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Fat bike tires are for your fat bike. You won’t find them on road bikes, mountain bikes, or even on BMX bikes. Fat bike tires are designed specifically for a fat bike and optimized for speed, traction, and control on the fat bike. In this article, we take a look at the different types of fat bike tires available today.

What are fat bike tires?

They are a way to improve your biking experience by increasing traction, comfort, and style. But it’s not as simple as just slapping some tires on the frame of your bike. Fat tire technology requires knowledge and preparation to make sure you get the best results possible.

There are four basic tire shapes that commonly produce the most traction and comfort with the least pressure: There is no set right or wrong fat bike wheel type. Everyone’s body, riding style, and habit vary enough to need different types of tires for their brand new Fat Bike. You can go through the best bmx bikes for beginners

Why You Should Buy A Fat Tire Bike

How does a fat bike differ from other bikes? One major difference is the amount of friction generated between tires and the ground surface. Another is due to the unique construction attributes discussed below:

Friction

Fatty tire, road tires have higher (higher rolling resistance) than Mtb, touring or city/trail free ride by design. Road wheels are built for speed rather than comfort, so all their compounds strive to even out traction in use which results in less rolling resistance.

Adhesives

Fat bike tubes require special adhesives that aren’t available for rims, road wheels, and mountain/touring bikes – (we don’t fully understand why). Reactive chemistry is the only means to get this glue-like consistency, but it takes at least a day or two in contact time before true adherence enhancements are realized. Hardening times increase with use, so you will definitely notice your performance improve with regular use.

Construction

Tubes are strong but have to unevenly flex in all directions due to their “cross-section” or shape. Fat tires need stiffer sidewalls and crowns implemented as you would extrude your bicycle material structure engineering tolerances allow for complete flexibility since no forming is required.

Increase comfort

With less contact between threads and ground, no lateral torques are created, which means you have greater control over each pedal stroke. This lessens fatigue and your feet will stay in contact with the pedals for longer periods of time.

Higher speeds

Greater rolling resistance means reduced spacing between drive train elements like gears, chainsets etc which results in greater efficiency to reach higher sustained (endurance) max speeds than other bikes are capable of reaching (less energy wasted as heat on frame/rims).

Increased Weight Limits

Riders who sit closer to the pegs experience a higher inertial load across their hips, pelvis, and knees than those further away from their center of gravity, but this is due to “posterior loading” usually only occurring when supported by your lower back area or third leg…not on a bike!

Better balance

If you are drawn to weight-carrying sports like mountaineering, rock climbing, or jumping acrobatics, then this may be your only game in town. Longer torsional rigidity means less flex at coupling points which will increase the amount of your body’s total mass you can lift for a period without failure!

Better handling

A bike that moves my body better / by moving myself and not other elements alongside me will be inherently more controllable (without pedaling) throughout a given gesture even when making fast lateral motions, as well as being much smoother in transition from one motion to another such as starting/stopping on stairs while trying to park.

Little maintenance

All maintenance should be done at home, with the exception that some can benefit from having a local bike mechanic perform them (dive bars, suspension tuning). There is no need to learn any new skills. Really, you will have probably learned all of this stuff while growing up on a standard hard-tail bike.

Things to consider while choosing a fat bike tire

Tire width: Wider (2.1″) tires will inherently provide plusher cushioning than narrower (1.8″) tires and offer a more comfortable ride, especially on rougher terrain or off-road in snow/ice.

Tire pressure: It is generally recommended to run your tire at about 35 PSI for optimal grip/braking performance, but this varies depending on the type of riding you do…for general use in all sorts of weather, I recommend running your tire at about 30 PSI.

Tire tread: As with helmet sizing, different brands work best in certain applications because they have a particular “chunkiness” to them ( ETC / YIKES )…some will give you more knobby traction while others are. Smoother and less noisy on the trail! Variety is also good expressly if you’re having trouble deciding which brand/version of said bike tire is best, especially if you are still new to the sport and trying different tires to get a feel for personal preference.

Tire Compound: Most brands will have very similar compounds, so there isn’t much point in looking into this, but I would just say it’s a generally good idea when thinking of buying your first fat bike tire because they generally come ready with casing (core) hardness which may differ from one brand/version of same tires to another – this may be obvious to some and not for all but this is a common element when specifying the tire based off of you bike setup.

Tire Width: With wide tires, your corners will tend to feel sketchy on rocks or steep terrain until you get used to the bike. That being said, I would consider it a bonus if sometimes felt as though you rode better over rough trails because there are more pounds per square inch.

Conclusion

Fat bike tires are not that different from regular road bike tires. In fact, they are essentially the same. However, fat bike tires do have a few notable differences that make them better suited for off-road riding. These include their larger contact patch and greater flexibility in turns. The wider contact patch is particularly useful on the trail as it helps disperse energy more effectively over a larger area of the tire, which is especially important when cornering or negotiating obstacles.

Keep Reading: What is the advantage of tubeless mountain bike tires?

A basic element in a cycling ride, whatever the modality or discipline you practice, is the protection of your eyes. As we get into mountain biking with big wheel mongoose bike or others, the question begins to arise as to what is best for us: if glasses or goggles.

In this article, you will find the advantages and disadvantages of both so that in the end, you choose the alternative that best suits your needs and thus protect your eyes while practicing MTB.

Importance of protecting our eyes in cycling

In any shoot you participate in, you will be asked to wear glasses to protect your eyes. In addition to the impact of ultraviolet rays, it is important to protect yourself from the air and from possible garbage or insects that may fall into your eyes. As you develop more speed in cycling, these particles are more likely to hit your face, get into your eyes, and cause an accident by momentarily blocking your vision.

It is important to emphasize that not all glasses are an option for cycling in general. For example, metal frames or frames are a danger to our physical integrity, as they can break and injure our face, even our eyes since metal is exposed and is a sharp material. For this reason, in most events, competitions, etc., they recommend wearing plastic frames. Keep reading best sunglasses for cycling.

MTB glasses or goggles

Find out which is the best alternative for you. A lot of people use either, but when it comes to performance and protection, there’s a definite winner. Goggles offer a number of advantages that glasses do not: they block more dirt and debris from getting into your eyes; they seal out the wind, and they’re better in foul weather. That said, goggles can fog up both in dry and wet conditions.

Goggles:

Why do you need goggles for mountain biking? They protect your eyes when you are riding, they keep the bugs out of your eyes, they keep the sweat off your face and goggles react better in bright light. For all these reasons, goggles are an essential part of mountain biking gear.

MTB glasses:

Choosing the perfect pair of MTB glasses can be a daunting task. For some, goggles are just too inconvenient to wear on the go. Others might not want to deal with the hassle of cleaning their glasses after long rides. Fortunately, there are great options for both of these dilemmas.

MTB glasses features

MTB glasses specifically have greater benefits than any other normal frame/frame to protect you from the sun.

They have a suitable design for good ventilation so that the glass mica does not mist.

The frame is made of flexible plastic. In case you have an accident where your face is involved, the plastic does not break into two pieces but is designed to come off in parts (a leg, the glass, the frame, etc.)

The special glasses for cycling tend to be very light, you can wear them for hours and you will not even feel them on.

These glasses have rubber on the frame and on the legs. These will help them not to slip out of place.

In addition, most cycling glasses have a more panoramic vision achieving a vision range of 180º.

There are a variety of types and dyes of micas. From there, the intensity of color depends on where you frequently roll. The important thing is to achieve the most naturally possible colors. Or also appease those colors that disturb our vision, such as the reflection that is made on the asphalt.

One of the disadvantages of MTB glasses is when you descend faster and there are vibrations in between, they can come out of place and even jump with the vibrations, making handling very uncomfortable.

In addition, another disadvantage is against the dust banks. MTB glasses protect your eyes, but they do not isolate them, so if you enter a dust bank, be sure that your eyes are going to be covered with dust even if you bring the glasses.

Goggles for MTB

MTB goggles are designed to protect your eyes from dust, dirt, mud, and other foreign particles, even at high speeds.

Goggles are ideal for blocking the entry of dust into your eyes since they have a sponge that is placed between your face and the frame, thus achieving total isolation. This sponge also serves to prevent the entry of mud and sweat.

The goggles protect you in the event of a fall by not having any impact close to the eyes. Its large frame is made of flexible plastic and does not break on impact.

The goggles have a spring that is placed around your head or your helmet. It is very useful to be able to cross terrain at high speed or jump without them moving out of place.

When it comes to lightness, goggles don’t win prizes, but they aren’t that heavy. There are even sizes for children and adults in order to achieve a better fit depending on the width of the face.

Like MTB glasses, goggles have adequate ventilation and an anti-fog (anti-fog) system. You can bring them all the way down and they won’t fog you up.

Most of the goggles have a support that allows using a system to be able to see in case of rain; They are strips of a biodegradable celluloid material that are placed on the goggle’s mica either by plastic pins that carry the mica or, a more elaborate roll system. The rider can gradually remove the strips once they are covered with mud or water and, in this way, always have the mica “clean.”

Like cycling glasses, goggles have different shades of glasses, depending on the terrain, weather, etc. You can find transparent, black, green, blue glasses and even some with a yellow hue.

An advantage of the goggles is that their glass is resistant and withstands normal scratches and bumps. However, when applying speed and encountering flying stones, they suffer slight scratches, but they do not compromise vision.

All goggles offer a 180 ° panoramic view.

A disadvantage of goggles is that they even have an anti-fogging system in the case of flat routes. They fog up because they contain heat.

Type of glasses depending on the MTB modality

As you can see, the use of goggles or glasses depends a lot on the modality that is practiced.

The glasses work best for recreational MTB cycling, Cross Country, Trail, and even, in some cases, All-mountain / enduro.

On the other hand, goggles work better if you plan to go down with more speed and there is more risk involved. For this reason, in Freeride, BMX, Downhill, All-mountain, and Enduro competitions, goggles are preferred.

In addition, you can also use either of the two for simple pleasure. We have seen enduro competitors with MTB glasses and cycling enthusiasts who prefer goggles. The purpose is to protect our vision and either one fulfills it. You just have to take into account the advantages and disadvantages of them.

Conclusion

The debate between MTB glasses vs. goggles is an ever-present, never-ending dilemma for any mountain biker. The goggles are stronger than they used to be. They come with glasses that can be replaced individually and the frame has a rubber band to tighten it around your head so it won’t fall off. They also have vents that help with airflow so you don’t get sweaty and foggy. The MTB glasses are lighter and more comfortable. They don’t have a chin strap and they come with a small glass that can be replaced individually.

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