolling resistance Vee Tire "Dominator" tires... They make larger, stickier, high knob, Silicone rubber, multi-durometer tires, under their "Snow Shoe" line. I had Vee Rubber Snow Shoe XXL Silica Compound 26x4.9" tires on my bike for years before it was stolen. Maxxis Minion DF/DR were "alright," but so much smaller, and thinner
Very stunning locations! The fat bike seems like a lot of fun, great video as usual
Thanks Jesse :)
The lads at Fibre-lyte would be your best chance of a repair on your funky forks… they sorted the swing arm on my yeti after a little RTA.
Glad the house came through 👍
Unreal riding as per.
Thanks Al, Adam at Tartybikes has expressed interest in trying to fix it but if this falls through I might give them a try :)
Very nice. I had no idea of this kind of bikes. Very interesting. But I think I stay with my street trial.😅
I've been fatbiking for around 4 months,even though my fatbike is cheap,You can do everything on a fatbike wether it's cheap or expensive,cool video btw
Really like watching your videos! Really cool stuff! 👍
Thanks very much :)
"I'm a bit gutted these forks broke..."
You and me both 😂
Nice video as always. Regarding tires, I'm really happy with my Vee Tire Bulldozer's.
They look cool but I couldn't (I mean the Cute Thief couldn't) find them in stock anywhere :(
Old white Vee Tire Bulldozers, compound have some issue, in freezing cold and overall kind of hard tire. For new Bulldozer, its gummy silika, good and squishy, but i doubt it last long at rocky terrain.
Fat bikes are insanely fun to jump. Soft landings and rock solid stability in the air. I guess it is the rotational weight of the wheels and tires.
yeah I certainly felt that extra rotating weight when in the air! The landings were comfy though :)
Great video ! Rad bike and great video on the down hill stuff
Such a unique looking ride with the double top tube, I notice that instantly over the comically large tyres. I bet that frame feels real stiff. Congratulations on the home ownership man, you deserve it! Time to binge watch some classic Simpsons episodes with the cute thief as a celebration?
You seemed pretty smooth on the DJ's to me my man! Trials type control for sure helps with it as learning front and rear wheel bias is basically half of the entire jumping-random-stuff-on-a-bike malarkey. If anything I could say just a slight bit of overshoot (for sure the last double on the 2nd attempt, but always better than undershooting and casing), I usually try and really whack the front wheel where I want it to go quite aggressively if the landing starts getting left behind if that helps any. Sometimes it means really pushing it down hard if the speeds slightly too high and making sure the angle is correct to get the rear exactly where the front landed, which I know you are very good at. Those are some nice doubles, you could for sure do much bigger even on a fat bike!
Good stuff again dude!
Nice work Ali! Bring the forks when you're next down, we'll have a go at fixing / reinforcing them :-)
Thanks Ads, will do!
Easy composites are superb for advice on carbon repairs and reinforcement
That last moss descent was crazy.
Cracking video. You know there is a mountain bike skills area at Whitelees? Basically a one mile loop with optional bits. Good fun place if you’re riding up there.
yeah, looked a little...tame if I'm honest. Not trying to sound big headed or anything but I'd rather find something a little more dangerous :P
Great video boss! I have recently gotten the same Maxxis tires for my Fatback Rhino. Definately a heavy tire that has resulted in a bit slower bike but there is NO shortage on grip that is for certain. Cheers!
yeah it's a worthy compromise I think :)
schwalbe jumbo jim, lot faster, at same grip, but too fragile for sharp rocks. So, Maxxis Minion FBF/FBR, better choice.
@@Mike22313 Yea I loved the speed of the Jumbo Jim tires but I had a rock go right through them one day. Not durable enough for me.
I wish you could experience a proper winter ride with groomed snow + studded tires. White magic carpet ride!
me toooo!
You on that bike is the greatest thing!
Thank you :D
Awesome video. Have been enjoying the fatbike content a lot!
Thanks Tomi!
FAT IS FUNNER @Ali Clarkson!!!!!!!!!! 🚴♀🍺☮
haha
first of all congratulations on buying a house - an often unrealized dream of many.
trials on a fatbike is the most based thing ive seen all day, i must say. and it does feel painful to see you abuse the shiny new bike, taking hits, slams and all that. but that's its purpose after all, haha.
the tyres definitely didn't seem to be meant for this kind of riding, i couldn't help but notice the pressures were very low, but they still weren't grippy at all
really bummed about your forks, you could get a decent budget bike in that price range.
good stuff overall
Congrats on the house!!!
I can't even get the front up reliably on a fatbike, you can bunnyhop on a fatbike higher than I can on a normal MTB. Love the leaf spring forks shame they cracked. Well if they don't feel comfortable for trials it's better you get a different one, probably safer that way.
Oh and Bontrager is pronounced with a hard g. Bon-traig-er.
Thanks very much, it's great to finally have a place to call home!
Those Minions are pretty good but definitely heavier. My latest video is during a snowstorm here in Colorado and they gripped pretty well at only 2psi. Nice video man!
Realy enyoied this Video Ali
Can`t wayt for next week !
thank you :)
Insane riding skills!!!!
Great video pal, as a long term fat biker I can tell you that those maxxis tyres are some of the worst fat tyres out there. There are much grippier and lighter ones available which makes a huge difference, especially in all the faults you found with the maxxis ones
For real? This bike is starting to get expensive 😖
@@Ali_Clarkson yes, surly ednas are the all round go to fat tyres now, super grippy on all proper mtb trails, clear mud from the tread too and they are fast rolling 🤙🏼 Good on sand and snow. For summer rides in dry and all sand rides the jumbo Jim’s are the tyre
Jumbo Jims are awesome.
@@johanandersson6812 I honestly don't think jj's would survive 🤣
Tyres are very subjective. Yes there are much faster tyres than the Maxxis minions. But their strong/stiff casing and good dry weather grip is better suited to trials riding than most fat tyres. Many fat tyres have very thin casing which will not stand up to the abuse of trials.
There is always a compromise. With that strong/casing comes a weight penalty.
Always been fascinated by doing trials on bikes which really aren't meant for it
Yeah me too, it makes things pretty interesting :)
@@Ali_Clarkson I have a fixed gear road bike and its quite fun to try a few things on it, not the ideal bike but it's fun!
@@etigafy2716 I used to have a fixed gear roady too, ran quite a hard grease so could never really do any trials on it :(
@@etigafy2716 sometimes functional bikes are just not what you want. A friend of mine had a enduro Commençal from around 2014/16 that he had, well... customized.
Massive front fork, no gears, Maxxis minion DHII all around and a stock rear shock (dont remember what it had). It wasn't good at anything specifically, but it didn't perform terrible anywhere either, stupid fun, even with a single gear it wasn't hard to climb hills but it wasn't slow either, looked amazing no matter how you looked at it. Sadly he choose to sell it since he rides a different one daily and the guy who bought it smashed it onto a tree obliterating the entire thing, i really miss that bike.
@@Ferrari255GTO sounds like a fun bike. I have a very odd bike I built myself, GT timberline from a long time ago and when I built it I put the drivetrain on the left so you have to pedal backwards to move.
Right tirepressure is crucial for you to ride well and for the tires to grip properly. Yes the added bonus of the large volume is float on snow and sand, with low tirepressure :)
What should sell more people on the fatbike is the versatility of it. You can throw anything at it and with correct tyrepressure it will do most things quite well. Try the Jumbo Jims as i also suggested in the previous video.
None the less cool riding and nice to see one more fattie getting some abuse!
This is 900% true, all you need is a large hand pump to bring with yourself and you can smash hills on the street, then 5 minutes later have some fun on the bikepark and after that go for a roll on the beach to chill for a bit. Anything is possible with a fatbike as long as you know how!
I can totally see the versatility aspect but I also think a normal trail bike is pretty versatile too with the only downside being worse sand/snow performance.
@@Ali_Clarkson in my case the sand part is ki da importqnt because i live 20 mins away from the beach, and i wouldn't wanna get sand on my enduro, i don't think it's worse than dust, but just in case XD
@@Ali_Clarkson Quite possibly, i do ride my levo here in norway through winter as well ;)
I doubt JJ last long at rock garden.
The bike looks good with the new fork. Goes well with the frame!
I love you and your vids as always broooo!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥
I didn't think those Maxxis tyres would fit in the frame...nice to know.. I am running a 4.8" Schwalbe on the front and running a 4" on the rear simply didn't see how larger would fit...looks good though. If you have any sway in the biking industry I would ask you to have a chat with On One and get them to re-issue some more On One FLOATERS and they come in a few colours...and they'r not bad as off road jobbies being nobblies.
No way! Cambusbarron quarry is 5 mins from my house and is one of the best trails around Stirling, Next time your local try the North Third trials plenty jumps and steep cliff edges, Good to see you out exploring Stirling finding some good spots for me to practice lol
Don’t worry, I’ve ridden North Third plenty of times 😁
Thought you might have being so close lol , Get in touch or pop into Greenrig Cycles Falkirk one of the Managers keeps up the maintenance on some of the trials up the quarry & North third he stays in Cambusbarron
Loved this so much Ali -- thank you for doing a fat bike!
I'm sure people have said this before, but if you manage to get your hands on a Surly Bud for the front, you should be even better, and maybe a Lou for the rear, if it fits the frame...
you’re a legend
Aw thanks! 🤘🏻
Can’t wait for the hub mod video 😎
Nice to see you trail riding and the cute thief is epic
Cheers Paul :)
Congrats on the house Ali!
Thank you!
You're the best Ali!
Thanks very much!
Looks like hard work!
a bit :P
Much needed pre-ride inspiration. Loved this.
Those first set of tyres 😱
Sick Video!!!🔥🔥🔥
Would love to see a Video like this on the 5001 or was it 5010😅
Awesome video
Thank you :)
I would recommend Surly Edna 4.3 or Maxxis Minion 4.8 and 0.5 tire pressure
I’m pretty certain that the Lauf Carbonara was not rated for ASTM 5 stuff. No one makes a fork that can handle you, Ali!
In your hands, Fat Bike Street may be a new sport. Im In LOndon and the streets are full of Fat Bike Couriers. Please do the Hope Hub experiment you talked about in the last vlog. I really want to see that !
yeah I see lots of fatbike couriers in Glasgow too, seems like an odd choice but maybe it's as simple as being more comfy?
Let some air out of the tyres hahaha
I did in the end, check out my pinned comment at the top :)
@@Ali_Clarkson 5psi. super grip.
Yeah my front tire and wheel weighs 10lb. By itself they are 26x4 with aluminum wheel
I've got a set set of plus tires on 45mm rims for my krampus and they do make a lot of noise, but I haven't noticed any tension issues. Probably a little over a 1000 miles of single track with lots of cased jumps and botched lines through technical sections as well.
it's weird, the rear were slightly under tensioned (maybe I didn't stress it enough) but I think the shape of the rim and bigger amplification of the tyre exaggerated the sounds. A bit more tension and some wire around the crossing fixed it :)
@@Ali_Clarkson I know some guys who do a lot of bikepacking around here who solder spokes at the cross, but I just started running some hommade inserts and that helped tone things down a bit. Anyway, glad to see your videos doing so well again!
fat tires are great, you can roll over so much stuff like its nothing. Great breaking with so much rubber on the ground.
Trials is the coolest way to ride a fat bike 🤙
The G in Bontrager is a hard G, Bon-Tray-Ger
ahh cool thank you :)
steep off piste was my favourite thing on a fat bike.
yeah I can imagine!
I wish there were places like that where I am. The nearest places like that are 35 miles away. That doesn't sound like a big problem; however, I'm an environmentalist of sorts. Cars have way to much one time use plastics; so, I get around with a bike.
Ali humble as always wanting to chip in with us mere mortal trail builders to help maintain if your ever near queen's Park trails call in and check it out
Nice Riding man
Thank you :)
Cracking video as per👌
thanks very much :)
Nice bike, your tyres look very hard, I run mine at 8psi you will find they will grip much better tubless, if you are not running it like that already
Love watching - enter world of Fatbike. Have a Fatbike Full suss for years. Know how difficult it is to film on your own. If you need someone to help with your filming- love to film mtb. Based near Stirling.
I knew that fork was going to break when I saw the build video
Nice riding. Impressed with the dirt jumping and rock lines. Have you filmed any videos on the On One singlespeed? Love the look of the SS.
LOL :-D Oh Ali, woah is you :-) I wouldn't say 500 pounds down the road, I'd get some carbon fibre and try to patch/fix the disc mounts and save that fork for riding a little closer to their intended design ;-) That replacement Bonti fork looks like it'll do you pretty good.
You went from absolute crap tyres to some of the best, way to do polar opposites :-) LOL Bet that was like going from unsharpened ice skates to properly sharpened ones. Looking forward to seeing more content with this bike, expect to see you riding some normal trails with the guys and keeping up :-D
The issue is that if they get fixed then what next? I don't have much interest in using them and I don't think I could realistically sell them. I could maby use them on a gravel build but they'd look very odd being so fat!
Taking this on a group ride would be interesting haha
Come on Ali, who cares about looks :-) I never owned a road bike when I rode road, ,I used my steel Karate Monkey which has clearance for well over 3" tyres in the fork, ran 38mm semi slicks, but still had fun and more importantly, still could be up at the front. You said you wanted to get fitter, so what better way than on a Fatty with some fast rolling 29x3" tyres using the canals etc ;-)
Another option I just thought of, Lauf is still in business, so why not try contacting them, be straight up with them and tell them what's happened and what you were doing and maybe they might be able to help you out in some way.
Oh and yes, definitely tell them who you are, about your YT channel, never know, they might find some cool project you can both work on for both of you to benefit ;-)
it would be cool if you could put a thinner rim and tyre on the front, it would make it more like a large 20" trials bike with the rear fatter wheel.. i dont know if you could do this with some spacers??
If you want some fat bike trials tips check out Pat Smage. Super nice guy and an awesome rider
I've wanted to try a fatbike for trials ever since I first saw him sending it on one years ago, he's got serious skills!
i only really like mine in the snow/sand but no suspension here. sand is awful afterward cleaning it out of the chain
Ali doing trials on a fat bike and then hitting the dirt jumps, not something I was expecting to see haha
I like the element of surprise :D
I think Ali should build up a bmx bike with front and rear brakes and 4 plastic pegs and see what he could do he could probably do a good job at bridging in the gap between street trials and bmx if he puts the right gearing on it
At 10:00 I do see that purple bmx in the background so maybe he can just add breaks and pegs to that
The cute thief may have dragged in something of interest 😉
Great video👍
Thank you :)
Hopefully you aren't too mad about the fork. I guess we'll know if there is a cute thief Mk 3 next week.
Nooo The Cute Thief mk2 is the best! Couldn’t be mad at him 😂❤️
Really enjoyed waiting for this vid after the build. Thanks. Why not with the 1st set of tyres cut all the knobbys off and make some fatty slicks for a dry day of street/park, not sure if that would work. Shame about the forks any fix possible?
I could be tempted!
Hi Ali, I have the same frame and running 26x4” tyres would I be able to fit 26x 4.8 ?? What size are the maxis, thanks new subscriber.
good choice :) Yes I have 4.8s in mine now and it's fine :)
@@Ali_Clarkson that’s a great help 🙏 thank you!!
FatBike FTW
thats cool :-)
Thanks :D
Sending the cat out to get parts surprise he didn’t come back with a couple of fish a couple of birds lol Nice to see Some new spots Riding your local spots must be boring from time to time LOL
hunting isn't his strong point :P Yeah I can get a bit bored of the same places, I'd like to do more in this quarry as I didn't even get into the main bit lol
Lol Same I’m bored of my local spots carrying a DH Bike up train station stairs To get to different locations all day is not fun But it’s worth it LOL
I’m sure there’s a carbon repair company that could fix the brake mount on the fork. I know you’re in the UK, but Roberts Composites here in BC could probably easily fix something like that
yeah possibly but it's an expense to get a fork I won't be using or can't sell lol
Lauf did lifetime warranty if I remember correctly ;)
Yeasssss
Ali if you see this please pop in or get in touch with "Greenrig Cycles Falkirk" A couple of the staff there maintain the trails I do some maintenance but they guys were quite involved a few years ago
Thanks for the tip :)