What a fuss the bike industry has made. With a huge marketing push, the sales managers have promoted fat bikes as the hottest thing since the invention of the mountain bike. I knew that these fat things existed, the Iditabike race in Alaska was always a household name - and due to the rough tracks, it was also clear that a racing hardtail had no place there.

Traumatic first encounter

My first real encounter with a fat bike was almost traumatic. In the inner city of Basel. At the streetcar stop on Barfüsser Platz, a gentleman rolls along. His bike was so pompous, oversized and simply fat (fat in the chubby sense, not a "fat!" à la casual). The bike seemed incomprehensibly out of place in this setting. The fatbike rider rolled with relish in front of the audience, the people waiting for the streetcar mutated into an involuntary target group: the no longer quite so youthful chubby bike rider peered into the crowd. Got off, stood next to the bike. And waited until the first passer-by approached him about the Ferris wheel.

Awareness of the mission required

So here's the thing: a fat bike rider must have a proper sense of mission. Because these bikes are by no means discreet, they even shout at the uninvolved and ignorant. It's a bit like having a baby: everyone looks, everyone wants to touch it, everyone has an opinion. That's not really my thing - well, babies are, but fat bikes aren't at all. But it's also a bit far-fetched to compare fat bikes with babies.

The little ones suffer

Well, the hype winter of 2013/2014 is over. The effect of the whole bubble: the iconic, small manufacturers, who had already had fat bikes in their portfolio for a long time and didn't make a big fuss about them, suffered a significant drop in sales in this segment. And all the big manufacturers, who also added fatbikes to their portfolio at short notice, now have overflowing stocks. This means that the trend of promoting fat bikes as the hot thing will continue for a while yet. Even if they are hardly the right choice for riders who have neither snow nor sand within reach.

And what's the upside of the story?

The fatbikes also have something good: they have opened the door to plus-size tires. And they in turn opened the door to mountain biking for a new target group. And that's a good thing. It will also be relaxing for everyone involved when the full fatbike stocks start to dwindle. And the marketing departments can once again market the vehicle as what it really is: a highly specialized two-wheeler, not a piece of sports equipment for everyone.