Fat Bikes and the Whitetop Highway
Phil Lindeman
Once upon a time, there was a riding season. Enter fat bikes. A mountain bike with oversized tires, they are made for riding on soft, unstable terrain. With tire pressure as low as five psi these bikes and their impressive wheel size dominate the type of terrain that regular bikes hide from. And it’s not just snow, but sand, loose dirt and fat bikes can transition from snow to road without slipping a tread.
A fat bike is not just a snow bike.
“It’s not a one-trick pony,”
Steve of Revolution Bikes in Saugerties, home shop to Fats in the Cats said: “Fat bike tires offer the pneumatics, it has more give than a hardtail mountain bike.”
New bikes have more suspension; the real difference in fat bikes over traditional mountain bikes is the wheels. You can take this bike practically anywhere you want to go, so there's no more moping around if the weather doesn't cooperate, just suit up and hit the road rolling. A fat bike can handle it.
Fat bikes are the sport of mountain biking made versatile.
“In 2010 fat bikes seemed like a passing fad but fat biking really opened things up for the cycling enthusiast, the season never ends now,” Steve said.
On a fat bike, riders can take on ungroomed trails with 3-4 inches of snow. When the snow has a packed surface is known as the white top highway.
In the Hudson Valley, the Mohonk Preserve allows snow bikes on trails groomed for XC skiing, where it does not allow running or hiking, or snowshoeing. There trails at Ferncliff Forest in Rhinebeck, at Stewart State Forest in Orange County, North Lake in the Catskills, Onteora Lake outside of Kingston, and more that aren’t listed here.
One great bonus of riding in the winter on fat bikes is the visibility and openness.
“Once you get into the colder months the thorns and brambles are gone, and areas that are not normally accessible now are,” Steve said.
“It struck me why fat bikes were so immediately appealing. What traditional mountain bikes offered in nimbleness, fatties made up for in versatility,”— Nick Heil, from Outside Magazine.
A fat bike is not just a snow bike.
“It’s not a one-trick pony,”
Steve of Revolution Bikes in Saugerties, home shop to Fats in the Cats said: “Fat bike tires offer the pneumatics, it has more give than a hardtail mountain bike.”
New bikes have more suspension; the real difference in fat bikes over traditional mountain bikes is the wheels. You can take this bike practically anywhere you want to go, so there's no more moping around if the weather doesn't cooperate, just suit up and hit the road rolling. A fat bike can handle it.
Fat bikes are the sport of mountain biking made versatile.
“In 2010 fat bikes seemed like a passing fad but fat biking really opened things up for the cycling enthusiast, the season never ends now,” Steve said.
On a fat bike, riders can take on ungroomed trails with 3-4 inches of snow. When the snow has a packed surface is known as the white top highway.
In the Hudson Valley, the Mohonk Preserve allows snow bikes on trails groomed for XC skiing, where it does not allow running or hiking, or snowshoeing. There trails at Ferncliff Forest in Rhinebeck, at Stewart State Forest in Orange County, North Lake in the Catskills, Onteora Lake outside of Kingston, and more that aren’t listed here.
One great bonus of riding in the winter on fat bikes is the visibility and openness.
“Once you get into the colder months the thorns and brambles are gone, and areas that are not normally accessible now are,” Steve said.
“It struck me why fat bikes were so immediately appealing. What traditional mountain bikes offered in nimbleness, fatties made up for in versatility,”— Nick Heil, from Outside Magazine.
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Revolution Bikes has group fat bike rides on Saturdays, call the shop for times. Steve rides every day so knows by the weekend where the best spots are. Fats in the Cats is an IMBA bike club in the Hudson Valley. They build a lot of trails at Jockey Hill in Kingston, NY, have group rides and advocate for trail access for mountain bikes Related Stories |
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