Winter Fat Biking

Getting Started, Best Bets and Pitching In

By Josh Clevenstine

Prior to the 2020 winter I was one of the many riders who pretty much hung up the bike after autumn daylight savings did its damage. Once the snow was on the ground, I snowboarded until spring. I still love snowboarding every Saturday through the season – this has NOT changed. But I HATED not being on my bike for almost six months of the year and having to restart the conditioning cycle in the spring. Each year, I was getting more frustrated by the end of mountain biking season. By autumn of 2019, I was more bummed about biking season ending than I was stoked for snowboard season starting. Finally, I “caved,” bought lights, a fat tire mountain bike, and I have NEVER regretted it. Hello year-round mountain biking and goodbye off-season!

Fat Biking is an… odd… beast. You have to WANT the ride and you have to be stubborn. Many rides will have you grinning ear to ear blasting over the crisp frozen grippy snow. Each ride will be a little different based on the conditions, which can change mid-ride on you. Sometimes it’s just too warm out. If you find yourself sinking into soft snow and spinning your wheels barely getting anywhere, don’t keep going. Come back in a few hours or another day, when that wet soft snow has frozen and you can ride over it, not into it! There may be some rides you just don’t get to go on, it happens and it’s a bummer when it does. That’s when you have to remind yourself, it’s better to miss a ride or two in a warm spell, than miss months of riding without a fat bike!

Gear and Apparel – I don’t want to go too heavy here on what kind of fat bike to get. Any fatty is better than nothing. I love my ‘21 Trek Farley 7. It comes with everything you could need: 1x drivetrain, dropper, fork, hydraulic disc brakes, and stud-ready 4.5” tires. I added a second wheel set so I could easily swap from non-studded tires to studs. If possible, transport your bike in your vehicle – road salt is hard on bikes!

One of the toughest things to figure out is learning how to dress for the various levels of cold. Every person’s unique make up really shows in how they dress for winter riding. Some folks wear heavy winter jackets while only needing lightweight gloves and regular riding shoes. Others are the opposite. You’ve gotta find what works for you.

I don’t need a great deal of extra heavy layers on my upper body and legs. Even on the coldest days or nights my sleeves are rolled up and my forearms are exposed. I sweat heavily so as long as I’m moving my body tends to keep itself pretty warm. Two layers of good wool shirts make up my top half. I carry a rolled-up rain jacket on my pack in case of a mechanical issue; the jacket goes on while I tend to my bike so the cold wind doesn’t freeze my sweat and give me a bad time. On the bottom half I wear long jogging spandex and wool socks under my usual riding accoutrements. 

As with most fat bikers, my feet and hands are a challenge – both extremities get cold easily. On my hands I wear trigger finger mittens with glove liners underneath. The trigger finger mittens have treated leather on the outside to keep the wind and exterior moisture out. On cold days, I still put a warmer in each mitten between the mitt and my liner. Also key on this setup is that the layers/leather keep my sweaty hands from getting chilled by the wind. The trigger finger mittens are effective and allow me to brake, shift and operate my dropper while staying warm. I STRONGLY recommend this setup to others whose hands struggle in the cold. Some people go with bar mitts. These riders seem happy enough with their setup, but I can’t get my head around falling and potentially not being able to get my hands free as quick as possible.

On my feet, I wear winter clipless boots with toe warmers. Regarding clipless pedal life in winter, I envy riders who are used to riding flats. If you’re putting your feet down repeatedly in the snow, you will get a packed snow/ice buildup and eventually not be able to clip-in. To combat this, I carry a small Park Tool GSC-1 (gear clean brush) in my pocket and brush off my cleats. Prior to a ride I hit both my cleats and pedals with some WD-40 spray. It helps to try to put your foot down on a log or a rock when you take a water break, chat with riders, or for whatever other reason you may stop. 

On the top of my head, I wear a thin skull cap under my regular helmet. I have seen some folks wear their ski helmet. I see the merit in this, but I just get too warm. Similarly, I’ve seen riders wear ski goggles in the snow or on a bright day. 

If you’re sweating, you need to hydrate. Keeping your drinking water thawed can be tricky. I use a hydration pack with a Hydra Pak ArcticFusion hose/nozzle. This piece of equipment is about $20 and worth with every penny. Your water will freeze in a normal hydration pack setup – mostly in the nozzle/tube. Not only is this a bummer when you’re thirsty but carrying a full water pack for the whole ride is heavy and annoying. It can be easy to forget to drink in the cold weather, but your body still needs fluids and can still get dehydrated. Also, on the cold rides below 15 degrees, even with the ArcticFusion hose, the water can still freeze so you need to keep it moving in the system. 

Where to Ride – Gurney Lane, Rush Pond, Kalabus Perry, Daniels Road, Luther Forest, Pine Bush, Wheelerville, Scotts Cobble, Adirondack Rail Trail, and other trail networks all have some form of winter riding. Gurney, Rush, KP, and Luther are all machine-groomed by great volunteers. The grooming machines are a beast unto themselves that I haven’t been privy to, but I trust these guys when they say it’s not easy. At these networks, it’s important to make sure via word of mouth or checking online that the stewards have given the green light to ride the trails. 

I’m a part of Saratoga Mountain Bike Association’s volunteer team that manually tracks in the trails at Daniels Road State Forest. We’re very lucky to have a group of folks who, when the snow falls, get right out there to track-in the trails. Tracking is a non-glamorous undertaking where we ride, walk, fall, slide, curse, question our existence, snowshoe (last resort for die hard mountain bikers… but sometimes it comes to this), and wondering where everyone else is who rides after we work. Tracking won’t win you any Strava prizes but I challenge you to find a better workout that benefits the riding community. 

We don’t always enjoy tracking, but ultimately, we know that once the snow gets pressed in over the rugged Northeast tech, we’ll get a fast-flowing trail broken up by iconic SMBA boulders that is a pure joy to ride – hence the name, “The Snowlercoaster.” We are ALWAYS looking for help. You can reach out through the SMBA social media, contact me directly, or just go to Daniels to ride soon after you see snow! If you’re riding and see a trail that hasn’t been hit yet, hit it in both directions weaving in and out of your own tracks. If the snow is too deep to ride in, bring snowshoes. If a trail is tracked but is too narrow, then be a hero and widen it! That’s what we have to do – take initiative and just do it.

This season I added a rack to the back of my bike to strap on my snowshoes to better track in trails farther from the lot. No one told me to do this, I saw a need and went for it because it’ll help everyone have more fun at the end of the day. You do the same! Pitch in at SMBA or wherever you wind up riding. 

Keep a lookout for fat biking organized rides, races and events. Queensbury Parks and Recreation puts on the fifth annual Gurney Lane Fat Tire Bike Day with winter races and group rides for all ages on Sunday, January 28. The fun day features long (10M) and short (5M) races with awards, and a no drop intermediate group ride (30-45min) limited to 25 riders so pre-reg, and there will be some fat bike demos – sponsored by Grey Ghost Bicycles. The multisport day also has 5K Snowshoe Races on the trails, which is part of the Dion Snowshoes WMAC Race Series, with awards and snowshoe rentals available. Plus, there’s a playground and sledding area for kids, indoor heated bathrooms and warming area, huge outdoor pavilion to hangout in, and some great trails so come out to ride and have enjoy winter. The fundraiser supports Gurney Lane fat bike grooming. Register: bikereg.com. 

Other local events include the Wheelerville Fat Bike Festival and Saratoga Fat Bike Rally, with dates to be confirmed. On the snowy Tug Hill Plateau, Osceola Ski & Sport Resort has a Fat Tire Bike Race on Jan. 21; Winona Forest Recreation Association’s “SnoFatShu” Winter Duathlon is on Feb. 11; and their IdidaFat is March 3. SnoFatShu is a 3M snowshoe, 6M fatty, and 3M snowshoe, and IditaFat will feature 40K and 20K singletrack races/rides, and family-friendly 10K with doubletrack trails. 

Friends, here’s to a great winter riding season! 

Josh Clevenstine (josh.clevenstine@gmail.com) has a degree in journalism from SUNY Albany. He’s a trail/communications director for SMBA, a musician, snowboarder and year-round mountain biker. Find more on Instagram @josh.clevenstine, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube or joshclevenstine.com.