The Bulletin fileMost fatbikes have no suspension and tires that are 3.8 inches wide.

MOUNT BACHELOR —

Bend’s newest bike craze looks to be, well, ginormous.

Fatbikes — mountain bikes with large, monster-truck-looking tires — have gradually moved from novelty ride to bike shop staple in the past few years. That growth looks to explode this winter when the Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA) begins grooming fatbike-specific trails at Wanoga Sno-park west of Bend. According to COTA, two loops totaling 8 to 11 miles are expected to be created in January or February. Crews have already cleared portions of the trails, which will not follow existing summer mountain bike routes.

“Fatbikes are a way to extend the riding season through the winter,” says Tristan Henry, a fatbike enthusiast who works at Hutch’s Bicycles in Bend. “They were first conceived as a way for cyclists to ride in places where traction was at a premium — sand and snow. But I can imagine them becoming pretty popular here in the peak season, during the top of summer. … These bikes can handle anything.”

With tires from 31/2 to 5 inches wide, fatbikes run roughshod over practically any and all terrain. Tire pressure can be as low as 5 or 6 pounds per square inch (psi) — mountain bikes are usually between 30 and 50 psi, and road bikes are typically between 80 and 120 psi — making travel over sand and snow not just possible but highly enjoyable.

“Perfect riding conditions (for fatbikes) is packed snow,” Henry says about winter riding. “Snow that’s already ridden on or snow that’s been snowshoed on.”

I like bikes — a lot — but had never been on a fatbike before this past weekend. Bulletin photographer Meg Roussos and I rented two big-wheeled beasts and headed to Dutchman Flat Sno-park near Mount Bachelor on Saturday. Slushy conditions made handling a bit of a challenge — riding a fatbike in snow when the temperature is above freezing is like trying to pedal in quicksand — but the beauty of a bicycle outing in the snow was undeniable.

Fatbike snow riding combines the best attributes of nordic skiing and mountain biking. Exploration, bike handling skills, solitude in the wilderness — they are all there with fatbike riding. And fatbikes are hardly limited to snowmobile trails.

The Oregon Dunes have become a favorite riding spot for cyclists on the coast, and on the same day Roussos and I trekked from Dutchman Flat to Todd Lake — we turned around at the Todd Lake day use area sign when conditions became especially slushy — a group of fatbikers stormed the trails at Horse Butte, east of Bend.

Of course, the beauty of fatbikes is their utility. The Swiss Army knife of bicycles a fatbike is made to tackle just about any condition imaginable.

“They’re a platform for exploration,” Henry adds. “Go find some fire roads and get lost.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0305; beastes@bendbulletin.com.