Fatbike Zeitgeist

Winter is almost here; the fatbike craze is in full effect.
Looks like these weird balloon tired bikes are catching on.

4 new carbon frames so your tongue won't stick to your bike when you get lonely on those long rides...

But they don't come cheap:

Fatback Corvus $2000 ($2000 for pre-order then jumps to $2300 for frameset)



Borealis Yampa $2249 (frameset)



9:Zero:7 Whiteout $2299

Salsa Beargrease $2600 (frame/fork/hubs)

38 Frameworks Hogback: $2600 frameset (Frame Made in USA)

A good read on carbon frame origins: Here

Spring Weightless Plan for Moonlander

Spring is the perfect time to adopt a fad crash-diet or "cleanse" to shed those unsightly winter pounds from around one's midsection.   But since I have grown quite comfortable with my steady intake of dark beer, pizza, and ice cream, I won't be chugging lemon juice-cayenne pepper-maple syrup anytime soon.  Instead, like a controlling boyfriend, my focus has turned to encouraging rapid weightloss from the object of my affection, the Surly Moonlander.

My Moonlander rolled off the showroom floor at a portly 38+ pounds; and after getting burned by the fat-bike racerboy set on their sub-30 pound titanium Fatbacks this winter, the seeds of carbon-envy and weight-weenie dogma were planted.  A cheapo digital scale from Costco and a few hundred dollars burning a hole in my pocket was all I needed to begin the project.

The internet will tell you that one pound of rotating mass is equivalent to two pounds of static mass,  so I first turned my attention to the Clownshoes.

I purged the heavy rubber Surly rim strips in place of light-weight and fashion forward orange ribbon (instantly saving 200+ grams), and opted for a pair of standard 26" downhill tubes cutting another several hundred grams off the thick Surly tubes that are better suited for a motorcycle.

Many fat-bikers are hot for tubeless setups these days, but seeing Stans fluid cause an instant freezer burn after spewing into a buddy's skin at -20 F this winter (Stans won't freeze) when his tubeless tire broke the bead seat, I am disinclined to accept that risk for the inherent benefits of a tubeless fat-bike (maybe when I move back to the desert). 

A titanium XTR cassette and Formula floating rotor complete the rear weight loss plan and add an additional bling factor. 

Next was the cockpit: Carbon handlebars are (in my opinion) the top 3 best aftermarket additions to a fat bike. In addition to saving weight and looking sexy, carbon handlebars do not conduct thermal energy in the same way as their metallic counterparts.   Carbon's poor thermal conductivity results in warmer hands, as the bar will not hold the cold of the frigid winter air, nor will it transmit the cold of your exposed handlebar midsection into your grip area.  Your hands maintain a comfortable temperature  for longer.  Thermal Conductivity - k - W/(m.K) of Aluminum rates at 205 k, whereas Carbon and Fiberglass rate at 1.7 k and 0.04 k respectively (actual thermal conductivity of carbon-fiber in bicycle handlebars will vary based on composite resins used, but assume the ballpark between 0.04 k and 1.7 k)  This mindset of considering the impact of thermal conductivity of parts can be applied to peddles too, which was the driving force behind my decision to ditch my aluminium platforms for a set of cheap nylon (0.25 k) BMX peddles, and my feet stay much warmer now.

Here is a table for geeking out on.   Read more here, here, or here.  Looking in to this further would make for a great high-school science project; but all I know is my hands feel better on carbon and that makes me a believer.

Thermal Conductivity - k - W/(m.K)
Material/Substance	Temperature - oC
	25	125	225
Acetone	0.16
Acetylene (gas)	0.018
Acrylic	0.2
Air, athmosphere (gas)	0.024
Alcohol	0.17
Aluminum	205	215	250
Aluminum Oxide	30
Ammonia (gas)	0.022
Antimony	18.5
Apple (85.6% moisture)	0.39
Argon (gas)	0.016
Asbestos-cement board	0.744
Asbestos-cement sheets	0.166
Asbestos-cement	2.07
Asbestos, loosely packed	0.15
Asbestos mill board	0.14
Asphalt	0.75
Balsa wood	0.048
Bitumen	0.17
Bitumen/felt layers	0.5
Beef, lean (78.9 % moisture)	0.43 - 0.48
Benzene	0.16
Beryllium	218
Bitumen	0.17
Blast furnace gas (gas)	0.02
Brass	109
Breeze block	0.10 - 0.20
Brick dense	1.31
Brickwork, common	0.6 -1.0
Brickwork, dense	1.6
Butter (15% moisture content)	0.20
Cadmium	92
Calcium silicate	0.05
Carbon	1.7
Carbon dioxide (gas)	0.0146
Cement, portland	0.29
Cement, mortar	1.73
Chalk	0. 09
Chlorine (gas)	0.0081
Chrome Nickel Steel (18% Cr, 8 % Ni)	16.3
Clay, dry to moist	0.15 - 1.8
Clay, saturated	0.6 - 2.5
Cobalt	69
Cod (83% moisture content)	0.54
Concrete, lightweight	0.1 - 0.3
Concrete, medium	0.4 - 0.7
Concrete, dense	1.0 - 1.8
Concrete, stone	1.7
Constantan	22
Copper	401	400	398
Corian (ceramic filled)	1.06
Corkboard	0.043
Cork, regranulated	0.044
Cork	0.07
Cotton wool	0.029
Carbon Steel	54	51	47
Cotton Wool insulation	0.029
Diatomaceous earth (Sil-o-cel)	0.06
Diatomite	0.12
Earth, dry	1.5
Engine Oil	0.15
Ether	0.14
Ethylene (gas)	0.017
Epoxy	0.35
Ethylene glycol	0.25
Felt insulation	0.04
Fibreglass	0.04
Fibre insulating board	0.048
Fibre hardboard	0.2
Fireclay brick 500oC	1.4
Foam glass	0.045
Freon 12 (gas)	0.073
Freon (liquid)	0.07
Gasoline	0.15
Glass	1.05
Glass, Pearls, dry	0.18
Glass, Pearls, saturated	0.76
Glass, window	0.96
Glass, wool Insulation	0.04
Glycerol	0.28
Gold	310	312	310
Granite	1.7 - 4.0
Gravel	0.7
Gypsum board	0.17
Hairfelt	0.05
Hardboard high density	0.15
Hardwoods (oak, maple..)	0.16
Helium (gas)	0.142
Honey (12.6% moisture content)	0.5
Hydrochlor acid (gas)	0.013
Hydrogen (gas)	0.168
Hydrogen sulfide (gas)	0.013
Ice (0oC, 32oF)	2.18
Insulation materials	0.035 - 0.16
Iridium	147
Iron	80	68	60
Iron, wrought	59
Iron, cast	55
Kapok insulation	0.034
Kerosene	0.15
Krypton (gas)	0.0088
Lead Pb	35
Leather, dry	0.14
Limestone	1.26 - 1.33
Magnesia insulation (85%)	0.07
Magnesite	4.15
Magnesium	156
Marble	2.08 - 2.94
Mercury	8
Methane (gas)	0.030
Methanol	0.21
Mica	0.71
Milk	0.53
Mineral wool insulation materials, wool blankets ..	0.04
Molybdenum	138
Monel	26
Neon (gas)	0.046
Nickel	91
Nitrogen (gas)	0.024
Nylon 6	0.25
Oil, machine lubricating SAE 50	0.15
Olive oil	0.17
Oxygen (gas)	0.024
Paper	0.05
Paraffin Wax	0.25
Perlite, atmospheric pressure	0.031
Perlite, vacuum	0.00137
Plaster light	0.2
Plaster, metal lath	0.47
Plaster, sand	0.71
Plaster, wood lath	0.28
Plastics, foamed (insulation materials)	0.03
Platinum	70	71	72
Plywood	0.13
Polyethylene HD	0.42 - 0.51
Polypropylene	0.1 - 0.22
Polystyrene, expanded	0.03
Polystyrol	0.043
Polyurethane foam	0.03
Porcelain	1.5
Potato, raw flesh	0.55
Propane (gas)	0.015
PTFE	0.25
PVC	0.19
Pyrex glass	1.005
Quartz mineral	3
Rock, solid	2 - 7
Rock, porous volcanic (Tuff)	0.5 - 2.5
Rock Wool insulation	0.045
Rubber, natural	0.13
Salmon (73% moisture content)	0.50
Sand, dry	0.15 - 0.25
Sand, moist	0.25 - 2
Sand, saturated	2 - 4
Sandstone	1.7
Sawdust	0.08
Sheeps wool	0.039
Silica aerogel	0.02
Silicone oil	0.1
Silver	429
Slag wool	0.042
Slate	2.01
Snow (temp < 0oC)	0.05 - 0.25
Sodium	84
Softwoods (fir, pine ..)	0.12
Soil, with organic matter	0.15 - 2
Soil, saturated	0.6 - 4
Steel, Carbon 1%	43
Stainless Steel	16	17	19
Straw slab insulation, compressed	0.09
Styrofoam	0.033
Sulfur dioxide (gas)	0.0086
Sugars	0.087 - 0.22
Timber	0.14
Tin Sn	67
Zinc Zn	116
Urethane foam	0.021
Vermiculite	0.058
Vinyl ester	0.25
Water	0.58
Water, vapor (steam)		0.016
Wheat flour	0.45
Wood across the grain, white pine	0.12
Wood across the grain, balsa	0.055
Wood across the grain, yellow pine, timber	0.147
Wood, oak	0.17
Wool, felt	0.07
Wood wool, slab	0.1 - 0.15
Xenon (gas)	0.0051

• 1 W/(m.K) = 1 W/(m.^oC) = 0.85984 kcal/(h.m.^oC) = 0.5779 Btu/(ft.h.^oF) = 0.048 Btu/(in.h.^oF)

In my quest for further enlightenment I also ditched several other attachments: front rack, bar ends, seat-post bag, frame bag, heavy all-mountain saddle, and my trusty King Cage Mud Flask, because as a weight weenie disciple I am more concerned with performance than utility.  

All in all, with carbon seatpost, ti-railed saddle, fomula R1 brakes, and all other aforementioned goodies, the Moonie weighed in at a respectable 32.32 lbs.

 I had lost roughly 5 lbs, but when factoring in the 2 lbs of rolling weight = 4  lbs of dead weight, gained about 9 lbs worth of  performance .