New Walmart Fat Tire Bike coming in a couple weeks

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I have a Beast and think it is a fun bike. You can't beat them for the money. Everyone I let ride it smiles after doing so. I think a rear electric motor would be great for these bikes. It would give a needed boost on the hills. That is my plan for my Beast.
 
Most of the reviews I've read on Fat Tire Bikes in the $500 to $600 range still has "most" Owners upgrading seats, brakes, pedals, derailleurs, etc., so why not start out with less money in the main Bike leaving even more extra $$$ to be spent on maybe even better upgrades....?????...the Dolomite in my opinion, still represents a great buy.....:thumbsup:
 
Jaxon said:
I have a Beast and think it is a fun bike. . I think a rear electric motor would be great for these bikes. It would give a needed boost on the hills. That is my plan for my Beast.
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There are electrified beasts on ebay. Hum, 50 pound bike, add another 20, 35 pounds for the motor and battery pack. I think you won't be doing much pedaling. And what to do for brakes? Nope, the Dolomite would be a far better choice for electric assist as you would still have at least 1 disc brake, perhaps 2 if you get a electric hub motor with disc capacity.

They sell electric hubs tailored to specific wheel diameters. The overall diameter of a fat wheel is quite a bit larger so you would be getting a higher top end speed while losing low end acceleration. Yep, good brakes are a must.

What about front or rear electric hub? Why not both! All wheel drive! Wicked. Just watch out for those black ice patches.
 
DJ Bill said:
Ditto for me.
Funny thing is if they actually stocked them in the stores instead of the usual garbage selection of the same ten bikes they have hundreds of they might sell some more.
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Yeah but then they'd still be stuck with the usual garbage selection of the same ten bikes they have hundreds of. ;)
 
ilikebikes said:
Yeah but then they'd still be stuck with the usual garbage selection of the same ten bikes they have hundreds of. ;)
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I'd bet that most walmart shoppers never visit the wally website. I mean my local wally has some 100 bikes (many duplicates) on display and the website has many thousands of different models listed. I think wally would selll many times more beasts to impulse shoppers if they were right here on the show room floor, not in the racks they won't fit in anyhow. Wow, Whoa, "look at dem tires" "I gotta git me one" "How you going to get it home hubby?" if you don't drive a van or pickup. "I'll have to come back with my pickup driving in law". I think a 20" fat coaster would be a big hit there too. Why not buy your kid a bike that weighs as much as the kid.
 
skuuter said:
Most of the reviews I've read on Fat Tire Bikes in the $500 to $600 range still has "most" Owners upgrading seats, brakes, pedals, derailleurs, etc., so why not start out with less money in the main Bike leaving even more extra $$$ to be spent on maybe even better upgrades....?????...the Dolomite in my opinion, still represents a great buy.....:thumbsup:
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I consider saddles, grips, pedals, etc as an upgrade for me and not the bike. The cost might be factored into a budget I have set for a bike, but I usually save the original parts for when I might sell the bike and move those upgraded parts to another bike.

I just hate buying a bike and needing to upgrade core components just to make it function well or address durability issues.
 
rickpaulos said:
There are electrified beasts on ebay. Hum, 50 pound bike, add another 20, 35 pounds for the motor and battery pack. I think you won't be doing much pedaling. And what to do for brakes? Nope, the Dolomite would be a far better choice for electric assist as you would still have at least 1 disc brake, perhaps 2 if you get a electric hub motor with disc capacity.

They sell electric hubs tailored to specific wheel diameters. The overall diameter of a fat wheel is quite a bit larger so you would be getting a higher top end speed while losing low end acceleration. Yep, good brakes are a must.

What about front or rear electric hub? Why not both! All wheel drive! Wicked. Just watch out for those black ice patches.
Click to expand...

The hub motors I am looking at have disc brakes on them. They are from Hi-Power electric cycles. Lots of power to get you up the hill. I am sure I can change out the front hub to a disc brake hub too. I have seen 2 wheel electric fat bikes too. Here is a pic of it.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/252764597808953180/

Here is Felt's Electric Fat bike toward the end of the video.
 
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Abit of sweet talking and email exchanging with Walmart, and a very happy guy ordered a 2nd Dolomite last night. For whatever reason, it would not allow me to order more than 1, and I was told over the phone there was only 1 left in stock, but the website does appear to show they have more instock, or expected.
 
Got my Mongoose Dolomite yesterday...assembled it, rode it, back on repair stand for fine tuning, rode it to work today using a combo route of asphalt, dirt (mud), grass, and gravel. I added a Brooks B-17 Saddle, Lizard Skin Clamp-on Grips, Monster Sealed Bearing Pedals, Alloy Quick Release Seat Post Clamp.....I have a Flat Alloy Handlebar, and Alloy Seat Post ordered. Everything went together and adjusted fine except for the Brake Rotors...both were warped, especially the Rear. After straightening the Rotors, and adjusting the Calipers, the Brakes work well. The trouble with the Brakes (...lots of Folks complaining about poor Brakes ) is there needs to be more material in the webbing between the hub flange and actual disc section....They flex excessively...I haven't done actual measurements yet, but the diameter, thickness and 6 bolt pattern look the same as the Discs on several Mountain Bikes I have sitting around. These have much more material in the webbing, and don't have the flex...possible changeover in the future.....This Bike definitely has a HUGE FUN FACTOR attached to it, and draws crowds...I'll post Pics soon.....I have some posted already on the Facebook Mongoose Fat Tire Forum.......:thumbsup::113:
 
rickpaulos said:
There are electrified beasts on ebay. Hum, 50 pound bike, add another 20, 35 pounds for the motor and battery pack. I think you won't be doing much pedaling. And what to do for brakes? Nope, the Dolomite would be a far better choice for electric assist as you would still have at least 1 disc brake, perhaps 2 if you get a electric hub motor with disc capacity.

They sell electric hubs tailored to specific wheel diameters. The overall diameter of a fat wheel is quite a bit larger so you would be getting a higher top end speed while losing low end acceleration. Yep, good brakes are a must.

What about front or rear electric hub? Why not both! All wheel drive! Wicked. Just watch out for those black ice patches.
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I don't get this? Why would anyone put a motor on a bike? If you don't want to pedal buy a scooter! or a moped! or a motocycle! The whole "I put a motor on my bike" always sounded a bit hickified to me.
 
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ilikebikes said:
I don't get this? Why would anyone put a motor on a bike? If you don't want to pedal buy a **** scooter! or a moped! or a motocycle! The whole "I put a motor on my bike" always sounded a bit hickified to me.
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There's a difference these days in motors. One option is the electric 2 stroke gas motors that tend to make the bike more of a scooter and then there are the electric assist motors that basically help you along when you hit inclines or other hard to pedal environments. These are cool in the fact that they keep your pedal resistance the same at all times so that you can go farther with less struggle.

Felt is launching an electric fat bike with a Bosch motor that's pretty awesome.

z2.jpg
 
Don't even want to know what the pricetag on that is. Guessing $3k+

The electric pedal assisted motors are really cool.
My old man got a nice kit, made a custom battery array with a controller. I want to say somewhere in the $700 range, and slapped it on an older Specialized MTB.

It cruises around 25-35MPH and has about a 100 mile range.

I've been trying to convince him that hes trying too hard to upgrade a mid 90 steel framed bike and that his setup would be much better served with fatter tires.

I would have gotten another Dolomite for him if they would have pricematched me a 3rd, but apparently they were short on stock. I think once he goes out for a ride on one of these, he'll change his tune(and hopefully his bike)
 
yeah, I always need the exercise so no motors for me.
But why do it? I can think of a few reasons:
1: lost the drivers license so they can't legally buy or own a vehicle that needs to be registered.
2: like to tinker. Buying a bolt on kit is cheap and easy to install. You don't have to reinvent what was done over 100 years ago.
3: too lazy to walk.
4: waking is too slow.
5: police tend to ignore the quasi-legality of motorized bicycles.
6: can't afford to own a car, pay for gas, insurance, taxes, storage, repairs, etc.
7: Don't want to have to work to afford the car to get you to work to make money to pay for the car that gets you to work to ....
8: significantly reduces the amount of gas you buy so you significantly reduce the amount of money you are sending to mideast terrorist countries.
9: greatly reduce amount of air pollution. Well on long term basis. Easy to drive a car 15k per year but most motorized bikes probably won't reach 3k per year.
10: Don't want to support the most profitable companies on the planet by buying endless gasoline. Exon, Shell, BP etc.

I owned a moped. It was great for commuting to work when it was 100F out. Cool and relatively sweat free way of getting to work that summer.

I own a vintage motor cycle. It will be going up for sale this spring. Riding a bicycle is easier than wrestling that heavy machine out and getting it to start. The cagers drive me nuts, always tailgating me. Grrrrr. They will just blow by me when I'm on a bicycle but they won't pass a motorcycle. I have mirrors on the motor cycle so I can see them and they are always 10 feet off my rear no matter what the speed is.
 
I was on Bikes Direct's facebook page over the weekend and see they are taking pre-orders on their new cheaper fat bikes. With the Dolomite up to $350, seems this might be a better option for those who planned to drop a few bikes upgrading their wally-fat:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/gravity/fat-bikes/fat-bikes-bullseye-monster.htm

Better components, lighter, and available in multiple sizes are 3 good reasons to me to spend an extra $150. I am interested in their upcoming Motobecane Boris X5 for $599.

In any case, it is nice to see more options in and around the $500 range for those of us not willing or able to drop $1500+ for a fat bike.
 
the_undecider said:
I was on Bikes Direct's facebook page over the weekend and see they are taking pre-orders on their new cheaper fat bikes. With the Dolomite up to $350, seems this might be a better option for those who planned to drop a few bikes upgrading their wally-fat:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/gravity/fat-bikes/fat-bikes-bullseye-monster.htm

Better components, lighter, and available in multiple sizes are 3 good reasons to me to spend an extra $150. I am interested in their upcoming Motobecane Boris X5 for $599.

In any case, it is nice to see more options in and around the $500 range for those of us not willing or able to drop $1500+ for a fat bike.
Click to expand...

Might as well admit it, I fell for a pre-order Motobecane fattie on that site yesterday. Supposed to ship the first week of May. I really like the Dolomite that I rode Sat. (see quick video I posted), but I have the same feeling as you do. Lots more gears, everything a lot lighter. Tires spec'd to weigh about 3.5 lbs. drilled rims. The components are a long way from high end, but are probably at the level I would have used to upgrade a Dolomite.

Anybody interested in a real nice Blue Beast with upgrades DFW local only? (yeah, I popped on a second beast last week-end when Dolomite went up to 350).
 
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Rat Rod said:
So when you rode the Dolomite over the weekend, did you think, man, this is much better than the Beast?
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Yes, it's a different bike. The weight and the tires still give it that smooth cadillac feel, but the low bars and the hand brakes remind me more of a MTB or a hybrid. Just my thoughts.
 

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