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'Funky' fat bikes gain traction in city
Store inventory increases to meet demand from year-round cyclists, say Overlander staff

Simon Whitehouse
Northern News Services
Friday, November 20, 2015

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The future of biking in Yellowknife is fat. Yellowknifers may notice an increasing number of bicycles with oversized tires on the roads and displayed in stores.

NNSL photo/graphic

David Stephens, bike manager at Overlander Sports, displays a Norco Bigfoot Fat Bike at the Yellowknife Ski Club Snow Show, Nov. 7. Stephens estimates there are close to 50 cyclists who use fat bikes throughout the winter in Yellowknife. - Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photo

The distinctive bikes, which feature tires more than 12 centimetres wide, were featured at the annual Yellowknife Ski Club Snow Show on Nov. 7 as part of a demonstration hosted by Overlander Sports. Tomorrow at the Santa Claus parade a number of costumed riders with fat bikes are scheduled to ride among the floats and Dec. 5 has been adopted in many countries as "Global Fat Bike Day."

Overlander is organizing a trail ride for cyclists with fat bikes scheduled for the following morning at 11 a.m.

David Stephens, bike manager at Overlander, said the bike's appeal seems to be increasing among men, women and couples for commuting and for recreation.

Stephens said his store had 30 of the bikes in stock in September, which is the most acquired since he began selling them three years ago. Almost all of those sold in the fall.

"They come in the late summer or early fall and it is actually opposite season product than the regular bike industry," he said. "A lot of people have as much fun in the snow as they do riding in the summer."

Brands in stock include the Norco Bigfoot, Rocky Mountain Bike Blizzard, Kona Wo, Specialized Fatboy, Surly Bike Pugsley and the Ice Cream Truck. The bikes are about 30 to 35 pounds and range in price from $1,200 to $4,000 and higher.

Stephens estimates there are 40 cyclists riding fat bikes in the city. Riders purchase the fat tire bikes because they offer a more secure ride on a hard surface, he added.

The difference between a regular road bike and a fat bike includes not only the size and width of the tires but also the pressure. The air in tires is measured by pounds per square inch and fat bike tires usually range between five to 30 psi's, he said. In comparison, an all-terrain mountain bike usually has 65 psi's.

"With about half the pressure of a regular mountain bike to begin with and running over sharp or gnarly rocks -there is a less chance of them being punctured," he said.

Studded fat bike tires are on the market but they are not essential for good winter traction, he added.

This past week Yellowknife got hit with fresh snow where much of it was left in the streets for a period of time. Under such conditions, fat bikes can be an ideal mode of transportation, he said.

"This last week has been pretty rough and my wife prefers to ride her fat bike over walking because she feels safer especially in intersections," Stephens said, explaining that vehicles tend to slip or lose control in snow conditions at four-way stops. "If you take a step (in the snow) and your heel goes out and you don't' have spikes - you're gone. With fat bikes, if it skids a bit, you still have a chance to recover."

John Bray, manager in the sports department at Canadian Tire, said his store started selling them this year with about 25 models, including the Biggity Deluxe. These bikes run around $350, but he said the store hasn't sold very many

"In the summer we had them in small for kids and we had two or three (brands) of the adult size," he said. We didn't sell a lot of them this summer. They are funky looking and aren't for everybody."

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