Fat Bike Trails
Get on a fat bike and hit the trails! Even in winter our trail network has a dedicated crew to bring you groomed trails during our snowy months.
What is Fat Biking?
Fat bikes are specially-made bicycles that accommodate ultra-wide tires which can be run at very low pressure. The combination of very wide tires and less than ten pounds of pressure allows fat bikes to roll over soft, slippery surfaces like snow.
Fat bikes are one of the fastest-growing segments of the bicycle industry. They provide a great way for cyclists to stay in shape during the winter season.
Simply bundle up like you would for skiing and get out and ride!
Trail Etiquette
1. If you’re leaving a rut, turn around
If there’s one cardinal rule of fat biking on groomed tracks, it’s “don’t leave ruts in the trail.” Now, how to avoid leaving ruts is the key (see below), but if you’re out for a ride and find that you’re leaving a rut in the trail–turn around, and try again a different day (or during a different time of the day).
2. Adjust your air pressure to the conditions
As a general rule, the softer the conditions, the lower the air pressure you need to run in your tires. Again, air pressure is dependent on rider weight, and a heavier rider may need to use a slightly higher air pressure than a light rider. As a rule of thumb, we recommend 1-4 psi for a “soft groomed surface,” and 6-8 psi for “hard surface and base.” We’d recommend starting around 4-5 psi and working down from there. It’s easier to start a touch higher and let out air than it is to add air to your tires in the middle of a ride.
3. Don’t ride on freshly groomed trails
Freshly-groomed trails are rarely ready to be ridden immediately. Instead, CAMBA says, trails “need time to harden, or ‘set up.’ The time required for a trail to set up depends on several variables, such as temperature and humidity, but it always requires a period of falling temperatures.”
If you ride a freshly-groomed trail, leave a long rut in it, and then the trail sets up, your rut will be frozen in place, ruining the experience for everyone that comes after you.
4. Don’t post hole through a groomed trail
“Post holing” is the act of hiking in deep snow without snowshoes, leaving deep footprint holes behind you, which resemble post holes. If you reach a hill that you can’t pedal up on your fat bike, make sure that you walk in the unpacked snow off to the side of the trail.
However, in some places where the snowpack is very deep, you could easily sink in to your waist (or deeper) when you go off the packed trail. In such a situation, walking off the trail may be impossible. The best choice in this situation is, again, to turn around and not leave foot prints.