New Walmart Fat Tire Bike coming in a couple weeks

[fatbikebuildee]

Time for some family rides!

definitely need a motor for this friggin awesome rig.. let me suggest just a 36 volt hub motor built onto the kids single 20 inch wheel. you could mount battery and controller to the attached bike only and still have your fatbike. or just pimp out your fatbike with the same kit. a 36 volt will get you high 20s mph. 48 volt 30-32, 72 volt 45-50. a cheap Chinese kit http://www.ebay.com/itm/MAGIC-PIE-3...Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3ce82a2894 will suit just fine if you aren't gonna ride it hard. but if you wanna go fast I suggest spending the money on good stuff. trust me it lasts longer and holds up better with thicker gauge wires and better connections. also if you are running a fatbike rim with 32 spokes you will have to buy a 36 hole fat bike rim. electric rider.com will sell a set of spokes and nipples for about 40 shipped so you can build up a wheel, your local bikeshop should charge about 50 to 75 bucks to lace motor. get extra long nipples and if I remember right the spokes are 166 mm. hope this helps you get started on an electric bike build in the future......oh if you decide to use kids attachment only make sure to get hub motor in 20 inch rim.

 

[blown240]

Thanks for the info! I would probably get the 26" wheel and use it in the front of the fat bike, or maybe the rear of a non fat bike.

Too bad there isn't a kit thats around $400. but thats asking too much Im sure.

 

[fatbikebuildee]

Thanks for the info! I would probably get the 26" wheel and use it in the front of the fat bike, or maybe the rear of a non fat bike. they do have kits that are around 4 to 500 but they contain nylon gears that wear. You want a hubless gearless motor for maximum efficiency. A 48 volt 1000 watt motor is about 140-180 by itself, then a lyen 9 fet controller is i think 119, all you will need is a 30 dollar tgrottle you can order from lyen when you get a controller. Next is a battery and theres alot to chose from. I rrcommend at least 10 amp hour battery. You can cheapen this setup a litle more by getting a 36 volt motor and 36 volt battery

Too bad there isn't a kit thats around $400. but thats asking too much Im sure.

 

[KCvale]

I packed my Dolomite with electric power as well.
54V Lithium to Kelly programmable controller to 1280W BLDC freewheel output motor to a special dual sprocket freewheel front crank so both the pedals and motor can use the 7-speed rear wheel but interfere with each other.

Gears change everything, and quiet is nice, especially when I breeze past a gaggle of Spandex bent over huffing and puffing up a hill sitting up straight on a monster bicycle ;-}

I recommend a disc rotor change to some 204mm (8") rotors, at least in the front, they usually come with the stand-offs to raise the caliper too.

I don't care for the tires myself, to knobby for comfortable road use unless you want to run them real low, like 15psi, and the seat is tiny POS which I promptly replaced with fat spring and gel seat, but otherwise not bad for the money.

 

[Cuttlefish]

Those E-Dolomites look great.
The first Dolomite has landed in Oz...with a magical price tag to match.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MONGOOSE...666408?pt=AU_Cycling_New_&hash=item4d25715628

 

[fatbikebuildee]

I packed my Dolomite with electric power as well.
54V Lithium to Kelly programmable controller to 1280W BLDC freewheel output motor to a special dual sprocket freewheel front crank so both the pedals and motor can use the 7-speed rear wheel but interfere with each other.

Gears change everything, and quiet is nice, especially when I breeze past a gaggle of Spandex bent over huffing and puffing up a hill sitting up straight on a monster bicycle ;-}

I recommend a disc rotor change to some 204mm (8") rotors, at least in the front, they usually come with the stand-offs to raise the caliper too.

I don't care for the tires myself, to knobby for comfortable road use unless you want to run them real low, like 15psi, and the seat is tiny POS which I promptly replaced with fat spring and gel seat, but otherwise not bad for the money.

. Asap change the tires. For street riding more get vee rubber speedster, if you do more off road go with the vee rubber vee 8. You will lose 10 lbs just changing tires. Other than that really nice build i might try a mid drive build soon.

 

[fatbikebuildee]

I packed my Dolomite with electric power as well.
54V Lithium to Kelly programmable controller to 1280W BLDC freewheel output motor to a special dual sprocket freewheel front crank so both the pedals and motor can use the 7-speed rear wheel but interfere with each other.

Gears change everything, and quiet is nice, especially when I breeze past a gaggle of Spandex bent over huffing and puffing up a hill sitting up straight on a monster bicycle ;-}

I recommend a disc rotor change to some 204mm (8") rotors, at least in the front, they usually come with the stand-offs to raise the caliper too.

I don't care for the tires myself, to knobby for comfortable road use unless you want to run them real low, like 15psi, and the seat is tiny POS which I promptly replaced with fat spring and gel seat, but otherwise not bad for the money.

Also if you change rear disc to anything bigger than stock make sure to check brake disc caliper bolts frequently because the extra weight and speed the bike achieves puts more stress on it.

 

[KCvale]

Thanks FBB, I have gotten pretty good at mid mount shifting bicycles, I build them with 2 and 4-stroke gas engines as well as electrics and there is one crucial common part, the pedal cranks.

To use the bike gears the motor sprocket has to tie to the pedal sprocket, which from the factory is placed to work with the back wheel, hence why it is crucial on a fat tire bike.

The issue is the pedals...
If a motor is turning the pedal sprocket your pedals will spin along with it at food processor speeds ;-}

The 'magic part' is Freewheel bearing with mounts for 2 sprockets and a special pedal arm to isolate the 2 spinning sprockets from the pedal crank shaft and arms like a ratchet wrench.

No skimping on that bearing as it take all the force, a good pedal/bearing set is ~$100.

Also if you change rear disc to anything bigger than stock make sure to check brake disc caliper bolts frequently because the extra weight and speed the bike achieves puts more stress on it.

I think just a larger front disc would be fine.

I am not keeping that electric, I have a Sun Crusher 7-speed with performance 66cc 2-stroke for shop runs and a little fun.

That has the perfect tires for most uses here in the desert.

 

[La Zona Imagery]

Hey guys, just wanted to drop in to say that skinnier 26 x 2.35 tires fit nicely on the 4 inch wide Beast rims. So if you want to go with a "stretched out"street look, you can use skinnier tires. Here is my street cruiser using Beast rims with skinnier tires:

 

[blown240]

Nice 65!

 

[Rat Rod]

It looks like Walmart is listing several new models now.

http://www.walmart.com/search/?quer...ontentZone4+|+undefined+|+1+|+LN-FatTireBikes

 

[LukeTheJoker]

It looks like Walmart is listing several new models now.

http://www.walmart.com/search/?query=fat tire &povid=1081404 | contentZone4 | undefined | 1 | LN-FatTireBikes

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That Thruster Kodiak is pretty cool, needs wider bars though...

Luke.

 

[jlr551CFD]

Those bars don't even look real!!!

 

[the_undecider]

That Kawasaki is pricey at $487. You'd do better with one of the $499 Gravity fat bikes from bikesdirect.

 

[patman73]

i have never seen a fat bike in any walmart near ME !

 

[kingfish254]

i have never seen a fat bike in any walmart near ME !

I finally saw 3-4 Beasts a couple of months ago at my Walmart, but they didn't last long.

 

[rickpaulos]

I think the main reason you don't see fat bikes in most wallymarts is because they won't fit in their display racks. They would need to be stood up using their kickstands. That leaves them ready to fall over and hurt someone. Given how many times they get sued for stuff falling, slipping on wet floors or ice in the parking lots, etc, my guess is they are being slightly proactive in preventing injuries.

They may also view fat bikes as a fad so why pay for a specialty display rack (times 3000 stores). Those displays could cost more than all the profits they would ever make from fat bikes.

Judging by last year's Beast sales, I suspect they are selling them via wallymart dot com as fast as they can get them so why spend the extra money assembling them and making room (or display stands) for them on the show room floors. Maybe when sales slow down, they will go for the impulse buyers.

I wonder if the individual store managers have any say about what they get in stock.

We did see the stores near BurningMan had a ton of them last year. Obviously trying to capitalize on the local market. How did those sell at that store. If they couldn't sell to that crowd, I can't imagine any other store selling them well. The Beast would be a great bike for the desert. No gears to get ground up by the sand, no hills, fat tires would not cut in to the dirt. Pretty simple to operate for those not in their right minds.

ToysRUs does have their versions on display but my local store just has them on the kickstands on the shelf. They removed some of the standard wheel supports to make room.

 

[patman73]

i would love a 3" fat tire beach cruiser , the beast seams to heavy & big for me

 

[DeuceWheeler]

I would buy from bikes direct before walmart, BD has some awesome cruisers and some insane off road MTB fattys.
I had the Dolomite, it was decent, but didn't blow my socks off.
I bought Boris X7 from BD for $699 and I love it.

Here is their Entry Level Gravity Monster 16 speed MTB 4'' tire fat bike for $499

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/fat-bikes.htm
They have singlespeed 3.5'' tire cruiser fattys from $399 and 3 speed IGH for $499

 

[MtnBikinPilot]

I would buy from bikes direct before walmart, BD has some awesome cruisers and some insane off road MTB fattys.
I had the Dolomite, it was decent, but didn't blow my socks off.
I bought Boris X7 from BD for $699 and I love it.

Here is their Entry Level Gravity Monster 16 speed MTB 4'' tire fat bike for $499

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/fat-bikes.htm
They have singlespeed 3.5'' tire cruiser fattys from $399 and 3 speed IGH for $499

As a Mtn Bike I can see the deficiencies in the Dolomite BUT I converted mine to a cruiser (added apes/bmx style stem/laid back seat post/made twist shift into suicide shifter and routed brake cables thru the bars(done after pic)) for less the $300 total cost.