# Fat Tire or Narrow Tire?



## AOSTIRMOTOR01 (12 mo ago)

Fat tire and narrow tire have their own advantages and disadvantages, how should we choose? Here are some points for your reference.

Fat tire: The tire has large contact area with the ground, large friction force, strong grip on the ground, and stable riding on wet and slippery roads. But at the same time, because of its strong friction and heavy tires, it also consumes more electricity.

Narrow tires: Narrow tires are light in weight, less in friction and smaller in floor space, which saves more electricity than fat tires. However, the tread's contact area is small, and the grip is affected to some extent. When the road condition is bad or the slope and curvature are large, the riding will be unstable.

The above is the most basic difference between fat and narrow tires. If it were you, which one would you choose?


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## PierreR (May 17, 2012)

What you say here is not universally true. I ride a fat bike almost exclusively. The contact patch is indeed larger than a narrow tired bike but the pounds per square inch of contact is also lower. That translates to some conditions, particularly soft surfaces where the fat tire has more traction. On hard surfaces, the narrowr tire can often rule as the traction king.

All you have to do to prove it to yourself is go out with a narrow tired bike and a fat bike rounding a curve on pavement. Now hit either some peanut butter mud or and inch or two of slushy snow on the pavement and see which tire you like better.


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## Bonnie&Clyde (Sep 14, 2020)

Not really sure what the point or question is here but I built a Fat Tire E-bike because IMHO you get all the advantages of the fat tires with no drawbacks.


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## Bigwheel (Jan 12, 2004)

How deep is the ocean, true or false?


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## noapathy (Jun 24, 2008)

Bigwheel said:


> How deep is the ocean, true or false?


Seven, obviously.


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## DtEW (Jun 14, 2004)

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## bryanc (Aug 7, 2017)

AOSTIRMOTOR01 said:


> Fat tire and narrow tire have their own advantages and disadvantages, how should we choose? Here are some points for your reference.
> 
> Fat tire: The tire has large contact area with the ground, large friction force, strong grip on the ground, and stable riding on wet and slippery roads. But at the same time, because of its strong friction and heavy tires, it also consumes more electricity.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your question.


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## AOSTIRMOTOR01 (12 mo ago)

PierreR said:


> What you say here is not universally true. I ride a fat bike almost exclusively. The contact patch is indeed larger than a narrow tired bike but the pounds per square inch of contact is also lower. That translates to some conditions, particularly soft surfaces where the fat tire has more traction. On hard surfaces, the narrowr tire can often rule as the traction king.
> 
> All you have to do to prove it to yourself is go out with a narrow tired bike and a fat bike rounding a curve on pavement. Now hit either some peanut butter mud or and inch or two of slushy snow on the pavement and see which tire you like better.


Thank you very much for your advice and sharing. Different tires are suitable for different road surfaces, and how to choose the right tire is ultimately up to yourself.


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## AOSTIRMOTOR01 (12 mo ago)

Bonnie&Clyde said:


> Not really sure what the point or question is here but I built a Fat Tire E-bike because IMHO you get all the advantages of the fat tires with no drawbacks.
> View attachment 1971837
> View attachment 1971837


Wow! This looks great! The problem is that fat tires, while great, are not without their drawbacks, such as fat tires being bulkier than narrow tires.


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## AOSTIRMOTOR01 (12 mo ago)

bryanc said:


> Thank you for your question.


It's my honor to be able to help you.


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## natrat (Mar 20, 2008)

i put a teravail 29x2.8 plus tire on the front of my levo and it rocks, more stable, better compliance/grip, better ride. It's taller as well so slackens the geo just a bit


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## Monty219 (Oct 26, 2020)

noapathy said:


> Seven, obviously.


I thought it was 20,000 but i stand corrected.


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## AOSTIRMOTOR01 (12 mo ago)

natrat said:


> i put a teravail 29x2.8 plus tire on the front of my levo and it rocks, more stable, better compliance/grip, better ride. It's taller as well so slackens the geo just a bit


Thanks for sharing, this sounds great.


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## imtew (11 mo ago)

Bigwheel said:


> How deep is the ocean, true or false?


The answer is "42"


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