For Sale - Alpine SkiBikes SkiBike Conversion #2 - £350

This is the second of a pair of skibikes for sale built by a fan of this Blog. Sadly they have been virtually unused ever since, skibiking may not be for everybody, it wasn't for him, but if it's for you then this is your chance to buy a ready to ride skibike for much less than the cost of the individual components.

For sale - a pair of Alpine Skibikes mtb conversions for £350 each

Using the design philosophy of Wayne Richards and his ever popular "DIY Skibike Design" series of articles as a skibike builders bible, he religiously followed all the same principles.

As Wayne recommends the frame is a basic Y shaped full suspension frame, this shape makes for very convenient loading on the chairlift; you can even sit on some chairs with the skibike between your legs without causing fouling, just like a pro.

It is a 16” frame measured from the centre of the crank to the seat post, constructed from aluminium it is both strong and corrosion resistant. The overall weight is 13.1 Kg.

For sale - 18" frame skibike

The forks are basic 1 1/8” units, possibly by RST or Zoom with 100mm or 4" of travel with BMX handlebars mounted on an Ahead stem.

The rear suspension is a basic coil sprung, un-damped unit with an eye to eye distance of 155 mm.

For sale - skibike ready to ride for £350

The skis fitted are Brenter a market leading brand which should need no introduction.

Obviously there is nothing state of the art about this combination, but then neither is the asking price, which even includes delivery within the UK.

The beauty of this style of skibike conversion is the way you can upgrade parts to a much better specification easily and very economically by trawling eBay, mountain bike forums and Facebook groups for unwanted new or second hand parts.

This Alpine Skibikes skibike conversion has been priced at £350 for a quick sale, the price includes delivery within the UK. It can be sent to some European locations too, but please ask for a quote first as this could be quite a high sum.

It is rare to find freestyle skibikes offered for sale in the UK, especially a matching pair, stock is limited to these two skibikes, so don't hang about if this is what you need for your next winter holiday.

Here is a link to the first skibike of the pair.

UPDATES:

Inspection and collection is available from Peterborough, PE2 5HS, just a couple of miles from the A1.

With prior arrangement they can also be seen as follows:

30th Jan - Bracknell
31st Jan - Guildford
6th Feb - Cardiff
7th Feb  - Sheffield
11th-21st Feb - Alps

For Sale - Alpine SkiBikes SkiBike Conversion #1 - £350

This is the first of a pair of skibikes for sale built by a fan of this Blog. Sadly they have been virtually unused ever since, skibiking may not be for everybody, it wasn't for him, but if it's for you then this is your chance to buy a ready to ride skibike for much less than the cost of the individual components.

For sale - a pair of Alpine Skibikes mtb conversions for £350 each

Using the design philosophy of Wayne Richards and his ever popular "DIY Skibike Design" series of articles as a skibike builders bible, he religiously followed all the same principles.

As Wayne recommends, the frame is a basic Y shaped full suspension frame, this shape makes for very convenient loading on the chairlift; you can even sit on some chairs with the skibike between your legs without causing fouling, just like a pro.

It is a 18” frame measured from the centre of the crank to the seat post, constructed from aluminium it is both strong and corrosion resistant. The overall weight is 13.5 Kg.

For sale - 18" frame skibike

The forks are basic 1 1/8” units, possibly by RST or Zoom with 80mm or 3" of travel, with BMX handlebars mounted on an Ahead stem.

The rear suspension is a basic coil sprung, un-damped unit with an eye to eye distance of 160 mm.

For sale - skibike ready to ride for £350

The skis fitted are Gaspo PTS99, a brand which has a good reputation for coping well in icier conditions.

Obviously there is nothing state of the art about this combination, but then neither is the asking price, which even includes delivery within the UK.

The beauty of this style of skibike conversion is the way you can upgrade parts to a much better specification easily and very economically by trawling eBay, mountain bike forums and Facebook groups for unwanted new or second hand parts.

Gaspo skis fitted - great for icy conditions

This Alpine Skibikes skibike conversion has been priced at £350 for a quick sale, the price includes delivery within the UK. It can be sent to some European locations too, but please ask for a quote first as this could be quite a high sum.

It is rare to find freestyle skibikes offered for sale in the UK, especially a matching pair, stock is limited to these two skibikes, so don't hang about if this is what you need for your next winter holiday.

Here is a link to the second skibike of the pair.

UPDATES:

Inspection and collection is available from Peterborough, PE2 5HS, just a couple of miles from the A1.

With prior arrangement they can also be seen as follows:

30th Jan - Bracknell
31st Jan - Guildford
6th Feb - Cardiff
7th Feb  - Sheffield
11th-21st Feb - Alps

Blog Tour 2015-16 - La Clusaz

I had planned to have one or two mellow solo rides to end the season, but instead found myself heading off to La Clusaz to re-join Thierry and Stephane, why? Because although La Clusaz has been skibike friendly for a number of years, this season the skibike restrictions on (almost) all of the chairlifts have been lifted. The arrival of plenty of fresh snow meant that we would need no excuses to see how this principal would translate into practice.

La Clusaz - the arrival of fresh snow meant we would need no excuses

As locals Thierry and Stephane were guiding me I had only a rudimentary awareness of the route we took. But I spotted some odd anomalies which you need to adjust to at La Clusaz. For example, the Telemix Etale which has both chairlifts and gondolas running along the same cable requires you to be in the gondola section, presumably because you are classed as a pedestrian.
At other chairlifts the lift operators wanted you to travel alone, or as a pair. I think one wanted the skibike on the chair, inside the safety bar, proper old skool leper style; skibiker unclean, unclean, unclean.
It all harked back to the way things were at other ski stations five years ago whilst they were adjusting to a new and strange skibike rhythm. Hopefully as this season progresses the poor lifties will loosen up a little, much as they have done elsewhere.

Hopefully as the season progresses the lifties will loosen up a little

For nostalgic reasons I was quite keen to see the Le Fernuy side of the mountain, as it was one of the first places in France I ever took my skibike to. Le Fernuy was the first area at La Clusaz to open up to skibikes as a niche activity. At the time I stuck to the pistes exclusively, but now appreciate that this quiet back mountain area has some very extensive and expert off-piste riding available, much of it way above my skill level. As if to force the point home, Thierry and I discovered some of the most amazing pockets of untrammelled powder snow just off to the side of the piste.

La Clusaz - amazing pockets of powder just off the piste

So I am very pleased to report that it's all working out just fine at La Clusaz.  It's not a place I would normally have considered to go skibiking, it's just that little bit further than the Portes du Soleil for me to get to. But I can now see that with the new chairlift options, La Clusaz is really quite a substantial resort of which I had only scratched the surface previously.

Blog Tour 2015-16 - Kitzsteinhorn, Maiskogel & the Call of the Pow

So for the last three days we had waited for a weather window in order to visit to the glacier above Kaprun. This, our last day in Austria, was to be our final opportunity for Thierry, Stephane and I to answer the "Call of the Pow" and see whether the stories we had head of vast powder fields high above the clouds were true. As the morning dawned there were patches of blue sky between the clouds and you could even see the sun, was today going to be our bluebird day?

Zellermoos dawn - was today going to be our bluebird day?

The Kitzsteinhorn base station is just up the road from Kaprun, itself no more than ten minutes from Zell am See. The base station sits in a deep gorge of monumental proportions served by either of two possible cable car systems; which is just as well, because once you are up in the glacier bowl the only other way down would be by helicopter.

Kitzsteinhorn - two cable car systems, the only other way down is by helicopter

We were warned at the base station that it was going to be windy at the top, I have survived Scotland, but there was little to prepare us for the sheer brutally once we arrived.

When we got to the first chairlift the cross winds were trying to wrench my skibike out of my grasp as it balanced precariously below me. The temperature was -9 degrees and with the wind the conditions were truly Arctic in nature. We managed a few runs struggling to see anything beyond a dozen metres. Without any vegetation for reference I was watching out for tiny bits of debris on the piste, just to be able to gauge my speed and direction.

The extreme cold forced us to seek the comfort of the Krefelder Hutte and some gluhwein before reconsidering our decision to remain in such hellish conditions. The forecast was bleak, with more gusty winds predicted, today was just not going to be our day. As if to add insult to injury the skies would clear tonight and tomorrow was going to be sunny and bright; someone else would be in for an amazing bluebird day tomorrow, how typical!

The forecast was bleak, today was just not going to be our day

We retreated down the valley to the relative calm of nearby Maiskogel covered by the same lift pass.

Admittedly we did find some good accumulated powder at the top of the mountain, but unfortunately horrendous ice further down. In short, it was the worst slope I have ever ridden, it didn't matter what technique I tried, none of them worked. For the very first time since the start of the Blog in 2009 I called it quits at 3.30 whilst the lifts were still running. Leaving Thierry as the last surviving member of our clique to answer "The Call of the Pow".

Stephane LeMaitre - Call of the Pow

Blog Tour 2015-16 - Leogang

This morning Wayne headed back home and poor Stephane claimed his right to a duvet day leaving myself and Thierry to explore Leogang another resort in spitting distance of Zell am See. Leogang is as well known for its bike park as for its ski resort, so it should come as no surprise to find that it is a skibike friendly destination too.
Our starting point was the Steinbergbahn cable car station at just up the road from Leogang village and about 20 minutes from Zell am See. The Steinbergbahn was to all appearances totally brand new this season, there has clearly been massive investment in this area, if only we had the drive and confidence to do the same in Scotland how different it would be.
We found ourselves at the summit of the Kniestichkogel with the option of following the 88 blue run for an easy warm up. Disappointingly this turned out to be yet another icy mess, so we hastily sought some uplift via our first chairlift. I tentatively asked the operator if this would be OK and his quick witted reply was "Just so long as you have paid for a lift pass". Clearly there were going to be no issues with skibikes on chairlifts at Leogang.

We found a much better run down through the trees on pistes 87 & 92; then the heavens opened  and there was plentiful fresh snow everywhere. After so many days of wrestling my skibike for control, skittering and grinding across boiler plate hard ice, it was pure joy to get back that floating sensation, gliding silently across grippy snow. Unfortunately there was insufficient cover to go the whole way down to the valley floor. Assuming winter arrives at some point in 2016, later in the season this run is going to be something special.

Die Alte Schmeide - The Old Blacksmiths at Kniestichkogel

We stopped for lunch at Die Alte Schmeide a quirky museum restaurant full of ancient artefacts. Thierry was no doubt precisely aware of the; name, purpose and function of each and every one of the blacksmiths tool on display. Unfortunately he was a bit too distracted for discourse thanks to the view of all the waitresses wandering around in Lederhosen. French may be the language of love, but Austrian German is most definitely the language of sexy.

source Lederhosen4U.com

After lunch there was a tiny break in the weather with the odd glimpse of blue sky that allowed us to head further across the ridge. On the chairlift we held on to our skibikes grimly, as the wind tried its hardest to wrench them from our grasp and allow the mountain to claim them as its own. I normally find the skibike leash a bit of a faff, but now regretted not having it on me.
Our perseverance gave us the opportunity to head into a glorious powder bowl between the Grosse Asitz and Kleiner Asitz. With the temperature at -9 degrees and with massive wind chill, I managed to grab this hasty snap of his Lordship waist deep powder; but then couldn't get the camera back in my pocket or blue fingers back in their gloves. This 30 second moment was going to cost me three days of frost bitten fingers.

Powder at last - this hasty snap would cost me three days of frost bite

With the light failing rapidly, the wind rising and the weather generally closing in we headed back to the sanctuary of the Steinbergerbahn lift station.

Leogang proved to be as skibike friendly as its reputation, there were no issues at any of the chairlifts including one of the old ones which the operator dutifully slowed for us to allow easier loading. It is on the edge of the circuit that connects with Saalbach & Hinterglemm giving the option of huge touring potential, all be it in more clement conditions.

Blog Tour 2015-16 - Saalbach & Hinterglemm

I have heard a lot about Saalbach and Hinterglemm over the years for being the place in Austria to skibike. Blog commentator Sharon Shinwell highly rates it and Blog writer Wayne Richards has been taking his buddies round the area on skibikes for quite a few seasons now.

Saalbach and Hinterglemm occupy an area conveniently spanning the length of a wide valley, this topography allows for many easy skibike touring possibilities in a day. There are even links across to Leogang and Fieberbrunn which elevate the area on to 3 Vallees scale riding. The predominance of blue runs make the area a cruiser's paradise, whilst there are often red alternatives for the thrill seekers.
As it was only twenty minutes from Zell am See and we had a few extra days to spend in the area, it would have been churlish to miss such an opportunity. Wayne graciously offered to put his guiding skills to use on this, his last day in Austria.

Saalbach - sparse snow cover, just thin ribbons from the snow cannon

We started our day at Vorderglemm, little more than a gondola station and parking lot just down the road from the town of Saalbach. No doubt this is a handy access point into the network of lifts for day trippers and those denied the luxury of accommodation in the town centre. The sole uplift was via the Schonleitenbahn gondola. As can be seen from the image about there wasn't much snow on the hill when we arrived, just thin ribbons provided by snow cannon. But at least there was no shortage of parking spaces.

With sparse snow cover and a somewhat icy start to the day, some of the blue runs were much more tricky than you might have expected; both Thierry and Stephane conceded that some of these blues would have been graded red in France.
We worked our way over to the Kohlmaisgipfelbahn to head above Saalbach town itself then descended into the bustle of this attractive ancient conurbation.

Hinterglemm - some of the blue runs would have been graded red in France

After a short walk we took the Bernkogelbahn  heading up towards Hochalmspitze at the top of the valley. We had to change our route after encountering problems using the Spieleck and Hochalm chairlifts without foot skis. This seemed to be the only area with such chairlift issues and Wayne confirmed that this had been the case on his previous visits too.

We stopped for lunch, after which we very briefly met up with Andy Upsylon and Carl Day who, like us, had also decided to stay on after the EUSA Skibike Weekend and explore the area.

Unable to progress any further up this side of the valley, we dropped down to Hinterglemm and took the Zwolfer-Nordbahn to the summit of the Zwolferkogel. The weather was progressively closing in as the afternoon wore on, so we hurried home via the Schattberg and enjoyed the long 2b run back down to Vorderglemm in total whiteout conditions. Arriving back at our base covered from head to toe in snow and soaked through to the skin; tired, wet, but happy with our exploration of the area.

Final descent in whiteout conditions

Saalbach and Hinterglemm offer many kilometres of cruising potential. There is no shortage of gondolas and lots of modern, easy loading and large chairlifts; this is pretty much ideal for the modern freestyle skibiker. There are very few drag lifts and mostly for nursery slopes with the odd bit of expert terrain served by them. With a little bit of map reading you can get around the area unrestricted.

On a sunny day, sauntering down through the woods redolent with the smell of pine trees would be a delight at Saalbach and Hinterglemm.

EUSA SkiBike Meeting - Part 2, The Bad Bits

At the start of part 1 I asked a few questions:

• Is the sport producing mass produced bikes suitable and reliable enough to go into the future?
• Will the bikes themselves be sassy enough to make the younger BMX rider or ageing rocker desire to give them a go?
• Will we, as a sport, fit into the lift company’s slot of taking our money in exchange for a day’s lift pass and create no more cost to the lift company than that of a skier?

Will we, as a sport, fit into the lift company's slot? - source Thierry Avrillon

Sorry guys and girls, without pointing fingers at anyone manufacturer or group, sadly I feel we are failing in almost all of the above questions. It was very evident from the assembled skibikes on view and I include the majority of home builds in this as well, that we are really in first generation design mode, having not yet worked out the solution of design to fit harmoniously in with the skiers and lift systems as well as the basic needs of getting around the mountain.
As soon as you see skibike front skis being taken off to ensure the bike fits into a 6 man gondola you know there’s a problem. When you see 10 skibikers in a group taking up 10 gondolas in a row, then you know skiers will get fed up waiting and the lift company’s eyebrows being lifted. When you see standard bike frames labelled as a commercial skibike, then after all these years, why have we moved forward so little in our design thinking?

Why have we moved forward so little with our design thinking?

So why is this the case? Yes there are economics, the standard bike frame is made in huge numbers and skibikes are not, but unless we as a group come up with a solution that lets the ski lift company benefit from our presence ( by taking our hard earned cash for no more effort than a skier or boarder  ) then the sport is probably doomed to failure.
The current designs we have simply do not benefit the lift companies, but in most ways have a cost attached by increasing the man power required to get us to the top of the mountain. We will need to sharpen our design aims fairly quickly, or once numbers start building of bikes on the mountain, then be prepared to lose our right to be there, lift companies do not want extra hassle in increasing numbers. Certainly in my view, that scenario is rapidly approaching.

So why aren't the current designs morphing towards something better suited. From speaking to most of the designers and builders it would seem that two quite disparate historical design routes were taken. One from Skibob history, where contrary to North America, ski-bobbing in the 60’s was incredibly popular in Europe, these are highly tuned and engineered pieces of equipment that do a dedicated job, that of going about as fast as bullet being fired down the mountain doing the occasional turn. When the local champion ski bobber, talks of beating professional GS racers such as Hermann Maier by 1.5 seconds, down a GS course, then these things are exceptionally fast. So we see bikes such as the SledgeHammer with its leading edge forks and dedicated fine carving attributes.

SledgeHammer - fine carving attributes - source SledgeHammer

The other route is that of the Bull Skate and to a lesser extent, Lenz skibikes, where Snow Parks and jumping and tricks and all things exciting like flips are the design brief. Long travel to soak up the landings and quite heavy construction to take the impacts.

Yes these bikes do the things they are designed for, but how many people frequent only the Snow Parks and on an average can you carve down all the slopes, the answer is very few and no the majority time is spent sliding sideways on narrow paths and avoiding other skiers. I feel the manufacturers are missing the true large potential market, that of the average skier / skibiker who simply want to ride around the resort, this is the real market, not the niche Park skier or dedicated carver/racer.

So let’s look at a classic skibike that is changing and looking to the future. The Lenz Launch was the star of the manufacturer’s line ups for me,  if the high foot peg heights came down, put it on a diet, lose the long travel forks and suspension and lose the high price, then we might be just seeing a glimpse of the future. Lenz has been probably around as long as most and probably altered his designs year by year, the most,  you can see this is probably a bike that is slowly morphing by incremental design, to a point where it is starting to fit into its skiing and ski lift surroundings. I can remember the first Lenz designs that were big, bulky and had that real MotoX bike look, with its long seat. Look at the Lenz Launch now, much slimmer, much much smaller, tiny bike seat and starting to lose the long unnecessary suspension travel.

If the number of skibikers grow, we are going to have to change our designs

So here it is, the blunt truth guys and girls, if the number of skibikers continue to grow, we are going to have to change our designs to be able to participate in the lift system of the future. If we don’t then I think it’s probably not unreasonable of the lift companies to simply say no. We have to be able to load the bikes forward facing on chairlifts, either beside or as some do, between their legs. Already that is possible as with the three companions one skibike with, we load four riders onto a four man lift. We have to get a minimum of three riders and skibikes in a six man bubble gondola, get the design right and it is possible, again we load four bikes or two bikes and three skiers into one six man gondola. This is just simple good engineering design, it’s not difficult, but unless we get these key points right, then don’t expect to be welcomed by the ski companies, many of who are trying to cut manpower and costs back.