JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. (BRAIN) — The fourth annual Global Fat Bike Summit will be held here Jan. 23-25 at the Snow King Resort.
The event, sponsored by QBP, brings together fat bike manufacturers, retailers, public land managers, advocates, and the public for educational conferences, demos, clinics, product displays, and races.
"Now that fat bikes have grown from what many people thought was a fad to a significant summer and winter user group, it is more important than ever to communicate current land management best practices as they relate to fat bike use," said Scott Fitzgerald, owner of Fitzgerald's Bicycles in Victor, Idaho.
The event kicks off Friday, Jan. 23, with training sessions and panel discussions featuring the latest in the evolving world of best management practices for fat bike use on public lands. Management practices will be discussed with a focus on winter use. This interactive training day will include land managers from the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and state and local governments, along with bike advocates and industry representatives.
The festival portion of the event begins Friday night with a fat bike night ride and evening banquet, and continues through Saturday and Sunday with a variety of demo rides, product clinics, and riding events that include an optional guided fat bike tour of Grand Teton National Park.
"Our goal with the Summit and festival is twofold," said QBP's advocacy director Gary Sjoquist. "First, we seek to spread best practices in terms of where fat bikes are ridden, how technology continues to shape fat bikes, the latest snow grooming techniques for fat bike singletrack, and just plain have fun with these big tire bikes. Second, we continue to seek winter access for fat bikes to national parks where they are largely prohibited, and to help all land managers with the latest tools that will help them offer more fat bike access to the public."
While QBP's brands Salsa, Surly, Whiskey Parts, and 45Nrth will be title sponsors, the event organizers are seeking additional brand sponsors to allow attendees to try different products and talk with product reps. Trek will have fat bikes on hand, and Specialized, 907, Borealis and other manufacturers have been invited to attend and display product.
"Our approach here is a 'big tent' for all," said Sjoquist. "Fat bikes are not a fad — nearly every manufacturer at the recent Interbike trade show featured fat bikes. Growth will continue and access issues will develop, particularly in the Nordic and snow machine trail networks, so we want to address this head-on and help land managers proactively adapt to this new use. We'd like to offer the opportunity for all manufacturers to participate in the Summit."
More information: Fatbikesummit.com.
