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Fat bike tire pressure – dialing in your ride

February 18, 2022 By Chris Norfolk

Disclaimer – this post is sure to weigh in on what is the most controversial topic since “what’s the best handlebar width“. The views contained below are solely that of the author… and not necessarily the views of RVC. Following this post I may have my website rights revoked. We’ll see. Let’s begin.

Tire pressure can be a perplexing thing for new fat bike riders. Often the bikes come from the shop or rental locations with the tires pumped up as hard as a rock – leading to a harsh ride. If you remember nothing else from this entire article just try riding at 5.5 PSI. However, there’s a lot more to tell.

The author… riding lower pressure in fresh snow.

Fat bikes are all about increasing the surface area of the tire in contact with the trail. This is known as ‘contact patch’. While your rim profile and tire width greatly influence ‘contact patch’ you can’t easily change those things. What you can change is air pressure… and that makes a big difference quickly. Lowering your pressure increases contact patch since your tire can deform to the shape of the trail. Increasing your pressure decreases contact patch and your tire becomes more firm, and less deformed by interaction with the trail. Contact patch area helps create traction on loose and slippery surfaces and it creates flotation in marginal conditions. A tire able to deform around small objects also creates a smoother ride. On the other hand, a big contact patch also increases rolling resistance, and in extreme cases it creates something called ‘self steering’ on hard surfaces (a disconnect between where you point your handlebars and where the bike goes). A tire with tubes that has too little pressure is also at a higher risk of a trailside pinch flat – and that is especially awful with a fat bike.

The lower the pressure the wider the tread. You’ll see more engagement of the lugs on the side of the tire on flat ground.

So with that theory behind us – start by filling up your tire to 5.5 psi and give it a test. Place your palm on the top of the tire and apply ~1/2 of your body weight to it. The tire should deform in your hand and you should see it bulge on the floor. If the tire folds over on itself or you feel the rim coming into contact with the floor you need to add air. If the tire barely deforms with ~1/2 of your body weight you need to let air out. Generally speaking heavier riders are going to need higher pressures to achieve the same contact patch. Use this method to find your starting point. You can also transform this into the ‘pinch test’ to achieve about the same results. Don’t be shy… pinch hard!

Pinch demonstration.

It’s much easier to let a little air out of your tires on the trail than it is to put air back in. Although there are high-volume hand pumps available for fatbikes there is still a lot of internal space to fill and pumping up tires takes time with the best pumps.

When might you want to let a little air out on the trail?

  • You are riding (particularly climbing a hill) and you feel your back wheel slipping in loose snow.
  • Your bike feels like its bouncing off every little divot and bump in the trail.
  • The trail is icy and you are losing control.
  • You are just barely breaking through a surface like a snow crust or leaving a small rut
    (if letting air out doesn’t fix this it’s time to turn around and try coming back another day)
A tale of tire pressures. While most tracks stay on the groomed snow the tread in the center of the photo shows the rider was periodically breaking through the surface. Dropping a little air in this case might have helped.

What about times when you might want to run a little more air?

  • The trails are firm and in great shape. Look for this if it’s been 4-5 days since grooming with no new snow.
  • You feel like you need to pedal in order to keep momentum going downhill.
  • You feel your tire buckling/folding when taking corners or hitting a bump. Put air in now before you get a pinch flat!
    (doesn’t apply to tubeless fat bikes)
A low-pressure gauge can be a helpful tool when you start fat biking. Once you understand how the tire is supposed to feel you won’t need it though.

If you do manage to get a flat tire on the trail it isn’t the end of the world if you are prepared, but it will suck. I often hike-a-bike back to my car if it is a short ride. If you are on a long ride you need 2 levers, a spare tube, a high-volume pump, and perseverance. You can substitute CO2 cartridges for the pump but plan on at least 2 high-volume units (not the kind you use to fill a puny little road bike tire). For my 4.6 tires I use tubes marked 2.5-2.7 on the box. They will stretch just fine and it saves a lot of space and weight in your pack.

Most of what’s been said above relies on the feel and behavior of the tire. For those of you who’d like to put a little more science in the process you can obtain relatively inexpensive and good quality low-pressure air gauges. These specific gauges will give you a much better readout on pressures between 2-8 PSI. Most of the pressure gauges that come built into bike floor pumps won’t be readable in this range. There are some slick digital options available too. Check around the local bike shops.

A note on weather. As air temperature drops so does tire pressure. This normally isn’t a big deal. However, if you fill your tires inside a +20° house and then immediately go ride in – 20° cold you are going to drop at least 1 full PSI during your ride. If you ride in serious cold it’s best to consider that ahead.

#Fatbike !!! Mr. Titus isn’t worried about fussing with his tires. Take in that fresh air!

One last tip on pressure – I never crank the dial louder than 12! Let me explain. Sometimes installing tires on the rim can be fussy and a little trick is to use high pressures to get the bead to snap in place. This can be especially true for fat bikes where the rim and tire tolerances between manufacturers can be wide. On a normal mountain bike it’s common to pump things up to 30-35 PSI until you hear the ‘ping’ that lets you know everything is all lined up. Do not do this with a fat bike. With the air volumes involved in a fat tire you should not exceed 11-12 PSI. You will blast the tire off the rim, destroying it in the process, potentially throwing a lot of money down the drain. You will also most likely suffer temporary hearing loss and possibly a small heart attack. Instead of high pressures get the rim mounting job done by spraying soapy water onto the tire bead liberally just before you inflate it.

Hope this helps. Go easy on me internet.

Chris

Filed Under: News, Uncategorized, Winter Bike

Intro to Winterbike 6 Week Ride Series

February 7, 2022 By Chris Norfolk

Riders!

RVC is excited to be hosting a 6 week group ride series aimed at beginner level fatbike riders starting Sunday Feb. 13th ,10:15 am, in Deer Park. This ride series is totally free, and aims to give you the basics of expanding your singletrack experience to include the best months of the year!

Each ride will be about 90 minutes in length and the ride pace is going to be slow and steady. Nobody will be left behind. The ride plan will focus on enjoyable, but less demanding trails in some of our favourite groomed networks. Between rides RVC will post some tips on our Facebook and Instagram channels on how to get the most out of your winter ride. By week 5 and 6 the ride will mix in a few more interesting trails with a little more terrain but the pace will remain friendly.

  • Week 1 – Deer Park
  • Week 2 – Mactaquac
  • Week 3 – Woolastook
  • Week 4 – Woolastook
  • Week 5 – Odell Park
  • Week 6 – MVP

We really want to thank rider and volunteer Heather Ongo for identifying a need to do this and stepping forward to lead each ride. RVC is a volunteer driven club and we love it when riders want to make things happen. Thank you Heather!

Heather O. our ride leader for this series!

Now – the ride series will depend on good attitudes and good snow but it will also hinge a bit on the COVID-19 situation. We feel good to launch it now that NB is in phase II but if we go back into lockdown we are obviously off. We do ask that everyone social distance at least 2m while out on rides with people outside your steady 10 bubble and bring a mask just in case you find yourself needing some up-close and personal help. If you are feeling crummy please stay home and rest!

Deer park – tour stop #1

Remember to dress appropriately for whatever the forecast says that morning. Also remember to bring yourself some snacks and a warm drink (pro-tip fill your bottle or hydration bag with warm water to delay the inevitable freeze). Please also remember to Join RVC Winterbike if you haven’t already.

Filed Under: Announcements, News, Winter Bike

Introducing RVC’s Bearcat

January 18, 2022 By Chris Norfolk

Success!

After a 6 week fundraising campaign RVC exceeded its goal and collected more than $5,000 in support of winter biking in the Fredericton area. It is so great to be a small cog in a big community that loves the outdoors and winter trails. From individuals who gave us $10 where they could to outstanding local businesses like the Radical Edge and Explore Velo who donated significant amounts – RVC appreciates your support!

Today we’re proud to introduce you to the newest member of our grooming fleet: a 2016 Artic Cat Bearcat!

This machine replaces ‘Fat Panther’ who retires from RVC’s fleet after a distinguished career and Bearcat isn’t wasting time making its mark. RVC Groomers Dave and Andy took it through the entire Woolastook winter network today on its inaugural run. Nice work guys! The plan is to keep Bearcat based in Woolastook for now but this machine could make appearances at other networks!

If you get out to Woolastook today let us know what you think. If you see riders enjoying the trails ask them if they remembered to join RVC Winterbike for 2022. If you see Dave and Andy out grooming there this winter stop and let them know that you appreciate their work.

Once again – to our winterbike members and GoFundMe supporters – a thousand thank you’s from the RVC team!

Filed Under: Announcements, News, Winter Bike

Winterbike Plan 2022 – Deer Park

January 15, 2022 By Chris Norfolk

Deer Park is a great place to introduce people to winter riding for the first time. The woods are nice, you’re never too far away from the car, and the terrain is easy going. That’s why RVC is so happy to support the grooming there. It rounds out what we have to offer at MVP and Woolastook really well.

For 2022 the plan is going to keep 7km of the primary singletrack and double track open. There’s plenty more singletrack in the park and we suspect that the snowshoe activity will have it opened up most of the time. It should be a worthwhile place to ride.

Grooming takes extraordinary volunteers. These people are often out for long hours in the cold and sometimes in the worst weather. Thanks Troy for stepping up once again to take this on!

If you’re not sure about winter riding go take a spin in Deer Park. We’ll let you know once the grooming starts (last night was a total bust… what happened to the snow we were supposed to get!!!). If you give it a spin and you like it enough to want to support our grooming effort please consider Joining RVC Winterbike for 2022.

Filed Under: Announcements, News, Winter Bike

Winterbike plans 2022 – MVP

January 7, 2022 By Chris Norfolk

It’s January 7th and we’re finally looking to get our first dump of snow today in a nor’easter. RVC is excited. You’re excited. Dan and Todd are excited.

So what better day than to tell you about the grooming plan for MVP this winter!

For 2022 MVP will have ~ 22 km of groomed singletrack. This includes most of the Flight Deck area and we’ve got the trail building crew’s support to groom Monkey Business this year too. For you riders who have never ventured over to ride Greg’s Way in the summer make sure to go check it out in the winter. The Back 40 is a game changing connection and it open’s up access to the Greg’s way area. Back 40 is a hilariously good trail in it’s own right. We’ll keep the parking lot open all winter so that you don’t have to brave narrow slushy roads to get to the riding. We’ll also keep the Trailforks map up to date but remember to hit the ‘winter trails’ option on the map and you may need to refresh the data on your phone app.

MVP mountain biking trails

Keeping 22 km of singletrack groomed takes a lot of resources and a heroic effort from the groomers! You can get your 2022 RVC Winterbike membership here to access the trails and support the grooming. Also, if you love winter trails and want to take your support one step further please check out our GoFundMe campaign. We have one week left to try and meet our fundraising target of $5,000 to get the grooming team some updated and more reliable equipment. We are so close and even small donations are a big help. Thank you!

Filed Under: Announcements, News, Winter Bike Tagged With: MVP, Winterbike

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