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Used from 2016 or wait for new

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Used from 2016 or wait for new

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flag Andyt11
Posted: Dec 22, 2021 at 11:04 Quote
I'm in the market for my first fatbike.

I'm expecting a Farley 5 in maybe 6 weeks time which is great. I put my name down in August.

In the meantime, a lightly used Specialized fatboy trail from 2016 has cropped up. It's basically new and I like it a lot and it seems like more bike than I'm getting with the farley. But the seller is holding out for 4/5 what I'm going to pay for a new 2022 Farley 5.

Question for this forum is, I noticed the specialized does not have adjustable drop outs. What else do new bikes have that a bike from 2016 won't have? I havn't bought a bike since 2009 so I'm a little out of touch.

Should I go with the older higher spec bike or wait for new.
flag mark027
Posted: Dec 22, 2021 at 12:08 Quote
I’m no expert, here’s my 2 cents from my experience.
1 Trek has internal routing for your cables. So more/better option a for dropper.
2 I believe the trek is dot fluid vs the specialized is mineral oil brakes. Personally I way prefer dot fluid for cold weather. Dot 5.1 is great fluid, non corrosive, race cars use it.
3 wheels, the trek can run 27.5 by 4.5 which is a great option. I might be mistaken but I think your limited to 26 on the fat boy.
The trek comes with great rims too.
I would take the trek just for the extra options on wheels and the brakes. Tons of option too for racks/cargo on the Farley frame I hear.
Not 100 percent on all I told you, I haven’t had either bike but that’s what it looked like.
flag MPasqualoni
Posted: Dec 22, 2021 at 12:51 Quote
I would wait it out their is a big difference between the modern Geo on the 27.5 fatbikes vs the older ones with 26" tires.

My only cavet would be if you are planning on doing mainly summer rocky riding on it having the fork would be nice but if riding in the snow or smoother trailer the 27.5 Farley will be much better
flag cascaderydr
Posted: Dec 22, 2021 at 12:51 Quote
does the 2016 have 1x12 gears? dropper post?
Both things I would not be without.
flag Andyt11
Posted: Dec 22, 2021 at 14:57 Quote
It's 1x10 on the 2016 Fatboy, and on the 2022 Farley 5. Both have a dropper post.

The medium Farley 5 will come with a 3.8 on the rear, (it's a staggered setup on the small and mediums) but I think it can run 4.5 front and rear though. I'd probably do that too since I don't care for the stagger.

I do like the idea of front suspension as I will ride it year round, I just hadn't considered it because it wasn't on the level of bikes I'm shopping for.

I guess I can always add a fork to the Farley down the road too.

Some of you are already illuding to the real issue, things like geometry. Old vs modern.
flag mark027
Posted: Dec 23, 2021 at 5:08 Quote
Andy,
I ride a carbon fork all year, I don’t mind it, but mine is primarily for snow. I’d still get the trek like everyone seems to lean to. Changing tires and adding suspension? Why not just get the Farley 7, you’re Probly investing same amount now.
It’s a bit of a money pit if you haven’t figured it out, you’ll Probly end up wanting a separate set of winter tires with studs or even a second wheelset. If you’ve been out of the game for a bit look at pogies, pretty much essential if you’re in pretty cold weather, I like wolftooth ones.
flag Andyt11
Posted: Dec 23, 2021 at 21:24 Quote
I'd like a 7. I don't think it's an option though, too much money. Plus, the 5 that may arrive in 4 or 5 weeks has been on if way since August. If I switch tracks now it could be Christmas 2022 before I see a bike lol.

I'm still torn on the fatboy. It rode so nice, but I'm judging it against my old (2008 ) Scott Aspect. It's 8 years newer and hardly used. Of course I thought it was great.

I really liked the bluto.
flag pairodice
O+
Posted: Dec 23, 2021 at 23:50 Quote
Where are you located? My local shop has a Farley 5 and 7 in stock. I’m in New Mexico. They ship all the time. Broken spoke in Santa Fe NM
flag Andyt11
Posted: Dec 24, 2021 at 9:37 Quote
I'm in Canada. It's really out of budget though.
flag htrdoug
Posted: Dec 25, 2021 at 4:38 Quote
Hang in there and wait on the Farley, Fatboy trail has 190qr rear,which will not hold good enough with fat tire traction in summer when you are in low gear. And you cannot easily swap wheels. (It is very nice to have multiple wheels with different tires for different conditions)Converted my 2016 Kona Wo to through axle due to this occurring to me but Kona had swappable dropouts. The 10 speed on the Fatboy doesn’t have the range of the Farley,so more parts required Fatboy has 30.9 seatpost,Farley has 31.6,which is more common. Farley comes with studdable tires,which I would stud immediately as a first expense,you can pop them out in warm weather. Farley comes with rims that are designed for tubeless,I do not know if the Specialized Stout XC90 work with tubeless easily. Fatbikes have incrementally improved in many aspects since 2016 and you shouldn’t handcuff yourself to obsolete technology.

Best of luck and have fun!
flag pairodice
O+
Posted: Dec 26, 2021 at 10:16 Quote
You might check out the devichi minus, may be easier to find since it’s made in Canada. I had one, sweet bike, 27.5. Only complaint was it was on the heavier side. 32lbs after tubeless
flag Andyt11
Posted: Dec 26, 2021 at 12:10 Quote
htrdoug wrote:
Hang in there and wait on the Farley, Fatboy trail has 190qr rear,which will not hold good enough with fat tire traction in summer when you are in low gear. And you cannot easily swap wheels. (It is very nice to have multiple wheels with different tires for different conditions)Converted my 2016 Kona Wo to through axle due to this occurring to me but Kona had swappable dropouts. The 10 speed on the Fatboy doesn’t have the range of the Farley,so more parts required Fatboy has 30.9 seatpost,Farley has 31.6,which is more common. Farley comes with studdable tires,which I would stud immediately as a first expense,you can pop them out in warm weather. Farley comes with rims that are designed for tubeless,I do not know if the Specialized Stout XC90 work with tubeless easily. Fatbikes have incrementally improved in many aspects since 2016 and you shouldn’t handcuff yourself to obsolete technology.

Best of luck and have fun!

Thank-you. This and all of the other responses is the kind of info I need. I hadn't bought a bike in over a decade and while I really appreciate a good bike, I am a bit out of touch.

I'll wait on the farley. I also have my name on a 2022 mukluk, but it was supposed to arrive in October and still isn't here lol
flag gdharries
Posted: Jan 2, 2022 at 14:31 Quote
I have a 2015 Fatboy. The geometry is fairly old school at this point. I’d recommend waiting for the Trek.
flag tfdhusker
O+
Posted: Jan 5, 2022 at 19:11 Quote
I would stay away from any bike with a QR rear axle just because any sort of bike parts swapping or buying down the road (wheel upgrade, hub replacement, etc) is going to be a PITA. Not to mention, 190 spacing is going the way of the dinosaur as well.
flag Andyt11
Posted: Jan 6, 2022 at 16:13 Quote
Thanks again for all the input. Really appreciate it. Clearly there's some good knowledge on this forum so I've posted a second question. I want expecting it, but I may end up with a choice of bikes...
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