Real Snowbike

xcnick

1 W
Joined
Jun 18, 2017
Messages
50
Location
Tahoe
The motorcycles call themselves snowbikes, yet there is no “B” in motorcycle. The defining difference is a real snowbike is light enough to save yourself. Snowmobiles, Snowmotorcycle, all have to call for help every time they are stuck.

My recent leap forward is the tire. Anyone can buy this now, but so far I am the only one using it. The paddles were for forward traction, but a miracle happened and it gives side bite as well. There are many videos of how loose the rear is in the snow with even the best tire. It produces many giggles, but now I can carve a turn steep and deep, climb side hill, etc. I have gone places impossible last year.

SOMEBODY STEAL MY IDEA! You guys can make this work.

I made this video last year, Lou with studs and still looser than a drift car.

[youtube]CVT4akEyWDc[/youtube]

This video I just made, but it doesn't really show the difference. It was about jumping into powder. A tire would have dug in and I would have gone over the handle bars.

[youtube]5sC2-rn04So[/youtube]

My sport has evolved into using the roads to get back up and smashing powder between the roads. I am more of a neighborhood hooligan than when I was a 10 year old with a stingray. I use snowmobile tracks to get to the top of backcountry powder runs. The ski area, when closed, is a riot. I need some young kid with medical insurance to huck it off the terrain park. We have an eight foot booter. Now that would be a video.
 
Very cooooooooooool

There is no better feeling then making first tracks in pow! No matter where it is, a baseball field, back country open slopes, corduroy.

What first comes to mind is having a track system on the rear, of course a wide track system on fat bike. Even better is to have a single frame that you can easily take off the fat fork, throw in a regular mtb fork and reg mtb rear wheel, with fat hub/axle for summer/spring/summer riding. Haven't ridden a fattie yet, well I have ridden a fattie :oops: just not of bicycle ;) more cushion for the pushing ;)


Being motorized, make that back track system much longer for the deeper pow!

bicycle track system.jpg
 
Number one, ride what you have. Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro tires can get any mountain bike screaming around a ski area's groomed runs. Bikeboard is an easy front ski, but it comes with the wrong ski for groomers.

I would love to share ideas with other riders. My batting average is worse than an American League pitcher. I have a K-track anyone can have for free if they come get it. It is in my fail pile, but perhaps the concept is OK.
 
wooww

Where's possible to obtain that kit or parts to transform my BBSHD fat bike.

Will be amazing. Mabe it's too late for that year, but will be great next winter.
 
A skinny bike will work if the snow is right. To this day, if the ski runs are hard, the most fun is a skinny front ski and Ice Spiker Pro on an enduro bike. All my nonsense has just expanded the snow conditions I can play in, including powder.

It seems reasonable to start where I did, Front ski and Ice Spiker Pro.

Front ski system: www.fatbikeskis.com Mine is a triangle from www.alpineskibikes.com/ but the rectangle can't be bought. www.Bikeboard.com goes on the tire and was better than I thought for a front ski system, but it has limits, and its ski is for powder.

Rear Tire: We can buy the paddle tire from Skat Trak.

Transmission: Rohloff, I am working on a SA 170mm 3 speed hub, we will see.

It got ugly when I had to make room for the tire. I fabricated this to move the wheel back, but I only have a drill and hacksaw.

Most importantly people here have the skills to take it further. I foresee something like an Oset electric trials bike that weighs 60 pounds. Lefty fork. Astroflight motor would probably double the power of the HD. My dream would be Dave from Tangent to go nuts on this project. I don't build or ride well enough to do this sport justice.
 

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xcnick said:

Well anything "normal" I dont think could hack groomed corduroy, sure a fat bike would be able to but I think it would all depend on the snow conditions. Whats the max width of a fat bike, 5" and deflate down to 5psi would help depending on the over all weight.

For a front "ski" as the wheel, I would just find some junk skis and cut them up, then you got some metal edges instead of cheesy plastic. I was one of the first to cut my last years racing ski's to shorties until the ski patrol saw what I was doing and had a word with me. This was before snow boards were a thing, or even the uni-ski, basically a snowboard but you had reg dwnhill bindings, so your toes were in front. We used to call the people who skied like that "Squids" or "Doc Hollywood". You would see them skiing the run under the ski lift, showing off. You could probably hit up the thrift stores and find some cheap circa 1980's shit sticks. Garage sales too, pick some up for $5. Take both skis and bolt them together. Weld up the mount.

Them squids just wasnt right back then,because for skiing you wanted your feet apart for more control. But thats how it went back them. The high speed quads were decades to come. Stand up converyor belts were a pipe dream, it was a rope. Next was the single cocktug, next double T-bar. If you tensioned the rebound mechanism properly you could get 10' of air on the T-bars. The cool cats would not sit but place one end down at their bent knee or boot area. If there was enough pew, no need to use the top of the lift, just jump off the chair about 25' from the turn around.
 
That is exactly the experimentation needed. Today, we all race with our feet apart. Shorter is better, that is why the FIS limits how short we can go? No limit on longer.

I came up with different skis for the bike than I see on the web. I use a kid's racing ski at about 100cm long. The thinner the better. My fat ski is a Skiboard, the things you describe, 100cm long 100/80/100 side cut. It takes a lot of powder before I move to the fat ski. Fatbikeski, bikeboards, they all use skis that are fat. The bikeboard was completely useless on groomers until I changed the ski. I worry using the wrong ski for conditions will make us think the idea of a front ski is a fail.

Normal skinny enduro bike is the best for groomers, that is why everyone should go rip it up even if they don't have a fat bike. You want it just soft enough the Ice Spiker digs in a inch, but this is still what skiers would call icy. The studs will grip if harder, all the way to ice. Of course the front ski is a must.

Most people I hand the bike to don't like the ski. Just going around flat in a parking lot is not where it shines. I can't really take a beginner into conditions where it is necessary, not just better.
 
That is hilarious and ingenious at the same time. :bigthumb:

I used to ride the snow mo trails in CB, CO years ago with 2.2's @ 15psi front and rear for miles. Wasn't always the right conditions but when it was, it was on! The biler's would laugh when they saw me out in the backcountry. I used my ski's and skins for the pow however.
 
I'll just leave this here for inspiration....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1c6W8xbF_s
 
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