The SkiBike Shop

Reinhart Blasig recommended this excellent video showing the many processes involved in creating the frame for LenzSport skibikes and mountain bikes. When you see the level of craftsmanship and detail that goes into the creation of a LenzSport skibike it gives you a better appreciation of just why they cost so much.

Andreas Moser is making the news in Calgary Canada with his ghetto style diy skibike conversions, which he is offering on PinkBike for 150 Canadian Dollars, the equivalent of just under £100 in the UK.
An avid cyclist, Andreas Moser says he was looking for a new way to get on a bike year-round when he stumbled on the idea of making a ski-bike.

“I’d seen it done before and didn’t want to spend any money on it, so I just took old parts and came up with a really good plan, and they work amazing,”

First run of the season on the new skibikes - source Andreas Moser

Some sagely advice by Matt Seaton from The Guardian newspaper:
 
• The more tread on your tyres, the better. You can ride in snow on slicks, but I wouldn't choose to. If you have a mountain bike, with chunky off-road treads, this is the day for it.

• Let some air out of your tyres, whatever sort they are. Ride them soft: you'll get more grip.

• It's natural, when you're a bit anxious about conditions, to ride leaning forward and tense, with your hands on the brakes. But try to relax the hands and arms, and keep your weight back.

• As in any slippery conditions (such as very wet roads), do your braking early and as much as possible in a straight line. Definitely only use the front brake in this way; otherwise, use the back brake more. And you can also use the back brake to test the amount of adhesion you have.

• Try to steer "with your hips" rather than your hands: in other words, make directional changes progressively and with your whole mass on the bike, rather than by sudden sharp steering inputs at the handlebars.

• As snow gets grooved by car tyres and refreezes, you can encounter rutted tracks and momentary "tramlining" effects. Deal with this by allowing the front wheel of the bike to go where it wants; again, keep your weight back, stay relaxed and don't be too ambitious about your speed.

• Mostly, on British roads, the snow is cleared or turns to slush quickly, but beware of transitions from snowy side streets to clear roads: this is where you're most likely to encounter ice or tricky ruts.

• I generally ride around town with some sort of hat, rather than a helmet. But in the snow, I'll wear a helmet – there's just a little more likelihood of a slip. Most likely, it would be slow-speed and harmless, but I'd factor in the extra risk by wearing a helmet.

• Unless you have mudguards (with good clearance!), wear old clothes: that slimy black slush is perplexingly indelible and a dirty stripe up your arse is not a good look in the office.

• The most dangerous time, as with any analogous activity (skiing, skating, downhill mountainbiking etc), is when you get over-confident. The day I got a little cocky on the back roads in the Green Mountain State, I found myself sliding down the road on my butt. So hey, what do I know?

Read more here

French skibike builder Firem VS have recently rationalised their offering and are producing only two models of skibike, namely the boutique VS 411 and the new VS 512 "all mountain" machine.

As a direct result of consumer feedback for a smaller, lighter skibike. Firem have evolved their original kid sized skibike chassis to become an adult design that is considerably lighter, more compact and manageable than the Evolution model it replaces.
But is the VS 512 skibike an overgrown child's toy, or a serious all mountain machine? I was able to view the prototype in July 2011, construction and finish were up to typical Firem standards and in a different league to certain traditional manufacturers products. But not only was it robust it had a number of unique, innovative and useful features.

The VS 512 skibike is designed to disassemble in two pieces for easy transportation in the boot of a car or to fit into the type of mini gondola lift found throughout Europe. This should keep the lifties happy that your skibike is not going to trash the cabin interior. Separating the two halves is a tool free operation requiring a few twists of 2 quick release handles, both halves of the frame can then be parted. When you travel, it can be safe and secure out of sight in the boot of the car, not sitting on the roof.

Another novel feature is a releasable ant-dive lock on the rear ski. In normal operation the travel of the rear ski is limited to prevent diving into soft snow. This feature can be unlocked, then the skibike can be tipped vertically on its rear ski for loading into a cable car and taking up little more space than a snowboard.

The skibike incorporates the Firem design of rear ski brake, which remains a subject of much heated discussion whenever skibikers get the chance. Much like Marmite it is something you will either love or hate.

The saddle features very simple up/down adjustment for riders of different heights.

The total weight of the VS 512 is approximately 11kg, which is probably still a couple of kilos over the ideal, but represents a 30% weight reduction on the outgoing model it replaces.

Firem vs512 skibike - smaller, lighter and more manageable

Fr-X Bike, is the Gallic outlet for Matt Hanson's Alpine SkiBikes conversion kits. Sadly the website seems to have grown a lot of weeds since 2008 and I thought that it was dead in the water.
I filled in a mail form expecting there to be no reply, but to my surprise one arrived about a week later.


Matthieu Hensinger has been working since 2005 trying to develop skibiking in France. Not only has he been selling diy conversion kits, but he has also taken to the road in a van equipped with demo skibikes; making videos, photos and interviews with more than 2000 people he met along the way.

As will be familiar to many, lots of French ski resorts are scared but such activities, many can't or don't want to give official authorisations, even when provided with the correct certifications and copies of agreements.

Unfortunately other work commitments have taken up progressively more of his time, but he promises some new items on offer for the 2011-12 season.

Matthieu Hensinger and Camille Lepley in their shop

If there had been a Nordic god of skibiking his name should have been Tognar.....
Sadly there wasn't any such diety, so instead we have a fantastic website that sells a cornucopia of ski repair tools and materials.
There is also a very detailed "How To" repairs database covering topics ranging from simple waxing right through to complex problems like edge seperation and delaminations. Here's a quick example:

A CLEAN TOOL IS A HAPPY TOOL !

Ceramic Stones -scrub them gently with a brass Supertooth brush, using Ajax or Comet cleanser with water or vinegar and water to cut away grime.
Diamond Stones -scrub gently with a nylon Supertooth brush along with a little wax remover or Ronson lighter fluid.
Steel Files -clean frequently with a file brush and rub a little chalk into file teeth occasionally.
Plastic Scrapers -wipe away wax build-up frequently using a steel scraper, ski edge, etc. Resharpen with a pansar file, drywall sanding screen, or Tognar Burrsharp.
Steel Scrapers -keep sharp using a flat file and burnisher or Tognar Burrsharp.Base Repair Irons & Pistol-keep tips clean by wiping on an old scotchbrite pad while still warm.
Riller Bars/Structure Tools -clean out teeth and ridges on structure bars/blades with a bronze brush.
Wax Irons -wipe off wax and any dirt from the bottom of warm iron (not hot) with a soft, clean rag or old t-shirt (preferably not on someone's back at the moment!).
Scotchbrite, Fibertex, Omni-Prep Pads -Rinse pads under hot water (180 degrees F.) to melt away wax.

Tognar Toolworks

I had an interesting mail from LenzSport last week, in reply to my enquiry. There had been an interesting post running on the FaceBook Snow Biking Group discussing the possibility of testing a Firem VS against a LenzSport SkiBike. What I had in mind was not too serious, just a chance for some riders to make a few runs on different machines with some sort of gentlemanly contest to finish. The sort of thing you see in classic car mags, etc. all the time. An opportunity for both brands to get a little extra publicity and everyone to have some fun together.
Unfortunately finding a LenzSport in Europe or a Firem VS in the USA would seem to be a futile task, at least for now.
However they did remind me that there are still some cracking deals to be had on the remaining stock of ex-demo and older models here; with prices ranging from $1300 - $1800 and a selection of styles, sizes and colours, there should be something to tempt every type of skibiker.

LenzSport - focussing on value

It's a good thing snow tastes better than gravel - source

This was my first time trying to jump a skijump, so keep that in mind :) But trust me, it sure won't be the last. Next time I'll bring a bigger jump and try to go even faster, ok?

It's not everyday that you are invited to try out 2 of the skibobs used in a World Cup Final, so I had to say yes and get off down that hill for an all too brief evaluation.

The first was a brand new Flaschmann KR90 in High Gloss SkiBiker Black from Vincent Berod owner of Berod Sports in Crest Volland, the other a vintage MIFLA owned by Richard Platt chairman of the Skibob Association of Great Britain.

On first impressions, they look remarkably like a Yamaha FS1E sixteener moped without the engine. When you try to lift one or push it uphill you wonder if they are made from lead. Both weigh an absolute ton, as much as 20kg. This is a quite deliberate aspect of the design, heavier skibikes go faster, there is even a stipulation about the maximum allowed competition weight for a skibob to keep things fair.

These are not recreational models that you would want to carry up the chairlift on your lap. Trying to drag one up the T-bar lift was an ordeal I would rather not repeat. Petty gripes over with, you have to ask yourself why are they so popular with the racers?

The answer is simple, awesome steering, the best that I have ever experienced, I actually forgot it was a ski not a wheel at the front, so precise, stable and predictable was the ride.
The frame has a very low centre of gravity for the ultimate in stability. To ride them requires a whole new technique, hunched over like a demonic imp, your knees fit between your forearms touching your ribcage.
The cranked handlebars allowing just enough room for it all to work together.
The payback is a ride like no other, it doesn't feel like it wants to skid sideways at all, only carve graceful arcs downhill as fast as you dare.

Could I tell the difference between the modern and vintage models? Apart from the finish it was beyond my abilities to detect any obvious characteristics. They were both very, very, good.

I found this neat video from YouTube user "capecodinsomniac" who has the following comments to make:

Beating the Pineapple Express @ Steven's with my Ski-Bike. A few runs to start my season and play with camera positions.

I usually drive to a local mtn in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest. Its about an 1.5 hr drive, so it is convenient. Most other resorts didn't give permission for ski-bike too, so my options were limited. I first considered Ski-Biking becasue I have flat feet and ski/snowboard boots always gave me blisters/hotspots and made my feet and knees hurt in general. With the bike I can wear comfortable hiking boots. I also already had the bike parts so it was a lot cheaper than buying boarding gear.

....not too many stories to tell...I had someone run into me and take themselves out on my rear ski. they raced down mtn to cuss me out for riding recklessly (I wasn't...he just needed someone to blame and 'THE SKIBIKER' was a good target).

I had another person decide to not turn when coming cross slope... I was on far right of slope and some older guy started coming across from left. He just kept coming closer and closer and before I knew what to do he pointed right at me and we both flew off the right side of the trail into a messy crash...luckily we missed the trees and got plugged into some deep powder. I face-planted and somersaulted a few times while still on bike. I dont' let go for safety reasons - especially since I'm leashed to it :P thankfully not much else has gone awry on the slopes. Just good times :)

Robert Kolesar had a few additional comments about the recent post on the subject of the ShroomBob™
skibobs and skibikes.

The lift loading and unloading feature is the first unique feature of the Shroombob I  like to emphasize, as it greatly enhances ease of ski bike use, even for advanced riders who can carry the skibike in their lap or hooked onto the lift.  Not having to lift and carry the skibike while lift riding is really pretty cool and Our design completely compensates for the variability of lift seat height.

The second most important unique feature is the 4-bar suspension (a lever arm hinge mechanism - instead of direct connection - of the suspension arm and component to the frame of the skibike).  Have you ever ridden one of those really expensive bicycles at a local shop with this type of suspension?  Kona is the brand I use; it has 6 inches of seat travel through its suspension range, and can be ridden at speed directly into a curb from a street to a side walk (usually 6 - 8 inches) and make the transition feel smooth - like the curb is almost not there.  

The Shroombob has 8 inches of seat travel, and the 4-bar suspension is progressive, i.e. the more the suspension is deflected, the stiffer it becomes.  With this design bottoming out the suspension is impossible.  As the rider sits on the Shroombob, their weight alone depresses the suspension about 2-3 inches, and the sensation is like sitting on a soft lounge chair.  Using a suspension component with rebound control, the rider stays on the Shroombob almost automatically as the suspension smoothes out the ski terrain.  When riding at skibiking speeds into bumps, etc, the suspension does all the work of compensating (pre-jumping) the hazard.  The advantage of this suspension design, over traditional designs has to be ridden to be fully appreciated.  

The third most important unique feature of the Shroombob is a relative inability of the ski mount to rotate relative to the frame of the skibike.  This design allows the Shroombob suspension to drive the skis into the snow for turning and control, and allows the rider to use either the front or rear ski to carve turns. Also, the front ski does not dive into soft snow or powder, and tends to ride up out of these difficult snow conditions, instead of getting sucked in.

Here's one from the archives of NEMBA, the New England Mountain Bike Association, written by Don Seifert and Wesley Garven in 2006:

My ski-bike experience started one morning on my backyard hill. Not knowing what to expect, I kicked off and down the hill I went, smiling from ear to ear of course. To my surprise it was relatively easy, well…for a little hill anyway. I know this wasn't a black diamond, but I was just thrilled I could actually ski on my beloved mountain bike and control it! So now it was time to hit the mountains. Check out www.ski-bike.org to find local local resorts that allow ski-biking.

Though not as popular as in Europe, the US has lots of resorts that allow ski-bikes, and more may come around as the sport gains future exposure. Some resorts in New England allow full access while other resorts have restricted access. In Massachusetts, Mt Wachusett has restricted access, allowing ski-bikes only on weekdays on the lower lift. This is where I mostly go since I can see the mountain from my front door, so I'm hopeful ski-bikers will eventually get permanent access to one of the higher lifts in the future. This would greatly improve the ski bike experience in Massachusetts. Thus far it's been nothing but positive experiences and I can honestly say I enjoy ski biking the most of all my winter activities.

New England has thousands of passionate mountain bikers and based on my experiences so far I'm confident most bikers would absolutely love ski-biking. I will go so far to say if you own a mountain bike you should also own some sort of ski conversion kit. It's that much fun! You'll get the same winter experience as a skier or snow boarder plus the familiar feeling of ripping down your favorite downhill trail in August. Now that's an awesome combination!
For a sport with less than a mainstream history, I believe its time will come and foresee a future in New England for the ski-bike experience!... Read the full article here

Skibiking - New England Style

Based in Nottingham UK, Jon's Ski Tuning was launched to provide discerning skiers and snowboarders with a quality hand tuning & servicing facility for skis & snowboards.
The DIY skibiker may be interested to find out that it is possible to take ski tuning lessons at the workshop in Nottingham (England), if you are too far away you can always buy the DVD. There is also an on-line shop with a plentiful stock of ski service tools and consumables and plenty of free information about edge angles, etc.

iSkibike™ is the brainchild of Robert Kolesar inventor of the ShroomBob™ and it is an on-line shop offering some interesting kits and accessories, especially for the diy skibike builder.

For anyone looking to make their own footskis for use with a skibob, iSkibike™ offer footski component kits under the name "Heel Edge".
Assuming you have a suitable donor ski to cut down, the kit contains all the other parts needed. An ingenious metal heel binding, with a wire clip much like a SnowBlade binding and incorporating a heel grind block fits to the footski tail. A ski rear release binding as installed back to front for the front binding. Alternatively, non-release wire clip bindings or flexible SnowBoarder boot bindings can be installed.

Other items stocked are GoggleBrows, a handy goggles retaining device, which when attached to a ski helmet, allow you to "park" your goggles without the risk of them flying away at an inopportune moment.

Lastly there are a selection of T-Shirts and stickers, available including the highly desirable holographic iSkibike™ sticker with claimed mystical powers.

Heel Edge FootSki kits from iSkibike™

Hot off the press from Absolutely Travel 

Wow – our MD woke up to a white Alpine world this morning while doing a pre season check of our Chalets in Morzine and Les Menuires. With over 6 inches of snow down to below 1500m falling last night the signs are looking good for this winter.

This was Avoriaz at 5 pm this evening (Sunday 9 October)

Following a post on the excellent Ski Bike Junkie Blog I wanted to share this gem with you. Descent World Racing colourfully illustrated the scene thus:

Oh my God! We have all just got a lesson in how to ride a pushbike. In conditions that could only be described as atrocious a small lad from the North of England schooled everyone else in the World and truly earned those Rainbow Stripes. Danny Hart, World-bloody-Champion!
Coming from a great season that has seen him twice lose out to a near-perfect Aaron Gwin, Danny lifted his game and threw down the kind of run of legends. If Danny is the Schoolteacher, then Champery must have proved itself to be the Classroom. Twice now it has caused the biking world to sit up and take notice, both in 2007 with Sam Hill and today with the diminutive Northerner.
We all knew there was something special about him since he first started racing in the Juveniles category at the SDA’s all those years ago, but still, oh my God!

Rider after rider came down, many having big problems with the ever-worsening track, and it was only when Brendon Fairclough crossed the line with a 3.55 that everyone stood up and took notice. Team-mate and danger-man Sam Hill came close with a 3.57 and Fabien Barel, in his last pro race, got a 4 minute dead. Then it was Fabien’s team-mate, Damien Spagnolo, who shocked us with an extremely fast and confident run beating the Bren-Dog by 2 seconds. Sam Blenkinsop managed to slot in behind this with a 3.54, but nothing could prepare us for what happened next. Looking like he was riding a different, grippier track, Hart-Attack attacked the course, nailing corners and keeping speed where others were losing front wheels and sliding out. He was up at the first split by four and a half seconds and nine seconds at the second. “Calm-down” we were all thinking, “don’t throw all this away at the end!”, but no, still a massive whip on the end jumps and he finished the run more than 11 (yes, ELEVEN) seconds up on the best (or rather second-best!) in the world. Wow!....You can read more about the Danny Hart here.

A week ago, here in the UK, the temperature was breaking records at nearly 30 degrees Centigrade that's 86 degrees on the Farenheit scale. Over the week the temperatures have plummeted and today it is struggling to make 12 degrees, which is equivalent to a paltry 54 degrees.
As I donned my lumberjack shirt and beanie hat this morning, I wondered whether recent reports of another colder than average winter to come will be proved correct. Recently David Eakin posted on the Facebook Snow Biking group:

Just got the latest La Nina report. "While it is not yet clear what the ultimate strength of this La Niña will be, La Niña conditions have returned and are expected to gradually strengthen and continue into the Northern Hemisphere winter 2011-12."

The basis of the forecast is on the prediction that a weak La Nina will be forming this fall and continuing through the winter. Last year, we had a strong La Nina with blocking over Greenland that lead to a very snowy winter across the Midwest and Northeast. While the pattern will be similar to last year, there will be changes in the pattern that will lead to the heavy snow areas shown on the map.

I am not convinced that blocking will be prevalent across Greenland this winter, however, with the trough axis predicted to be in the Midwest, that will lead to storms developing along the East coast and racing northeast. The cold will be back in the Appalachians, and that will lead to heavy snow in that area. The major cities will probably be fighting many mix precip storms with the snow lovers along the I-95 corridor pulling their hair over heavy snow versus ice and rain.
A storm track coming out of the Rockies will lead to storms moving through the western Great Lakes and a band of above-normal snowfall across the Midwest and western Great Lakes.
I also went with an above-normal snow area along the Front Range of the Rockies due mainly to arctic air masses coming down from Alberta.

Will the AccuWeather.com forecast live up to its name?