Cycling
- The ride felt cushy enough without shocks, including the rear wheel.
- 4” Fat tires are forgiving in a way that 2.5” mountain bike tires are not. Which is to say, they roll over things that a mountain bike tire might catch on.
- The fat tire experience provides for a kind of slow, casual trail ride. Sure, I can go fast, but the fat tire form factor almost suggests a slower ride which appeals to me. Almost like a beach cruiser for the woods!
- The stem has a 2 bolt, handlebar clamp size of 25.4, both of which are old standards. More modern stems are 4 bolt attachments and have a clamp size of 31.8. When I upgraded the handlebars I should have also upgraded the stem to the modern standards. Oh well.
- The head tube is not tapered which limits fork upgrades. Not a deal killer as I don’t intend to upgrade my fork but again, worth mentioning for others that might not be aware of the issue.
- The seat post paint scratches off instantly with any kind of adjustments or post movement. Also, no height indicators on the post. It’s a cheap post so not surprising.
- Front wheel foot strike! Common to a lot of these bikes is that when turning the front wheel, you may hit it with the toe of your shoe as you pedal.
“Globally, only one in 50 new cars were fully electric in 2020… even if all new cars were electric now, it would still take 15-20 years to replace the world’s fossil fuel car fleet.”
Cycling is ten times more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities
Sunrise photos from my last bike ride on 9/19. An hour later I was so dizzy I could barely stand. Three weeks later and I’ve adapted. Still dizzy but I can function with it. Humbling to be so suddenly incapacitated.
Photos taken same time, different sections of sky.
A nice ride this evening. September is slowly bringing in the cooler air and it’s so refreshing. I’m ready for some fall color.
“On this Day” feature of Photos app popped up a few images from two years ago. One of my longer gravel routes, 52 miles with some nice hills and fantastic views. Need some adventure in your life? Get a gravel bike and go get lost on a back country gravel road!
🚲📷 More bike love! This is a follow-up to my post yesterday where I shared my beloved gravel bike. Today it’s my equally loved fat bike. Years ago I used a mountain bike for trail riding, this time around I opted for an over-sized fat tire bike. The tires for fat bikes range from 3.5" to 5", mine has 4" tires. As I understand it fat bikes were created for year round riding allowing for winter riding on snow and also easier access to softer surfaces like sand.
While many of the newest more expensive fat bikes include front or even full suspension I opted for a ridged frame and fork because I tend to ride slower and on trails that are not overly rough. I also use it for gravel rides when we’ve had rain and the gravel road base is softened up as will be the case for todays ride. While a fat bike tends to be a bit heavier than a standard mountain bike that has much lighter 2" tires they do offer a soft, plush ride, the tires more easily going over fallen branches, larger rocks or other obstacles. They’re a blast to ride!
Have a bike you love? Share it!
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Hey fellow bike nerds, share your bikes! I’ve got two that I ride. This is my gravel bike. As the name suggests, this is the bike I ride for routes that are a mix of road and gravel. My daily short ride is about 2 miles of gravel, 2 miles rough county pavement. The photos in this post were taken on a much longer ride into the Mark Twain National Forest into a neighboring county, also a mix of gravel and pavement and options for dirt trail as well.
I ride lots of quiet county roads and while I love the landscape of rural Missouri, I no longer view the small churches that dot the roads as quaint. They are, increasingly, the grassroots of Christian fascism.
Enjoying morning rides again. Casual pace, 40 minutes, 4 miles. Had a chat with a goose, watched the sunrise. Nice to start the day off with exercise and pretty views.
Morning Ride After taking a few months off from cycling to focus on various landscaping projects I decided it was time to ride again. Just two 4 mile rides a day meets my exercise goal and it’s a pretty ride.
Another butterfly observed along the road on my daily bike ride. This time a great spangled fritillary, again on the same group of wild bergamot.
Ride Journal 2021-7-24
Some fantastic trail rides recently. Well, they’re always fantastic. But currently just a bit better thanks to all the mushrooms and flowers. So much going on! One of several observed on today’s ride; BlackBerry lily, Iris domestica. Also known as leopard lilly.
My fat bike, a few weeks ago, when I cleaned it and upgraded the drivetrain to a Microshift 1x9. Thanks to spring rains it’s been dirty every day since. I’ve ridden 3,750 miles on this bike in the last 12 months. 😀
Gravity Bullseye Monster Long-term review
Back in mid-April, I purchased a Gravity Bullseye Monster (what a terrible name for a bike, I’ll abbreviate as GBEM!) from Bikes Direct. I’d written up a brief initial impressions post after riding it for a week or so. Since that time I’ve shared many photos and various mentions of my fat bike rides but never followed up with a proper review. With my knee problem now (apparently and hopefully) solved I’ve been back on the fatty for a couple weeks of daily trail riding and it occurred to me to check my mileage on the bike: a bit over 2,200. So, yeah, time for a long-term review.
I’ve made no secret of my love for this bike. Truth is, I’d likely love riding any decent fat bike but this is the one I have so it’s what I’ll be writing about. Of the miles I’ve put on the bike I’d estimate that about 55% were road miles, 10% gravel and 35% trail. While many fat bikes are bought for use on snow I bought mine for year-round trail riding. In the late 90’s I’d done a good bit of riding on various mountain bikes, aluminum and steel, most with front shocks. Of course, fat bikes are a relatively new thing and while many people are still riding mountain bikes, I went with fatty for a few reasons:
So, getting on with the review of the GBEM, I’ll get the negatives out of the way first.
This is a budget bike which sells for $499 to $599 so that means it’s got some compromises (actually, I’m cooking up a separate post about budget bikes and direct consumer bikes as compared to the name brand, more expensive bikes found at bike shops). That said, only three specific components really stood out to me as worth mentioning as negatives: the pedals, handlebar and the chain.
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The stock configuration of the bike with just a water bottle cage and light attached.[/caption]
I changed the pedals within the first week. Not much to say about the pedals other than they are just cheap pedals fine for a casual ride around the neighborhood or occasional trail ride. It’s assumed many riders will replace the pedals anyway, the stock pedals are there so that it’s a functional bike out of the box. I replaced them with Rock Bros platform pedals which have worked well. They could probably ship with a slightly better, wider plastic composite platform pedal that would work for some people without a change. In fact, these platform pedals are the pedals that ship on the Poseidon X and I’m still using them on that bike with no problem.
The handlebar, 620mm, is really too narrow a bar to be the default. It works but should be a bit wider. But on many new bikes, like the pedals, it is assumed they will be changed by more “serious” riders. I changed it out to an Origin8 Space Off Road II Handlebars. Still, would be nice if they started the bike with a wider handlebar.
The chain included with the GBEM was a fairly cheap chain that should have been replaced at about 1,300 miles. I forgot to check wear until I hit the 2,000 miles mark. I let it go too long and as a result also had to replace the rear cogs too. My bad. I should have started checking for wear at about 1,000 miles. That said, a well cared for, quality chain on a bike that’s not being ridden hard might be expected to last 2,000 miles or more. That was the case for the chain on the Poseidon X which lasted well over 2,000 miles. Oh well. I’ve replaced the chain (a higher quality chain) and cogs and will be sure to stay on top of chain wear this time.
Some nitpicks that don’t affect the ride quality but I think are worth mentioning.
That’s it for the specific component related negatives.
The rest is generally positive.
The brakes and drive train have performed fairly well. They were pretty well set out of the box.
The Tektro mechanical brakes are fine for me. They may not have the smooth modulation associated with more expensive hydrolic disc brakes but I suspect they are also easier to maintain. I’ve seen complaints online about the brakes but my hunch is that it’s often the case that buyers either are not adjusting the brakes that need adjusting or they are not given a little time to “bed-in”. These brakes, if properly set, should be able to lock-up the wheel when pulled fully. In that case it’s just a matter of learning how to operate them which is to say, careful modulation by the rider. They may never be as smooth as more expensive brakes but they do stop the bike very quickly if needed.
Moving onto the drivetrain, when I was replacing the cog set and chain I noticed that my rear derailleur hanger was very slightly bent (likely out of the box). I should have looked closer on initial set-up. When I bent it back I was able to change the limit screws a bit. Previously one was maxed out due to the bent hanger. I’d tweaked it when I set it up and didn’t realize the problem was actually the bent hanger. Anyway, the SRAM shifters and X4 rear derailleur have been fine. The Shimano Alivio front derailleur is good too. These are low-mid level components, so, not the best, but not bad. Perhaps heavier and slower to shift but nothing that has bothered me. The SRAM x4 trigger shifters work as expected.
It’s a 2x drive system with a generic crank, 22/32T chain rings and an 11-34T 8 speed cassette. I found this range to be perfect for the mix of riding I do: A bit of road, gravel, trail with short, punchy climbs on the trail. The lowest gear enables me to get up the steepest climb with no problem. For some riders that might have health issues or physical constraints a lower gear might be helpful on the trails but I think this range is good for most. All that said I think I’d prefer a 1x 10 speed on this bike. Similar to the Poseidon X but with a slightly lower gearing. The second chainring on a fat bike seems unnecessary given that it is likely going to be primarily ridden off road.
The WTB saddle, “Speed V Sport” is commonly seen on mountain bikes and fat bikes of this mid-range. It’s a pretty decent seat and I’ve got no complaints other than it’s a bit on the heavy side with a bit too much cushion but it’s a good choice for a starter bike for new cyclists might not ride all the time. I’m currently using the Charge Spoon saddle that I purchased for the Poseidon. The seat post is the same size so it was easy enough to swap it over and I’m used to the Spoon saddle so, why not?
The wheel set is pretty typical at this price range. Hubs and rims are generic and on the heavier side though rims do have weight saving cut-outs. They were true out of the box and have stayed true for 8 months of riding so I’ll consider them fairly durable. They’re not tubeless ready or compatible which is fine with me as I’ve had no problem with tubes and slime. To my knowledge no tube punctures yet. I think the thick rubber of fat tires are pretty durable by default. I’ve ridden over a lot of thorny areas as well as brush-hogged fields full of very woody stems, creek beds with large rocks and no problems. Speaking of tires…
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The bike with upgraded handlebars, tires and a few added accessories.[/caption]
The GBEM comes with Vee Tire Co. Mission Command tires. Durable wire beads and bit heavy but a good overall tire to start with. I rode mine for a few months before I changed to a pair of Maxxis Mammoths. They’re a folding bead which means they’re a bit lighter, more supple with a solid center tread that rolls very well on pavement or trail. Given that I now have the Poseidon X to cover longer road/gravel oriented rides my next set of tires, Maxxis Minions, are more aggressive as I won’t have to worry about the smooth center tread for the little pavement I do on this bike. I’ve found in recent days that a layer of partially frozen sub-soil with a top layer of melted mud really creates an ice-like surface that the Mammoths slip on. I’ll likely post a comparison of these two tires in the near future. I mentioned above that they seem fairly thorn resistant and they should be, they’re expensive. Decent fat bike tires cost $90 for ONE tire. So, $180 (or more) for a pair. Yikes.
A few words about the frame and fork… it’s a 6061 aluminum frame and a cromoly fork. Nothing fancy here. There are lots of attachment points on the frame and fork. One set on the inside of the down tube, one on the outside. 1 set of 3 on each fork leg. That’s 4 possible water bottle cages or anything cages if I wanted to go camping and carry larger items. And plenty of mounting points for fenders or racks. I’d initially planned to skip adding any kind of rack but recently ordered one for the back. I do a lot of trail work and would like to have the option of toting tools out there. Also, it’s just generally convenient to have a rack and bungee cords for picking up packages or transporting anything that won’t fit in a backpack.
The overall bike as recently weighed with the above mentioned parts (no rack yet), was 38.4 lbs and that was with the front fender, bottle cages, water bottle/feeder bags. Which is to say that for a fatty it’s on the mid-upper end of expected weight. I’ll save detailed comparisons to more expensive bikes for a future post but for now I’ll just say that in this price range, a fat bike like the GBEM offers the rider a fairly easy and stable ride on trails that might normally cause problems on bikes with smaller wheels and tires. The fat tires just roll over things such as larger rocks, fallen branches or holes. I think they allow a rider to feel safer and more confident when encountering the things often found on a trail.
Related, another benefit of a fat bike (generally speaking) is the added traction for steep ascents and descents. Whether I’m riding on a gravel road or trail, assuming average conditions, I’m likely to feel like I’ve got good traction on the GBEM. Certain muddy conditions can eventually get a bit slippery but with the large tires a fatbike tends to provide solid footing. I really notice this when riding up steep hills with loose debris on the surface. Whether a loose gravel road or a trail with leaves, sticks, rocks, acorns, etc, a steep slope can often cause enough loss of traction to get you off the bike. The wide contact patch of the GBEM gives me the best chance of slowly peddling up and over these conditions. The steepest portion of my trail is a 13 to 14% grade, rutted hill with roots, leaves and fairly large rocks. It’s not easy but I make it up every time on the GBEM.
What about road riding? Well, a fat bike is definitely not a bike I would buy if I intended to mostly ride the road. Going forward the GBEM will be primarily a trail and gravel bike. That said, I put over 1,000 miles on our county roads in July and it works just fine. It’s heavier and has more rubber on the road than needed but it was much easier than I expected. In fact, when I switched to the much lighter gravel bike with much narrower tires I was surprised that my average speed and effort were not changed all that much! No doubt, the gravel bike is faster with less effort but I expected the difference to be greater than it actually was.
These bikes come 90% assembled. I took it out of the box, removed the packing materials, attached the handlebars, front wheel and pedals. I think that was about it. I checked the shifting and brakes and a quick once over to make sure everything was tight. Removing all the zip-tied packaging took about 20 minutes, the little bit of assembly and check-over took 40 minutes or so. I think most can handle it with the help of YouTube videos for the basics of adjusting derailleurs if need be. If not you can take it into a local bike shop. They’ll assemble and set-up for a fee. If you’re the sort that plans to maintain the bike on your own then you can learn as you need to assuming you don’t already have the skills. If you’re not going to maintain it then take it to a local bike shop as you’ll need to take it there in the future for tune-ups, etc.
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The bike in it’s current configuration with multiple water bottle cages, handlebar attached bags, fenders and upgraded seat.[/caption]
As I said at the end of my initial review, I’d have no problem recommending this bike to anyone considering a fat bike. It’s on the heavier side with mid-level components but at 38 lbs it’s still a fairly light and easy ride on the trails. The GBEM sells for $500 to $600 and compares fairly well to bike store brands (Giant, Trek, Specialized, Salsa, Surly)which generally start around $1,500 and weigh in at around 33lbs. I’m working on a future post to compare these two general choices because it’s worth considering before purchasing a bike. That said, I’ll continue to ride my fat bike with no regrets.
2020 - My return to peddling
December 21, 2019 - First ride on the XP!
A year ago today I got my first bike in 20 years, an electric folding bike, the LectricXP. I’d sold my last two bikes 20 years ago after an aggravated knee injury that didn’t seem to get better. Over the years I would occasionally try a bike ride on a borrowed bike but the discomfort was there every time. When I bought the LectricXP last winter I expected to just use it to ride a mile to visit my folks and check the mail when I wanted something faster than my usual walk. I had no idea that I’d be able to consistently pedal again. The day of this photo I ended up riding a 12 mile round trip to town. The bike did most of the work as I didn’t yet have the confidence that my knee would hold up to much effort. Over the weeks I put in more of the effort and was riding farther, as far as the battery would safely last.
The Rad Rover in Perry County - a 40ish mile ride!
After a month I’d bought a second e-bike, the Rad Rover that had a larger range (45 miles instead of 35) and I was riding nearly every day up to 30 miles. Then 35 miles. Then 40 miles. By March I was trying to pedal as much of my 45 mile rides with little to no assist from the bike for as much of the ride as I could. I rode 800 miles on the Rover in March.
Non-Powered Gravity fat bike
With the Covid virus getting worse my sister started working remotely and began a long-term visit in early April that would end up lasting through the summer. I decided to cut my long county rides short and focus on building some trails to ride closer at hand. As a result, in April I bought the non-powered Gravity Bullseye Monster fat bike. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to ride it unassisted but the Rover had allowed me to build up some confidence. A year ago the idea of riding a bike unassisted wasn’t a thought when I tapped the “buy” button on the Lectric webpage. 50 miles with no assist? I would have rolled on the ground laughing. Or that I would be riding nearly every day week after week? I’m feeling a lot of gratitude for the folks at Lectric and Rad Power Bikes as they got me back peddling on my own again. And for anyone thinking of an electric bike, go for it! That said, if you are healthy enough to pedal on your own, keep at it as much as you are able. There’s no technology better than a bike that I can think of that has made me a happier, healthier person in the course of my life.
It seems weird that in this terrible, bizzaro nightmare of a year I have had perhaps the best year of my previous 20 years thanks to these bikes and the socially distanced life I’ve been living for most of the past 12 years. As the pandemic, social struggles, and related nightmares raged on I’ve been out in the quiet countryside peddling along blissfully. It’s a strange disconnect. Regardless, I’m thankful that my year has been a healthy one.
Fat bike fitting: fixing a wide stance
Alternate post title… Fat Bike, I just can’t quit you!
Alternate alternate post title: I think I fixed my knee discomfort caused by the wide Q-factor of the fatbike!
A couple weeks ago I posted about using the Poseidon X as a trail bike. An update: After a week or two of riding the trails we had several days of rain and hoo-boy does it get tricky on wet, muddy trails. Still, it’s doable and I did it for a couple days. But muddy trails in the cold of winter freeze, re-thaw, freeze and overall don’t tend to dry out. So, while I don’t mind the challenge, the prospect of riding consistently wet, muddy trails for weeks at a time, likely doing damage to the trail that I would have to fix, led me back to the fat bike.
To reiterate, I love the fat bike. It’s a blast to ride and the only reason I was avoiding it was knee discomfort due to the wider stance. So, I made a few more seat adjustments and, I think crucially, decided to try riding with my feet positioned all the way up against the crank. I think the general norm is that you place your foot squarely on the pedal. It occurred to me that if I pulled my feet up closer to, and in contact with the crank arm, I’d be that much closer to the more comfortable riding position I needed for my knees. The Poseidon X has my foot at about 3 1/8” (80mm) away from the seat tube. By comparison, the inside of the pedal on the fat bike is 4” (102mm) away from the seat tube. Putting my feet up against the crank arm has my foot at about 3 1/2” (89mm) away from the seat tube. It’s only a half inch difference but this adjustment seems to have done the trick! That’s the funny thing about bike fitting. Often times it’s just an adjustment of a half inch or an inch, be it seat height, stem length or angle, etc that can make a big difference. This is especially true if you’re doing longer hours on the bike. 30 minutes here and there likely won’t matter much. But 2 to 3 to 4 hours a day, several days a week, well, that’s makes a difference.
It may also be possible to find some different cranks with less of an outward bend and I may look into cranks that are closer to the frame. For now this adjustment to my foot-on-pedal position seems to have done the trick. It’s been about 10 days of riding and the issue has not returned. So happy to be back on this bike!