The Fatback is Phat!

My new 19" Fatback frame is finally built up and I was able to get out for my first snow bike ride of the season yesterday.

This project began last February, the day after the Su 100, while Chris E. and I were visiting with Greg at Speedway Cycles. After sitting on a few bikes and playing with rim & tire combos I knew I had to pull the trigger on a Fatback. I applaud Speedway for putting so much passion into developing the Fatback and for sourcing the special parts that help take snow biking to the next level.



Two of my main reasons for buying the Fatback were:
1) Better fit with a 19” frame – my Wildfire frame is a 17” (Med) and is too small
2a) Better performance at low PSI – the new 80mm rim distributes the load more evenly than the 65mm Large Marge and I am no flyweight.
2b) It is dead sexy, in a voluptuous kind of way

After close inspection, I am very pleased with the build quality of the Fatback frame, the 80mm wheelset, and the steel fork/rack combo. Greg at Speedway has been awesome to work with. The rest of the parts were taken from my Wildfire FatBike frame and moved over to the new frame to complete the build.

I snapped a few pics to highlight some of the key features that set the Fatback apart from other snow bikes.

Ti frame - compliant, and zero corrosion issues

165mm rear disc hub by Hadley

135mm front disc hub by Paul Components

All 27 gears are usable

Enough tire clearance to go bigger in the future if I want

Clean cable routing designed for full-length housing

Nice welds

Steel front fork and custom rack

The custom rack turned out great and the design was based on the modification I did to my Old Man Mtn rack last year. I almost always have some sort of bag on the front of the bike so this was a key piece for me and Greg's builder did a great job.

12/17/08 Edit: Weight is 31.5 lbs with rack & Surly tubes in both tires. I don't trust the WTB 2.2-2.5 tubes at 4.5 to 5 PSI yet.