I work at an LBS and people are obsessed with these things. If a customer has one in the shop, anyone who walks in gets derailed and starts becoming only interested in a fat tire bike. i see them EVEYRWHERE. It's like a primal drive drawing them in. And virtually every single one i've seen is horrible. All it does is add a shitload more weight in the worst possible spot. They chew through brake pads and chains, explode speed controllers, and destroy all the other bike parts never designed with that speed or weight in mind. The shop I work at refuses to service nearly all of them because of how shitty and unserviceable they are

They never go off road, the rest of these bike sure aren't designed for it. What's the deal? Why are people so intent on getting a worse bike? do they think big tire = rugged? is it the same brain worm that makes americans buy SUVs they also never take offroad? why are people not content with just a normal bike