Sunday, January 14, 2018

Note to Self: Fatbikes are Slow

Some of my blog posts are a sort of public service, some are purely financially motivated, and some are a sort of online scrapbook. Every now and then, however, I make a post that is basically just for me. Something to read to remind myself of something.

This is one of those posts. It's for me to read whenever I think about buying a fatbike, as I did over most of the Christmas break.

What I want to remind myself is: fatbikes are slow. Not slow in an enjoyable, leisurely cruise with the family sort of way, but slow in a crawling, painful, struggle sort of way. A way where, during today's fatbike ride, I literally got off the bike and checked to make sure a brake wasn't dragging (they were not)

In some ways, I'm getting wiser about burning money on bike junk. The old me would have ordered a fatbike this Christmas, ridden it a few times, and realized how slow they were (not trusting my memories of my Gravity Bullseye, Salsa Mukluk, or Raleigh Pardner... clearly I have a ways to go to achieve wisdom).  The ever-so-slightly wiser me instead borrowed a fatbike from a tall friend for today's ride.  My friend Sean loaned me his Charge Maxi while he's trying out my Niner ROS B+:


New Bike: my $100* Jones LWB**! (2012 Specialized Expedition)

 * The frame was $100 on ebay. I probably could have found a complete bike locally for not much more if I wanted to be patient, but this cam...