This fat bike crushed the course with twice the power - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
2017 Fat Bike World Champion Robbie Squire celebrates his second win in a row - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Borealis fat bikes were a title sponsor - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
SRAM was in attendance for quick repair work - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Lined up and looking for victory - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Every age bracket and racing class went at once - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
The Elite racers were anxious for the starting countdown - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
And they're off! - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
And the rest of the field rolls out - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
These "Worlds" were a lot less serious for nearly every racer - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Many participants were just there to ride the groomed track and enjoy the parties - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Even little kids were out racking up the laps - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
It wouldn't be a fat bike race without a few costumes - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Professional timing and a very good announcer kept the event interesting - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
With the temps in the negative numbers at the start goggles were a solid choice - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Hard efforts, heavy breathing, ice beard - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
A few custom bikes were present, including this Samsara Cycle - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Costumes kept the racing colorful - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Race winner Robbie Squire broke away on the final lap - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
All alone and spinning towards victory with Mt. Crested Butte looming in the distance - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Professional road rider Rob Squire seals the repeat win - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
With the race over it was beer time - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Squire hanging with 2nd place finisher Alex Grant - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Bright colors and a drop bar on this carbon Salsa - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Dropper posts on rigid bikes are pretty common on fat bikes - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Pedaling Innovations makes some of the biggest flat pedals around, perfect for insulated boots - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Now those are some colorful bar mitts - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Swoopy carbon goodness from one of the original fat bike companies, 9 Zero 7 - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Steel bikes were certainly common - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
It simply wouldn't be Crested Butte if there weren't a couple of old cruisers around - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Flasks were a common sight - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
The winning rig was a Felt DD10 - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Trek's Travis Brown raced a full carbon fatty - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Brown was on 26-inch fat bike wheels - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
An oval chainring kept the power consistent - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Brown's well-used bike had a bunch of R D notes scribbled on it - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
The 26 x 4.7-inch tire still had a decent amount of space in the carbon fork - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Travis Brown has been with Trek since 1993 - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Growler fat bikes are a small company from Rochester, NY - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Parking was simple, just ram the front tire into the snow - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Racers trade battle stories while others are still on course finishing up - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
An aluminum Norco hangs out post race - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
A rare full suspension fat bike from Lenz Sport - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
That is a Fox 34 Boost fork with a 4.6-inch 45Nrth Flowbeist tucked inside - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
It's easy to see this Fat Five is ridden in the dirt, too - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Nowhere does it state you have to use two wheels - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Fat Bike Skis are from Vermont and simply bolt onto your fork's dropout - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
That's a unique headbadge - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
There was definitely not a lack of snow in Crested Butte, CO. - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Fat bikes are first and foremost all about fun - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
This past weekend Crested Butte, Colorado, welcomed the wild and wonderful world of fat bikes for the second annual Fat Bike World Championships. Despite the bitterly cold temperatures, everyone was all smiles as riders greeted the custom groomed courses with rowdy enthusiasm.
Fat bikes are first and foremost all about fun - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Just like last year, the Fat Bike World Champs was not a UCI-official event. What it was though was an opportunity to ride your fat bike, or demo a new fat bike, in an unbelievably beautiful riding mecca with a few hundred like-minded individuals. Also, it was a good reason to party with Upslope Brewing and the happy hour events everyday after the riding.
In an interesting twist, USA Cycling's Fat Bike Nationals landed on the same day in Grand Rapids, Michigan. That said, the 2017 Worlds event was sold out and featured a short track race on Thursday, a demo on Friday and the Worlds race on its own unique course on Saturday. On Sunday, riders were allowed to ride a lift at Mt. Crested Butte and blast down either a tight, steep slalom track or open up their bulbous tire bikes on a groomed ski run. Both options were uniquely terrifying in their own way.
Here's a quick overview from the frosty event. Check out the gallery slideshow above for more from the 2017 Fat Bike World Championships.
The Elite racers were anxious for the starting countdown - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
There were a couple of riders here looking for glory, but the vast majority were only looking for good times.
Hard efforts, heavy breathing, ice beard - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Weather for the entire event was properly cold with high temperatures barely cracking double digits and that's in Fahrenheit.
Trek's Travis Brown raced a full carbon fatty - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
A few pro riders made the trek up to the 8,909ft elevation of Crested Butte, CO. including Olympian and MTB Hall of Famer Travis Brown.
Nowhere does it state you have to use two wheels - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Being an unsanctioned race has lots of perks, including allowing all sorts of equipment on the race course. Was a front ski a help? It's doubtful as the race track was heavily groomed corduroy, but only racer 274 knows for sure.
Costumes kept the racing colorful - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
Costumes are to bike racing as beer is to bike racing.
2017 Fat Bike World Champion Robbie Squires celebrates his second win in a row - Russell Eich / Immediate Media
See what we mean: 2017's Fat Bike World Champ Robbie Squire celebrates his second title in a row.
Russell Eich is BikeRadar's former technical writer. Before joining BikeRadar he worked as a cycling industry salesperson, bike mechanic, and professional guide.
This website is owned and published by Our Media Ltd. www.ourmedia.co.uk
