The SkiBike Shop

I have had an idea for a skibike touring holiday bubbling around in my head for the last couple of years, I imagined something very different to the typical package ski holiday. On my perfect skibike holiday you would visit not just one, but many resorts, without the need to ever ride the same run twice, unless you particularly wanted to. You would cover huge distances and see so much varied terrain, from mighty high peaks, down to gentle wooded valleys. Riding skibikes, one wouldn't get burned out in the way a skier or snowboarder would. Returning home at the end of the week, you could recite a list of of the places you visited, listeners would think you had spent a whole season away, rather than a mere week.

My ideal location would be somewhere in or close to the Portes du Soleil, 12 resorts spanning France and Switzerland and the largest international ski area in the world. It has an enormous variety of slopes both around the treeline and above. There are gentle, wide open runs for beginners, endless intermediate terrain and for advanced skiers, there are demanding bump runs, plus a huge choice of easily accessible off piste and many hidden gems.

Stunning views - source Haig Ski

A possible itinerary for the week might be something like this:

Sunday - Easy Riding for early bird arrivals at Lelex/Crozet, Monts Jura
Monday - Cruising and Novice Lessons at Grand Bornand, Aravis
Tuesday - Wide Blues and Fast Reds at Les Contamines and Hauteluce, Mont Blanc
Wednesday - Big Verticals at Avoriaz, Portes du Soleil
Thursday - Eating up the Miles at Samoens, Les Carroz and Flaine, Grand Massif
Friday - Heading off the Beaten Track at Praz de Lys and Sommand Taninges
Saturday - Comfortably Numb at Morzine or Combloux
Sunday - Last ride before the flight home at Les Haberes or La Chapelle d'Abondance

My ideal accommodation would be a cosy mountain chalet that offered breakfast in the morning, a slice of cake or two in the late afternoon and a hearty meal with wine in the evening. A secluded natural location with stunning views would be a bonus. It would need to be located roughly an hour from Geneva airport.

Cosy mountain chalet - source Haig Ski

Needless to say, transport would be necessary to get everyone around, a mini bus with a trailer for the skibikes would be the ideal vehicle. It would need to be available for transfers to and from Geneva airport.

Much research has lead me to Haig Ski who offer; half-board chalet accommodation, transport and guiding throughout the Portes du Soleil and environs. Based at the quiet village of Le Biot, they are just 80 minutes from the airport.

The proposed date for the first ever skibike touring week is Sunday 6th to Sunday 13th January 2013. This period leaves Christmas and New Year free for your familly activities. It is a great time of year to be on the slopes; there is little in the way of crowds or queues, the lift operators aren't stressed out and good snow is as near to guaranteed as is possible. The Portes du Soleil - Doors of the Sun often live up to their name, whilst better know resorts shiver, this area often experiences mild clement days in between fresh dumps of the white stuff.

Avoriaz in 2010 - clement December weather, read more here

Whilst costs are anticipated to be higher than a "High Street" package, direct comparison is unfair. On offer is a unique customised skibike centric holiday, in one of the World's finest winter playgrounds. As far as I know, something never available before. A breakdown of the anticipated costs would be:

Half Board Accommodation Cost - £450
Touring Transport Supplement - £40
Transfers to / from Geneva Airport - To Be Confirmed
Budget Flights from UK to Geneva - £150 (Easy Jet LGW to GVA, with 20kg baggage plus a "bike" carried as sports equipment.
SkiBike Guiding - Included
Lift Passes - estimated at £210
Lunches, drinks & miscellaneous sundry items - estimated at £150
Optional SkiBike Hire - To Be Confirmed
Optional SkiBike Tuition - ESF skibike teacher available

If you bring your own skibike, don't require lessons and don't intend to paint the town red every night, you would be looking at a budget of just under £1000. Remember, this is a fair estimate of your final cost, including all the hidden items that the glossy sales brochures omit to mention.
Prices have been calculated in Pounds Sterling, to convert to Euros or other currencies here is a handy on-line calculator.

I have 6 skibikers who have already expressed an interest in joining this tour, if they all commit, this would leave only 1 space free, so if the idea of a skibike touring week appeals to you and you would like to join, please contact me as soon as possible.

Skibike touring in 2012 - read more here

Lastly, in the interest of fairness there are a few caveats to consider.

Accommodation costs are based on 2 people sharing a room.

There can never be a true guarantee of snow, but this area has a consistently good snow fall record and a micro climate influenced by its proximity to the Mont Blanc, which means "White Mountain" owing to its permanent snow cover, it is the highest mountain in Europe.

Resorts can be notorious fickle with regard to skibike access, it may be necessary to change plans at short notice to concentrate on skibike friendly resorts. Rest assured that I will be in the area in the weeks preceding the tour and will be able to verify what is practicable.

In order to take your skibike on a chairlift it will need to have an "AVEL" sticker; as of the 2011-12 season, these were available for some of the models produced by the following skibike manufacturers; Brenter, FiremVS, SnowScoot and Winter X Bike. If you are planning on bringing a skibike that doesn't have an AVEL sticker please contact me for further information.

Exchange rates vary, therefore the final cost of your trip may rise or fall substantially.

Meanwhile in France... Firem have been testing out their retrofit chairlift skibike carrier for compatibility with the ever popular SnowScoot. They manufacture a hook/clamp combination which easily mounts to the chassis of a chairlift, I saw and rode the prototype in action during the 2011-12 season at Grand Bornand in France see here.
On the prototype system, the lift operators did the hard work of loading and unloading skibikes. At the time, there were only 3 brackets on the chain of 100 or so chairs. As a skibiker you had to wait to one side, then get quickly into place as the special chairs came round. The prototype chairlift ran up to some easy green and blue runs and provided a very safe environment for novices to learn Freestyle SkiBiking (myself included).
Once they had gained in experience and confidence, they were able to move to more demanding terrain. From what I gathered at the time, Grand Bornand were aiming to expand into Downhill Mountain Biking uplift for the summer season and making chairlift brackets a permanent feature.

SkiBike and SnowScoot chairlift carrier system - from Firem

Other resorts nearby, have hooks on the back of the chairlift frame to mount your MTB on the chairlift in front of you. Typically they take these off in the winter season to avoid risking clumsy skiers impaling themselves on them.  The beauty of the Firem system is that the skibike stays to the side of the chairlift and doesn't interfere with other snow users, nor does the lift need to slow down for loading. If Firem are testing them now, it bodes well, at least for the Alps in the 2013 season and potentially as research data for elsewhere.

In this latest article, Wayne Richards, takes all the design considerations for building a DIY skibike and looks at what parts are on the market to build one.

OK we have looked at basic requirements, such as frame desirables, frame head angle, skis and a bit of advice about only building a ski bike if you think you can build it less than 10 kilos, with clearance over the rear swinging arm for the chairlift. Already a lot of you are saying “nah can’t be done, the manufacturer’s bikes are heavier than that and not all have clearance”. Spend your dollars, build that “clunker” and you will be disappointed, can’t say any more than that.

Shall we move on then to those who are prepared to be modern, use good design and end up with a 2012 model ski bike, it’s not difficult, you just need to pre-plan and think things through a bit.

Frames: really really think what donor frame you are going to use, it is the starting point for all the other bits and pieces. Think what you want to do on your ski bike and relate it to good Mtb build practice, if you want to jump and do tricks then get a more durable and tough frame, long cruising all day frame, think Enduro or XCountry frame, on piste cruiser, you can get away with a very light weight frame with 100mm or less rear suspension. Pick a good brand with a good quality rear shock, you may pay a few dollars more, but you will end up with an asset that can be resold.

Specialised Comp XC - an ideal candidate

A Specialised Comp XC would be an ideal candidate. The Saracen Raw, a cheap version with not such a good shock, but tough, well built and more importantly, with the downhill style forward of centre pivot I favour. On Ebay complete bikes are under £ 100.00 sometimes.

Saracen Raw - cheap but tough and well built

Another way to think about things is ask yourself if you would enjoy riding that bike when built up as a MTB, if not then why would you build it into a ski bike. The way we ride ski bikes is not un-similar to Mtbs, we just have skis instead of wheels.

Not all frames are suitable, even some of the more high end frames. Have a look at the Kona Coiler frame, high end well regarded Mtb frame, but as a ski bike, mmm you can see what I am getting at, those big sticky out things at the back, just ready to get caught on the base of the chairlift.

Kona - a great frame, shame about those big sticky out things

So pick a good frame with care, your local supermarket special just may do you ski bike career more harm than good. Do your research and look at the frame weights, if you are going to get into a porky frame, its going to be pretty tough to reduce all the other components weight to compensate.

Next thing to consider is front forks. I am sort of starting to side that 100mm is more than enough for most purposes on a ski bike, we just don’t have the drop offs in snow that we do in Mtb-ing. When we do drop off it tends to be onto a sloped run off where the slope dissipates most of the impact. So why do we need long travel. Well we need long travel ( more than 100mm ) to push the nose higher to increase the head angle ( think more stable steering feel ) and to give better clearance under the pegs. If possible buy a fork that has had the steerer tube uncut, put the spacers under the bottom bearing rather than above to push the nose up higher. Do make sure the spacer will locate the bearing properly though, some spacers will, others won’t.

I feel also that we can have the front travel much stiffer than we normally do in Mtbing, most bumps and jumps are pretty smooth and not sharp faced as per a rocky ledge or step, skiers without suspenders on go across these little undulations all day long. What’s good, unfortunately with suspension forks what you tend to pay for is what you get. Again check out the likes of eBay for second hand stuff that somebody's trading off, there are bargains to be had. Marzocchi Marathons at 1.5 kilos 100mm travel, stunning.

Check here before you buy anything though as to regards weights. Get above 1.6kilos for a front fork and you really have to think I can do better.

Ancillaries such as seats, seat posts, handlebars, pegs, you can so wrong so quickly as far as weights go. Do your research and use your budget wisely. Do you really need a big thick gel padded seat if you peg all the time. On a recent trip, one of the bikes seat pin broke. We took my seat off ( I peg ) and I rode without a seat for the whole day, didn’t really notice it missing to be honest. So fit the minimum weight your budget will allow without any recourse to comfort if you are a freestyler. If you ride easy rider style than a well padded seat is essential, don’t worry about the bit extra weight, just don’t have that extra two pints of beer on the way home.

Well that’s enough for the moment, but I can’t stress enough that there are some fundamental things to be aware of before converting a Mtb frame to a skibike. Minimum weight is just so important, clearance for the chairlift, design nouse to get the right peg height, design nouse pre-planning to be done guys and girls, get it right and you yourself will not only benefit, but the whole sport will benefit with you show casing your bike. Get it wrong and you will probably alienate the lift company who may ban all bikes.

Looking for parts to build a skibike? Or perhaps one ready to ride away? See our Parts For Sale page here.

Today I had an undercover and quite thoroughly sneaky skibike session at SnoZone in Milton Keynes. It is an indoor snow slope only 100m long and with about 30m of vertical, but the joy is perfect conditions the whole year round. It is also the only indoor centre, so far, that doesn't have issue with experienced skibikers turning up and riding skibikes right in and amoungst all the other snow users.

I aim to get along every other month during the off season in an attempt to retain my frail skibike mojo. The great news, for me, was that the session went very well, I still had my mojo from the 1st run on, I felt as if I could have done the descent with my eyes closed, mostly standing, plus a couple of seated runs, with hockey stops, side slipping, short radius turns with tail swishing, etc.

The main thing I still found awkward was using the Poma drag lift. I am getting a bit tired of this and I want to investigate a skibike towing device using the same type of quick release snap shackle that the sit skiers use. If I can perfect the design indoors, I can see it being invaluable for both teaching purposes and those places that don't have chairlifts, Scotland springs to mind immediately.

Interestingly snap shackles are used in so many disparate sports and activities; sailing, climbing, kite surfing, dog sledding, horse riding. I will investigate further which size is appropriate for the job through Disability Snow Sport  and hopefully have a working prototype ready before my next visit.

Quick release snap shackle - used in many sports

I had a different type of unsolicited mail the other day, which makes a change from laser eye surgery and car leasing. Tom Fortner from Monroe Michigan, (just above Toledo Ohio) has an unusual Porsche 212 skibob to move on.
Note that these images are not of the item on offer and are for illustrative purposes only.

I can't find out too much about this model, possibly it was more of a promotional item than a serious tool and I can't imagine the ride would be a patch on even the cheapest of DIY skibikes. However, riding merits aside, is still the ultimate James Bond gadget, in a very 70s way.
I can just see Roger Moore stepping into the cable car in his dinner jacket with the suitcase under his arm. At the top he pops on his footskis, assembles the skibob and is off to fight to the death with baddies, before entertaining a babe for the night "More Champagne Darling?"

I have already passed someone his way who was very interested, but you never know. So if you fancy having this curious item in your collection drop me a line or leave a comment and I'll put you in touch with Tom.

Things are afoot at French skibike manufacturer Firem, I've been tasked to translate the Operating Instructions, Safety & Maintenance Notes leaflet for their all new VS512 model due to reach the end of the production line in the next couple of weeks.

My school boy French often fails me though, it has taken 30 years to realise that I should have listened to my mother, turned off the television and done my homework. But what she didn't know back then, was that here in the future we have every bluffers own dynamic duo super-heroes, namely; the Internet and Google Translate.
These provided me with a translation of "doigt d'indexage" well sort of anyway, but I really needed to be sure and queried Serge from Firem. He came up with this alternative, "goupille de sécurité à verrouillage rapide", oh no, it was getting more complicated not simpler.
It was time to bring out my secret weapon, a gent by the name of Crispin who has not only spent far too much time biking in the Pyrenees, used to run a bike shop and devours language and grammar almost as fast as a good pudding.

He went quiet for a while but came back with "quick-lock safety stud", what a genius. This small component, is the key link that joins the head tube to the body of the VS512 and allows it to be split, to fit in the boot of a car or carried into one of those tiny bubble like gondola "tele-cabines" dotted around the Alps.

Le "doigt d'indexage"

The leaflet is now translated and the next item on the Firem hit list will be an on-line shop as there have already been sales enquiries from the United States.

I want to pay tribute to 10 excellent items that I have used whilst skibiking, they didn't cost much and have all delivered fantastic value for money.
All of them cost under £60, to stay in budget, some had to be bought from secondhand from eBay, usually in nearly new condition having seen a weeks use or less. SkiBike related bargains are out there to be had, providing you buy at the end of the winter season right through to late September.

Item: Canterbury Knee Braces

Price Paid: £25 each

What was so good about this item then?

It was tough finding the number 1 skibiking essential of 2012, but on reflection I chose a product that is of great personal significance, but should prove valuable to skibikers young and old alike. Life is so full of irony, if I had worn knee braces when I first tried skiing, I might never have damaged my knees and found myself on a skibiking odyssey. Now, I wear them whenever I head for the slopes whether that's on a skibike or skis.
There have been a number of occasions where I have got into the sort of awkward twisting falls that in the past caused havoc and I have felt the metal side straps take the load and hold me together. I am certain that without these there would have been a fair few situations where injury would have compromised my skibiking enjoyment.

Any gripes or whinges about this item?

The are produced in a "one size fits all" design, which I believe will inevitably lead to some compromises in the fit. After roughly 6 weeks use the velcro straps are starting to loose their grip.

Canterbury Knee Braces - #1 skibiking essential

I want to pay tribute to 10 excellent items that I have used whilst skibiking, they didn't cost much and have all delivered fantastic value for money.
All of them cost under £60, to stay in budget, some had to be bought from secondhand from eBay, usually in nearly new condition having seen a weeks use or less. SkiBike related bargains are out there to be had, providing you buy at the end of the winter season right through to late September.

Item: SixSixOne Wrist Braces

Price Paid: £18 each

What was so good about this item then?

In 2011 I made my first attempts to ride mostly in the freestyle / pegger method of riding. In retrospect, I think I must have been riding with a large amount of my bodyweight supported by my wrists. If you have followed this blog, you will know that I have skinny, weak, girls wrists, so this is a bad thing. I am certain that I stretched tendons and put a lot of pressure on my median nerve during that period and suffered mildy from the ill effects for many weeks afterwards.
For the 2012 season I was determined to amortise the risk of similar symptoms re-occuring and also guard against wrist fractures due to hyper-extension during the anticipated crashes and wipeouts. True to form, I had many crashes and wipeouts during th 2012 season, during some of which, I really thought I was going to do permanent damage.
Whether these wrist braces were a placebo or whether they really did save my physical integrity I will never know. All I can be certain of is that; they were comfortable to wear, easy to put on and it did me know harm to have them and I would have felt naked on a skibike without them.

Any gripes or whinges about this item?

After roughly four weeks of use, they are beginning to look worn, I had hoped that they would be a bit tougher for the money.

SixSixOne Wrist Braces - # 2 skibiking essential

I want to pay tribute to 10 excellent items that I have used whilst skibiking, they didn't cost much and have all delivered fantastic value for money.
All of them cost under £60, to stay in budget, some had to be bought from secondhand from eBay, usually in nearly new condition having seen a weeks use or less. SkiBike related bargains are out there to be had, providing you buy at the end of the winter season right through to late September.

Item: Cooper Winter Tyres

Price Paid: just under £60 including fitting and balancing

What was so good about this item then?

Incredibly this was my first experience with winter tyres in 5 decades of driving experience (I first drove a car in 1978 - true!) and I wasn't entirely convince that it wasn't all a scam, placebo effect, Emperor's new clothes, etc.
Following some research I discovered that in certain Alpine countries winter tyres are mandatory, at least for locals and I have heard stories about how the fine Gendarmes of France love to fine Les Rosboeufs and how legal action is possible if an accident is deemed to be caused by failure to have the correct boots installed.
My only benchmark was to compare the result of equipping Uncle Fester the tired old Fiesta with a pair of Cooper 155/70 x 13 winter tyres and see the difference compared to my "all seasons" tyres from Matador, an economy brand from premium tyre manufacturer Continental.
Cheekily, I only fitted winter tyres to the front wheels (driven) wheels and I discovered this season (2012) that such is the difference in grip from these tyres, that the rear of the car will tend to slide out and oversteer quite readily, even in the wet!
Driven gently, there was no noticeable slip driving on freshly snow covered roads. If provoked the driven wheels will spin, but even then they still shovel snow behind you and exert purchase on the snow. Likewise, if you brake too heavily and lock up wheels, they still provide friction, even when locked.
Such was the difference in grip between the front and rear wheels on a snow covered car park in Switzerland, that it was possible to drive away with the rear wheels totally locked by the handbrake and drive the car around like a sled.
It is worth noting that these Cooper winter tyres have also worked exceptionally well in wet conditions too, at the time of writing (April 2012), the UK is experiencing a cold snap and I have delayed swapping back to my summer boots. Considering the tread pattern, road noise was no different on the motorway to my normal tyres and fuel economy remained the same.

Any gripes or whinges about this item?

As Scotty would have said in the original Start Trek TV series "Ye cannae change the laws of physics!", the excellent grip comes from a combination of the soft rubber compound and high void ratio, in anything but cold conditions wear will be faster than regular tyres. You have to fit winter tyres in November and remove them at the end of April. It is simplest if they live on a dedicated set of winter wheels and therefore need to be stored somewhere away somewhere dark during the summer months.

Cooper Winter Tyres - essential for skibike expeditions

I want to pay tribute to 10 excellent items that I have used whilst skibiking, they didn't cost much and have all delivered fantastic value for money.
All of them cost under £60, to stay in budget, some had to be bought from secondhand from eBay, usually in nearly new condition having seen a weeks use or less. SkiBike related bargains are out there to be had, providing you buy at the end of the winter season right through to late September.

Item: Tesco F&F Thinsulate Winter Gloves

Price Paid: £6

What was so good about this item then?

I got these as an impulse purchase whilst doing my weekly grocery shop, at the price I expected them to last a week at most. Gloves take a lot of punishment whilst skibiking, the area between the base of the thumb and the forefinger is especially prone. Over 3 weeks later and after some very vigorous activity they hardly look broken in.
They have a tough waterproof outerlayer and a cosy Thinsulate inner layer. I didn't appreciate how efficient they were till I took them off for 5 minutes on an especially cold morning when it was -10 degrees. As a result, there was one finger that didn't regain sensation in the tip for nearly a month.

Any gripes or whinges about this item?

At this price, certainly not, a bottle of beer in Switzerland was more expensive.

Tesco Winter Gloves - fantastic value