Winter bikepacking to a mountain peak: A fatbike adventure on snow
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- Опубликовано: 5 фев 2022
- Can you bikepack to a snowy mountain peak on a fatbike?
I don’t know what I would have done without the bike. The bike is my freedom machine. And the bike that gives me the most freedom, is hands down the fatbike. What other bike enables me to ride almost anywhere I want?
Though, even the fatbike has its limits. You can’t just ride anywhere. Well, actually, under certain conditions, you can. At least in the mountains. The magic happens in spring, when thaw during the day and frost during the night produces a solid crust that enables you to go fatbiking in the mountains.
For weeks, I had wanted to go fatbiking on the crust and try to summit a local mountain peak by bike, but bogged down with work, it didn’t seem to happen. The nightly frost disappeared in the mountains, and eventually the crust collapsed and the hope of summiting the peak by bike dwindled like dirty snow in the sun. It wasn’t going to happen. It was too late for fatbiking on the snow crust.
Or at least that’s what I thought. A couple of weeks of warm weather later, a brief period of cold nights in the mountains refuelled my remaining slivers of hope to the extent that I considered packing my gear on the fatbike and giving it a go.
Filmed with the Canon XA20 in 2014, edited in 2022.
Music provided by Epidemic Sounds:
Watch it grow - Peace Reels
Sunshine Road - Kit and the Calltones
Guide Me on My Way - Mid Knight
Dead and Gone Blues - Peter Crosby
Nothin’ Left Blues - Peter Crosby
But You’re the One - Headlund
#bikepacking #fatbike #fatbiking #cycling #norway
Beautifully done, almost got emotional.....''My freedom machine..'' haha those that know, know..!
Glad you liked it! Yeah, those that know, know 😄👍
Winter tip: remove your insole, trace its shape onto a sheet of Insul-Brite fabric insulation. Cut along the line and insert into shoe. Insert insole on top of IB layer, now you have a barrier between the cold ground and your feet.
I’ve been waiting for your next video and this did not disappoint! What an adventure on your freedom machine! Great storytelling and music! Now I want a fat bike!
Thanks for the kind words, Eddie, glad I didn’t disappoint! 😄🙏
Haven‘t seen a Pro Trials crankset in a while! Nice! And once again a very inspirational video from you, many thanks for sharing your adventures.
Thanks for the kind words, really appreciated! 🙏🏻😊 The Pro Trials have been great on rocky trails. There wasn’t too many options to get low enough gearing with a 1x9 back in 2013, but this setup has been great 😊
Excellent videos
Thanks, great to hear! 😊🙏
Another great video 👍
I just bought a fat bike to take the local trails when it snows. Awesome job, thank you for the inspiration.
Cool, happy riding! 😊👍
Например в Сибири сталкиваемся с теми же сложностями, очень много снега, не проехать.
Another fantastic video 👍👍👍👍
Glad you liked it, really appreciate the feedback! 😊🙏
Oh boy, my year revolves around the hope of a rideable crust, white magic as my friend and I call it.
Had a few years with decent conditions here in northern Ontario, Canada.
Sometimes the sun beats the surface to a course texture and it sure makes for heavy pedaling resistance!
Heaven is when it's smooth with a few centimeters of powder on top.
Yes, that crust can be pretty elusive at times. This year, we have little snow and the roads and trails have been one big ice rink for two months, but it’s slightly better in the mountains, so we might get lucky after all 😊 Thanks for commenting! 😊
LoveIt
Great vid , sweet ride
Thanks, glad you liked the movie! 😊🙏
This has to be somewhere in the Nordics, nature looks so familiar!
Yes, southeastern part of Norway 😊
Great movie. Greetings from the Polish trails.
Thanks, happy to hear you liked the movie! 😊🙏
Super cool video. Great channel, just subbed.
Thanks for the sub and comment, really appreciated! 😊🙏
Very nice!
Thanks, Peter! 😊🙏
Nice Video
Can i ask what chainring and maybe cover you use on the yellow Surly? It´s a middleburn crank or not?
Many thanks.
Thanks! You’re right about the crank, it’s a Middleburn crank with a RS7 Pro Trials guard with a 22 or 24T. Sort of a poor man’s 1x9, there weren’t that many options back in 2013/2014 when I built it 😄
Fatbikes are surprisingly competent for bikepacking. Thicker spokes and rims allow for more cargo, and those tires can really plow through sand and mud. Fatbikes' higher weight and slower speed also doesn't matter for bikepacking. Too bad spare parts and fitting accessories can be such a pain to find.
One question though. Why aren't you using mudguards?
I agree, fatbikes make for great bikepacking rigs! I tend to use the Pugsley for bikepacking on trails and believe fenders won’t perform particularly well for that sort of riding, but could be wrong. A seat bag and a frame bag do eliminate some of the spray onto the body though.
@@BackwoodsBikepacking speaking from personal experience, I find fenders almost essential on fatbikes. Big and grippy round profile tire throws mud all over the place, so even your legs get dirty and wet. It's particularly bad on the chain. After I installed a rear fender on my bike (proper metal kind, that goes all the way to front sprocket) I noticed significant chain life increase. Also I and my bags are dry now :D
Thinking of getting fenders when I get a setup ready to ride with our dog Banjo on a rear rack, but probably won’t use that bike for trail riding then. Do you have any recommendations with respect to fenders?
@@BackwoodsBikepacking I'd say avoid ones that mount on the seat post as they do nothing about legs and chain splatter. Choose ones that go all the way to front sprocket (the same kind you find on European city bicycles). But you should confirm that your frame can support this kind of fender first!
I don't really know about specific brads though. Fatbikes aren't really a thing here, so local shops have only basic parts for them. Have to order most of the parts and accessories from China. But I don't think that brands really matter when it comes to fenders in the first place.
Thanks! Fatbikes sure are slightly limited when it comes to fenders and racks 😊
From what I see in the pictures, your saddle is too low, the pedal shouldn't end up under the balls of the feet but a little further forward. Having a perfectly adjusted saddle is very important when riding such long distances. (Google translation)
You could definitely be right about my saddle position, though when I’m riding with platform pedals, I often vary my foot position on the pedals depending on the terrain and the intensity of riding. I also tend to ride with the saddle slightly lower in difficult snow or on technical terrain.
No one can tell what the perfect ride position is yes it recommend to put you're saddle a certain height you still end up what fits you the best
Great video as always , but i think background music is little too loud.
Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated! 😊🙏
@@BackwoodsBikepacking loved the story telling and loved the music too!
Thanks, glad you liked the movie! 😊🙏
This isn't a full loaded bike 😊
I more or less carried all my camping gear and food on the bike and had my camera gear in the backpack 😊
@@BackwoodsBikepackingok
silly video . just walk next time
I rode more than 70 kilometers to reach the top, so walking wasn’t quite an option. Of course I could have hiked to the top, but then I would have missed the great ride down. I can recommend adding a bit of silliness into life, it makes life much more fun 😉