Fat bikes are no longer the hot button topic that they were back in 2014, but as the discussion and controversy has died down to a low simmer, only revived by articles like my recent Over a Beer column, fat bikes have quietly cemented a position in the lineups of almost every major bike brand.
This summer we surveyed you, the readers of Singletracks.com, to learn about your favorite bikes and products of 2016. According to your votes, here are the top 10 fat bikes for 2016.
For my analysis of this list, be sure to click to the final page of this report.
10. Rocky Mountain Blizzard
With the introduction of the Blizzard, Rocky Mountain focused on bringing trail bike geometry and handling to the fat bike market, and if the high praise this bike receives is any indication, they’ve succeeded! Rocky Mountain has definitely played on their freeride heritage with the marketing of the Blizzard, with films such as “2 Fat and 2 Furious.” However, they’ve expanded their fat bike line for 2017 with the addition of the race-oriented Suzi Q 27.5″x4″ fat bikes.
In addition to the trail bike geometry, you can find a RockShox Bluto suspension fork on the top-tier Blizzard, along with a 1×10 drivetrain and an alloy frame. More affordable versions of this bike come with a rigid alumnium fork up front.
[see_also id=”183411″][/see_also]
Key Specs:
- Travel: 120mm or 0mm front / 0mm rear
- Tire Size: 26″x4.8″
- Headtube Angle: 67.6 degrees
- Chainstay Length: 455mm
- Frame Material: Aluminum
- Pricing: $1,099-$2,599
I guess not many Alaskans read Singletracks. Surly brought the Pugs to mass market with much consultation from Alaskan John Evingson who was already making his own fat bikes in AK. Mark Gronewald was also making the Wildfire fat bike before the Pugs came to market. FatBack and 9:zero:7 followed shortly after with their complete builds. Up in Anchorage I see more FatBack’s and 9:zero:7’s then any other brand. I ride a 2014 FatBoy, great bike. My next bike will be a FatBack Skookum. What ever fat bike you choose enjoy it and ride the hell out it like all bikes should be.
Just love the price ranges on the “top ten”…………………Try this fat bike. You won’t be disappointed! http://sarmabikes.com/fatbike-frames-framesets/carbon-fatbike-shaman/shaman-xx1-carbon-fatbike/
What are you guys smoking? Advertising points?
The Pivot Les Fat is the TOP Fat bike to beat PERIOD!
I’ve rode and tested a lot of fat bikes including some of these bikes and none are on par with Pivot’s build quality and versatility. Not to mention that with the rigid forks and tubeless tires, you can get the bike under 29 lbs. The price is right as well and can’t be beaten. :))
There are a ton of great fat bikes out there for sure! These are the most popular choices based on reader input, though clearly not everyone has had a chance to try as many bikes as it sounds like you have. If you like light fat bikes, check out the bikes from Eleven. We recently saw one that weighed about 23 pounds, with an aluminum frame no less!
good thing that you winked at the end of your rant.
Interesting read. Seems to say the first real Fat Bike came out of the American Southwest. 😉
https://www.outsideonline.com/1997971/fat-bike
QBP (owners of Salsa and Surly) had a traveling “fat bike museum” last year and they had one of the early fat bikes built by Ray Molina on display. Apparently he was riding sand dunes in Mexico on his fat bikes!
I was fortunate to meet Ray Molina at the Fat Bike Expo in Anchorage, AK last year. Great guy, really enjoyed talking with him. Ray was one of the guest speakers in the Fat Bike pioneer roundtable discussion that I was privileged to attend. Ray was instrumental in the development of fat bikes, in particular he invented the first fat rim and tire in addition to building the Molina fat bike. John Livingston (Livingston Bikes) and Mark Gronewald (Wildfire) ran into Ray at Interbike. Ray had some of his rims and tires on hand that they checked out and the rest is history. Don’t quote me but I think Rays rims were the Wildcats. Ray told me how he stitched the first tires by hand. He tried hard to make Moilna the first production fat bike, he worked with a factory in Mexico. Super nice dude. He was out on the ITI trail last winter, not racing but visiting with old friends. He rode a Molina bike in the Big Fat Ride here in Anchorage.