Went on my first fat bike ride on groomed single track. There was a layer of snow over the groomed trail, some drifts, I could hardly stay upright. Bike was all over the place, very squiggly. The rear tire would kick out sometimes like the front and rear are not in a straight line but I’m still moving. What am I doing wrong?
Kept lowering the pressures until a mechanical issue made me walk my bike back.
Is it normal for the steering to be really twitchy? I felt super unstable
by FerretFiend
8 Comments
probably too much pressure and then not enough pressure. gotta find the sweet spot.
Pretty normal. Sounds like you started with to high of a pressure for sure.
Riding snow single track for 5 years now in northern mn, I run 5-7psi in tubeless, between 0F-25F degrees.
with that siad, winter riding vs summer is a completely different animal. how you approach corners, speed, cadence, everything is different. keep at it, and the fun will show itself with time.
On snow I run tubeless at 3 ish psi with studded tires
Once there’s ice underneath, I use studded tires. At 56, falling down ends up causing too much pain.
Couple of possibilities here. One is the existing groom was a little rutted, so your tires are trying to follow the hidden ruts. Always gets a bit hairy when that happens. Another is there was just too much new snow or it was the wrong type. 2 to 3″ of fresh dry snow is a delight, while wet snow can be a struggle fest.
First thing I learned was take a pump and adjust pressure. When in doubt, air out. I’m on 4.8″ tires and have ridden snow with anything from 8 psi down to under 3.
Second thing I learned was to try and keep the bike upright for maximum tread knobs on the ground. You have to have exceptional conditions to lean the bike over and get the side knobs to actually bite in and hold. Relax and let the bike find its way.
I find fat biking requires more balance to stay upright on angled trails and sharp corners. Any loose snow makes it more difficult. Once that snow freezes up, it should provide good grip and support and riding becomes easier.
Check out the wolf tooth air pressure calculator. It has a fat bike option and they live in MN..