Norco Bigfoot VLT 1 or 2 - fat tire e-bike recommendations

[NickJ]

Hello all, I reside in Alberta Canada and am thinking of purchasing the Norco Bigfoot VLT1 this winter and adding studded tires. I have read so many reader opinions that are for and against fat tire e-bikes and find many contradictory posts. The snow is rarely powdery here unless it's very cold. Most of the time when it snows, winds harden the snow. When sidewalks and pathways are cleared, icy sections are the greatest hazard for winter biking

Can you share your experiences riding and commuting on mostly drive, paved pathways with patches of ice? Would a fat tire e-bike with studs be a good idea? Thanks

 

[Jackware]

Not wanting to push you away from this forum but I'm guessing few members will have the necessary experience of the conditions you have out there. If you check out the Fatbike section of the MTBR forum the question of winter tyres (sorry tires ), has been covered extensively by people who ride and race in Canada during the winter. There's often heated debates about the type of snow and how low a pressure a fat tire can be inflated.

Fat bikes

forums.mtbr.com

Come back soon

 

[geardoc]

I've got last year's VLT1 with studded tires. I've taken it mostly on dirt roads, trails, and snow covered tracks. It's a lot of fun. I wish it had rear suspension so I could ride it more in the warmer months. For commuting with some speed on pavement, the fat tires don't feel right. They sort of "self-steer" for lack of a better description, though I've not pumped them up higher than about 10psi. So, that could be just a tire pressure effect - I don't know. For paved commute, I'd use a regular or mountain (e) bike with studded tires. The only reason I'd use at fatbike is if I needed the extra floation, say on snow, or was going over some uncertain obstacles. For example, on leaf or snow covered trails, a regular mountain bike might get caught on something underneath, making you crash. A fatbike is more forgiving in this situation.

 

[F4Flyer]

Yeah, studded fat tires are the bomb, as they say! I use them and have for years or regular fat bikes and now an e-fatbike. I ride through icy stretches of pavement but that is easy for studded tires. Try riding on off-camber ice flows caused by daytime melt or steep frozen icy switchback where melt has occurred. yup- I do that every year. I use studded 45NRTH Wratchchild tires or the Terrene Cake Eaters for less extreme conditions. I have also used studded Terrene Wazias. Studs will save you from going to the hospital. However, don't get too cocky and seek out ice. Slow down and keep the bike perfectly straight as possible

 

[Will I Am]

Just getting busy screwing my never yet ridden Bigfoot VLT1 tires…..but we’re undecided if #6 or #8 would be better. Need to get some experience with this whole thing but gotta start somewhere I guess….we’ll shotgun it…..pretty much the same way as we’ve walked thru life to this point.

 

[NickJ]

I bought studded tires. Never seen actual screws used - it’s the cheaper option and probably more traction. Please let us know how they work out.

 

[Will I Am]

Feedback is this is the answer. Other locals got me on to it and are having good results. Traditional exterior studs constantly eject and need to be continually replaced. Go SS for best results IMO.

 

[geardoc]

Big difference between studs and screws you show with the sharp points sticking out. With studs, the tires grip the ice but can slide at higher speeds. With screws, the tires are like crampons - no sliding and lets you ride steep ice sheets. But the screws get dull if you ride pavement or rocky terrain.

 

[geardoc]

That trail looks awesome. I'd probably spend a lot of time head first in the deep show.

I'm curious how the screws will work out. The pan head screws on my narrow 26" tires had 3/8" long shafts with 3.6mm diameter. Looks like that would make them in between #6 and #8, ie American Screw Sizes | BS Stainless Limited
These screws stuck out about 3mm from the tire knobs, which was sufficient to provide good traction on ice. But, I had to keep the tire inflated to sufficient pressure so they'd bite into the ice. On a fatbike, this might be a bigger problem with low pressures, but likely offset by the much larger contact patch. One compromise would be to use the shorter screws in the center lugs and longer screws at the edges, which would help in cornering and steep sidehills.