The FATSTER Bike
Light – Fast – Comfy – Simple
– Oversize ‘Boost’ Carbon Frame and Forks
– Hand Built ‘Light Bicycle’ 50mm Carbon Rim Wheels
– Sram GX/X01/XX1 Eagle Group set
– Hope Finishing Kit
– Chupacabra or WTB 3″ Tyres
– 180mm Rotors
Birth Weight = 9.6Kg
Price depending on specification – £1800 to £3500
Please get in touch for further information, commission a build, or to arrange a test ride. Or ask just ask me for advice if you are trying to build your own bike up and want to share some ideas… Bike building is good fun and pretty straightforward.
Fatster-Five in build….
Fatster-One in build and on test
So how did the ‘FATSTER’ come about…?
Well I had been given a Trek Stache to ride on back in spring 2016. Having loved riding the Chiru Pulse (a 29 XC bike) on long and fast rides I had a view that this 29er Plus idea was just a bit of a selling gimmick. However after taking the Stache out on several rides, my love of it increased. The way the low pressure, large volume tyres float over the terrain is amazing. It provides you with a grippy ‘magic carpet’ like ride. It turned me into a downhill hooligan again!
You could say; thats all well and good but what is it like on the road…?
Well in fact it is as good as any other 29er bike, possibly better!
So the Trek Stache became my bike of choice and some pretty long rides were pedalled:
The Yorkshire Dales 300
Southern Upland Way (350Km)
Trans Verdon (260Km)
It was hard to fault on any of them, the SRAM gears were precise and tough. However it did have a couple of ‘niggles’. It was pretty heavy at 13.0Kg and the 1 x 11 speed gearing would ‘spin-out’ a little too often.
——-X——
During the autumn of 2017, plans were hatching for two things…
Entering the Highland Trail 550 Group ride (aka race!)
Building up a custom lightweight 29er Plus bike
——-X——
So that’s how it all started…
I spent quite a lot of time researching frames and wheelsets and all the components.
It needed to super-tough, as I would be racing on it and anything that gets raced-on, gets a hammering. So quality and strength as well as low-weight were key drivers.
——-X——
Editor’s note:
The bike underwent testing in Winter 2018; several high mileage outings were undertaken. By the month of May the bike had done 1200Km, only one problem happened and that was a chain break. Chain breaks don’t happen often, but I was concerned about the 12 speed strength, as everything is ‘paired down’. I think it was a remote incident, as the chain was changed (X0 to GX as I preferred the solid pin of the GX chain). The Highland Trail 550 was then ridden and the bike did not miss a beat throughout, it was faultless and so pleasant to ride – it just ate the miles!
Fatster-One in Assynt Feb ’18
Fatsterbike.com 