The SkiBike Shop

In spite of the ice on the pavement at Skavsta airport, it was forecast to be pleasantly warm day, hopefully we would be able to find some slushy snow to ride on. Sadly our planned SkiBiking at a nearby resort had to be cancelled due to them refusing permission to use skibikes, a familiar story then. Instead we were heading for a tiny ski station in central Stockholm, an hours drive away. Tommy and I chatted about the skibike business and generally talked shop the whole way. Tommy was modest about his English skills, but understood my nuances of language very well, he also exudes "Nordic Calm" and I suspect would make an formidable poker player.

BikerMads - Nordic Calm?

In the back of the car were 3 skibikes to play with. There were 2 examples of the SledgeHammer Freerider and a BikerMads conversion of a Kona Stinky.

First up, I tried out a standard SledgeHammer Freerider, from the Austrian manufacturer who are now selling the cheapest ready made skibikes in Europe.
It had an instantly recognisable feel, softly yielding and bouncy, close your eyes and you could be fooled that you were astride a Brenter fat boy, but with footpegs. Please note that The SkiBiker SkiBike Blog does not endorse riding skibikes with your eyes closed.
The presence of many cycle derived parts, means that upgrades to suit your personal taste, such as; higher spring rates, better damping, alternative handlebars, etc. should be quite economical.
It was lighter than the burly construction would suggest and I found assembly to be straightforward thanks to quick release fittings for the skis. The ski levelling arrangement by high tech rubber bands doesn't exactly inspire confidence, but I am assured that BikerMads haven't broken any yet. However Tommy did feel that the standard skis supplied are quite thin for off piste riding and had a second SledgeHammer fitted out with trick powder skis for our appraisal. With the limited snow available it was hard to assess the difference, but as you would expect it was a bit more skiddy on the hard pack, but came into its own drifting out pleasurably on the slushy stuff. Tommy drew attention to some subtle design nuiances, such as the single tube front fork and rear tube design; these make the SledgeHammer skibike ride brilliantly in deep powder snow, due to the lack of drag that conventional mountain bike twin tube forks and rear triangle create.

SledgeHammer SkiBike vs. BikerMads SkiBike conversion - like chalk and cheese

Next I rode a BikerMads Kona Stinky conversion, fitted out with aggressive looking Marzocchi twin crown forks, Fox shox at the rear and skis and adapters branded as SCK SkiXBike. These adapters are so very close to the original Winter X Bike / Alpine SkiBikes adapter and are produced by a Russian manufacturer. A potential law suit for pattern infringement in 5,4,3,2,1.

A potential law suit for pattern infringement in 5,4,3,2,1

My goodness, this combination felt planted, whereas the SledgeHammer felt squidgy and spongy this thing tracked solidly. It inspired confidence and even on virtually sheet ice still held an edge. If you get the impression that I liked this skibike, you would be correct, I didn't want to stop riding it and felt it could go a 1000 miles without ever boring you. Of course, even sourcing used parts on eBay and not costing in the time taken for DIY construction; the frame, forks and shocks combo alone, would be the best part of £500, add the kit and sundries would make this an £1100 machine, double the price of the bargain SledgeHammer. My only gripe with the conversion kit was the rounded stunt pegs, they soon become covered in ice and the knurled finish provided no grip at all, my foot slipped off at least once leading to an interesting new trajectory!

In conclusion, I could see the SledgeHammer as being the ideal beginner / hire shop skibike, friendly and forgiving for the first week of mile building, confidence inspiring skibike rides. Wheras the BikerMads Kona Stinky conversion would be geared towards the higher intermediate rider wanting to go that bit faster and trading off some fluffiness for precision, stability and overall control.

Tommy Frejd - do not try to play Poker with this man

My bed for the night was to be found at the A Marican hotel / hostel. The very word hostel has unpleasant associations for me, I once spent a week in a Youth Hostel in Edinburgh crammed full of odd balls, 15 to a dormitory and rocked to sleep every night by the furious masturbatory habits of the bunk mate nested inches below me (true!).
Luckily, I am in the hotel side of the A Marican, in a basic single room with en suite sink with toilets and shower down the corridor. Not the Savoy admittedly, but all clean, simple and sturdy, much like a 1970s Volvo and costing a frugal £40 per night.

A ski slope in the centre of Stockholm - How cool is that?

What a strange day, arriving at 2am, crashing out with the smell of pine forests still in my nostrils, nerves jangling from the 650 mile drive, to awake in a familiar bed with the ambient soundtrack of South London playing; trains rolling past, birdsong, sirens in the distance and gruff  modern day cockney voices. I popped down to the local corner shop cum mini supermarket and bought some freshly baked baguettes then polished off my left over Camembert brought back from France. Washing it all down with a couple of over sized cups of tea, something which would have caused Serge to have a hissy fit, but 10am was too early for wine, even for a SkiBiker.

I unpacked Uncle Fester, the tired old Fiesta and treated the sad looking object to a wash, the first in 2000 miles of salty roads. The weather in London was balmy and warm, spring bulbs will soon be in bloom and blossom is appearing on the fruit trees.

I repacked my wheeled travelling case for the next couple of days trip to Sweden to see how the Swedish skibike scene ticks. I will be flying by RyanAir, their standard baggage weight limit is now 15kg, that doesn't go far with ski wear; at the airport I ended up pulling out my bulky Kangol jacket and wearing it on board, plus a couple of other layers to boot, all to stay within my measly baggage allowance.
Now that I am down to nearly 12 stone again, 168lb in American or 75kg in Europe, I can piously speculate that if the weight allowances were to be truly equitable they should weigh both the passenger and the luggage.

The flight will follow a route from London Gatwick to Stockholm Skavsta, a former cargo airport that I know nothing of, of course my Cousin Paul Kinnon knew it immediately from his days working on the logistical side of the private air charter business. RyanAir prices are cheap; providing you book well in advance, outside of peak demand periods and can resist the many enticements for early boarding, travel insurance and the swingeing costs of in flight catering. I paid somewhere under £100 return.

After clearing check-in, security and passport control, I blew the last of my small change on a pint of Hobgoblin at Weatherspoons. It is a sweetish dark beer and was surprisingly cheap for an airport bar at £3.10, buffered against any eventuality, I headed for the gate.
I spent most of the flight reading the 50 page introduction to Gilgamesh, an ancient Sumerian text written 4000 years ago. This may sound a bit poncy and intellectual for the skibiker, but I had been recommend it by a fellow biker of dirt track and speedway disciplines. Anyone who has ever had a smattering of religion in their upbringing will recognise the story of the great flood, written possibly 1000 years before the Old Testament in The Bible.

One quote resonated strongly:

"We are not gods, we cannot ascend to heaven. No, we are mortal men. Only the gods live forever. Our days are few in number, and whatever we achieve is a puff of wind. Why be afraid then, since sooner or later death must come?"

I felt calm and deeply centred, I shut my eyes and thought about mountains, soft snow and the buttery fluid sensation of skis slipping and sliding in multi-faceted vector motion.
I awoke perhaps 40 minutes later and took a peak out of the window to a view of almost total blackness, but for 2 tiny white lights, what was I looking down on from 39,000 feet, fishing boats out alone on the North Sea on this crystal clear yet moonless night perhaps?

Disembarking down the steps of the aircraft there was black ice on the runway, reminding me that I have moved North East by 1000 miles. Arriving close to midnight I located the Connect Hotel, less than 5 minutes from the airport arrivals hall. The interior is all cool shades of grey and IKEA type lighting with non-descript piano jazz playing in the background. A slightly clinical look perhaps, how I imagine a posh rehab centre must be.
I had forgotten that I had pre-paid for my room, so I will have a little extra cash to spend tomorrow when Tommy Fredj arrives to collect me. The cost is roughly £55 per night, all very clean and simple, much better than a French Formula One motel and on par with an English Travelodge, but less chintzy.

In future, I will have great sympathy for the stressed out Executive types I provide technical services for, once I am making a profitable living again. They have to live like this for months on end and still be on the ball to deliver perfect presentations; never knowing which time zone the next clean pair of underpants will be located in. Mind you what they earn in a month, I can only dream of earning in a year. On the other hand, they don't get to spend weeks on end astride a freestyle pegger skibike. Something, I will hopefully be doing tomorrow with Tommy Fredj of BikerMads, Sweden's top skibike builder and skibiking on-line shop co-proprietor.

I arrived home at 2am and haven't even unpacked the car yet, in several hours I will be on a plane flying to Sweden, home of Swedens only Freestyle Pegger SkiBike outfit BikerMads.
Sign of the Beast man.... rock'n'roll.

For the last couple of years I have lucky enough to hit the slopes as early as the last week in December, this year, I have had to delay till it is almost February. There will be plenty of news over the next few weeks, but for the moment, as I pack my bags, here is a teaser as to where the SkiBiker SkiBike Blog will be going to for the 2012 season.

SkiBiker on Tour

The SkiBiker SkiBike Blog loves to be able to share the latest wild and wacky exploits of SkiBike "Poster Boy"  Raymond Georgsson. But who makes the skibike that withstands his levels of abuse? Bikermads is Sweden's entry into the world of skibiking, with models that follow the new era of American pegger style skibike design. Bikermads have just revamped their on-line presence for the 2011-12 winter season and are champing at the bit to tell the world about it.

European DIY skibike builders will be delighted to learn that Bikermads are selling ski mounting kits to convert mountain bikes into skibikes. Up until now the only option was to import Alpine SkiBike kits from the USA, which being outside the European Economic Area meant the payment of import duties and a significant addition to the final cost. As Bikermads are based in Sweden and inside the European Economic Area no such charges are due.

Sweden has not adopted the Euro and has retained the Swedish Kroner a handy conversion tool can be found here the site can also price items in Dollars and Euros.

Bikermads - crazy about skibikes

Snowbike - First skijump attempt from Raymond Georgsson on Vimeo.