Fat Bike
Don’t stop biking just because there’s snow on the ground
The fatbike revolution has come to Trentino, and it’s changing the way we have fun in winter
It’s a beautiful winter’s day in the mountains. The skies have cleared, there’s fresh snow on the ground, and everyone around you is hurrying off to the ski slopes. But not you. You’re going to leave the rattle and hum of the resorts behind you, and thread a different path through the landscape – courtesy of your 5” tyres.
Developed in America, fatbiking is changing the way we view winter. Equipped with the new breed of bike, which incorporates wide forks and fat, low-pressure tyres, a snowy day is no longer a reason to stop biking. Admittedly, the kind of terrain tackled is a little different. Fat bikers tend to tackle gentler descents than normal. They also prefer beaten snow to deep powder. But they’re still having a ton of fun – exploring winter landscapes in a completely new and exhilarating way, and keeping their biking fitness fine-tuned for the summer ahead.
Trentino has long been one of the heartlands of Alpine mountain biking, so it’s no wonder fat biking is taking off here.
In the Alpe Cimbra, for example, you can hire fat bikes in Folgaria and Lavarone, as well as enjoying guided tours with a fatbike instructor. Similar facilities and tours are on offer in the Dolomiti Paganella Bike area, and in the Valsugana. Meanwhile, in the Val di Sole, La Winter Downhill is an annual race over jumps, banked turns and bumps on the Biancaneve piste in Cogolo di Pejo.
Other great locations where you can find dedicated tracks, services and fat bike rentals are the Val di Fassa, Monte Bondone and Brentonico. You don’t need your own fatbike or safety equipment to enter. Just rent them on the day of the race, and get stuck in!
