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I am looking to buy a fat bike. In my research, I have come across a lot of options and opinions on the subject. One thing bothers me about all of it:Price. I understand the old get what you pay for bit, but I have trouble reconciling that you have to spend $1500 to get anything good. I have seen there are people on here who work in the industry that may be able to give me good reason as to why a quality bike is so expensive.
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B kesdirect has a gravity fat bike for 500……but you get what you pay for
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I hear what you’re saying, I just bought a fatbike myself. I was thinking about going the bikes direct route, it does seem like you get a great component list for the price. My only issue with that was I couldn’t test drive it first, even though they do have returns you would be responsible for shipping and possibly an extra fee because it’s a heavier fatbike. I ended up getting a good deal on a used bike on Craigslist. I hear what you’re saying as far as bikes being too expensive, but I think in the end it’s the price that people are willing to pay. Also I think fat bikes are more expensive than typical hardtails because the wheel sets are harder to manufacture and contain more materials. Also if you plan on taking your fatbike for long-distance bickpacking trips and through the snow do you really want to get something cheap?
The first mountain bike I bought was an entry level bike, I rode it so much that almost everything on it failed and had to be replaced with better components. In the end I could have gotten much better bike for the same price if I would have just bought that in the first place.
You can find good deals on Craigslist or eBay but you have to be patient…..
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You pay for what you get, but you must also know what you are paying for. Price generally follows quality OR the weight of a product. For instance, a mountain bike with XTR components will be way more expensive then a set up with XT components. XT components are what most consider a mid grade set up from shimano with XTR components being on the top end builds. Not much difference between the two, however you lose a little bit of weight with the XTR set up. Will a pound of extra weight make a difference to you when you are riding? For me the price difference wasnt worth the weight loss.
I dont know much about fat bikes but they are essentially the same in my opinion when considering a purchase. How much weight do you want to tow around and how much do you want to spend to ride a lighter bike.
Good luck with the search, let us know what you decide on and how you like it.
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have you read this yet? https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/fat-bike-buyers-guide-budget-models/
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With all bikes, you have to factor in the cost of design and engineering the bike, especially on higher end models. Fat bikes tend to be more money simply because more raw material is used in manufacturing. Example: 4″ fat bike tires will run you around $100 a piece compared to a $30 2.5″ xc tire.
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Direct to consumer bike manufacturers can be a good way to go. You can avoid the mark up from the local bike shop (even though it goes against supporting your LBS unfortunately) and get more bike for the money. I’ve been very pleased with my two Diamondback bikes (one of which is a fat bike) purchased directly from their website. If you can find a corporate discount code online, you’ll save even more. It was hard to find a bike with equivalent components spec’ed at the same price point as Diamondback. Plus, they often have sales on their bikes too. Check out Raleigh’s fat bikes too for the same reason, although they are lower price/lower spec components.
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While I agree that you do get what you pay for and a $1,500 fat bike is generally radically better than a bike half that price, this budget fat bike buyer’s guide maxes out at $1,500 and starts at the very bottom, detailing the changes and the benefits you get by stepping up in price. But you don’t have to spend more than you are comfortable!
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Go the used route, you will save a good deal of money if you do your homework, plus you will get a chance to ride the bike. That is the one big concern I always have with buying direct is not being able to ride it to get proper fit. Years ago I found a bikes direct fat bike barely used for a nice discount and was very happy with it, this bike helped me decide that yes I did want to get into fat biking. Good luck!
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