Drawbacks to Consider: Speed: Due to their bulkier design, fat bikes may not match the speed performance of traditional bikes on smoother surfaces.

And while fat bikes are fun, their four-to-five-inch-wide tires shine brightest in a narrow set of conditions (deep, packed snow) that renders them useful only a few days a year for most people. Most utility, gravel, or mountain bikes can be made winter- and snow-worthy with a few key parts.

Fat bikes require specialist parts such as tyres, rims, hubs and cranks. These can be more expensive than comparable parts for regular bikes and are often harder to come by, meaning there is less of a choice when it comes to speccing your bike.

Fat bike frame size The standard advice of if you're on the cusp of a size, take the smaller one and make it bigger is what we'd follow. If you are riding a hardtail and want a stable frame, go as large as possible. This will bring you stability and comfort for hours on the bike.