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I just wanted to share this article I was inspired to write after I had gotten a couple real backcountry rides in on my snow bike and also gone out with a girl friend who is tiny and struggles to side hill her sled and ride in anything technical. We put her on my snow bike and for the first time, we witnessed her side hill effortlessly and navigate through terrain she cannot ride on her snowmobile.
A snow bike is a great alternative for any snowmobiler who struggles to side hill or ride technical terrain, it just might be the answer to being able to get out there with way more advanced snowmobilers or on the "boys only rides"!
Here's the article: Leveling the Playing Field – Snow Bikes vs Snowmobiles for the Light Weight Rider
I highly encourage any of you struggling to ride a snowmobile to give the snow bike a shot! It's a lot different from sledding and takes a few rides to start getting comfortable on it but now that I'm used to mine and experienced what I have, I could see my sled taking a back seat to it. I have so much more fun carving around and taking lines that are undoable or that I struggle to take on my sled! I can ride far more technical, steep and challenging terrain with far less fear of loosing my machine in a bad spot. Or ride moderately challenging terrain with ease that would require a lot more energy and effort on my sled.
I get way less fatigued on the snow bike - I know riding a sled technically in the backcountry can be done by a small rider with finesse and a little aggression but fatigue is just one thing that I can't seam to escape, even when I'm in good shape and on a new AXYS. Just as I get in good shape, the season starts to get warm spells that make the snow heavier and harder to ride in, thus taking far more energy and effort. Spring snow on a snow bike is actually really fun still and no worries about keeping a sled on edge in off camber terrain or loosing it down the mountain (they just flop over on their side)!
Aggressive moves are required more often from smaller riders on snowmobiles yet for a lot of women, riding aggressively is just simply not natural. You don't have to ride the snow bike as aggressively, you just have to keep your momentum up enough to slide through terrain with a lot less effort.
Anyway, I'm having so much fun discovering what this new machine is capable of and I hope to see more women and / or light weight / less aggressive snowmobilers get into it too so they can start having more fun and struggle less.
A snow bike is a great alternative for any snowmobiler who struggles to side hill or ride technical terrain, it just might be the answer to being able to get out there with way more advanced snowmobilers or on the "boys only rides"!
Here's the article: Leveling the Playing Field – Snow Bikes vs Snowmobiles for the Light Weight Rider
I highly encourage any of you struggling to ride a snowmobile to give the snow bike a shot! It's a lot different from sledding and takes a few rides to start getting comfortable on it but now that I'm used to mine and experienced what I have, I could see my sled taking a back seat to it. I have so much more fun carving around and taking lines that are undoable or that I struggle to take on my sled! I can ride far more technical, steep and challenging terrain with far less fear of loosing my machine in a bad spot. Or ride moderately challenging terrain with ease that would require a lot more energy and effort on my sled.
I get way less fatigued on the snow bike - I know riding a sled technically in the backcountry can be done by a small rider with finesse and a little aggression but fatigue is just one thing that I can't seam to escape, even when I'm in good shape and on a new AXYS. Just as I get in good shape, the season starts to get warm spells that make the snow heavier and harder to ride in, thus taking far more energy and effort. Spring snow on a snow bike is actually really fun still and no worries about keeping a sled on edge in off camber terrain or loosing it down the mountain (they just flop over on their side)!
Aggressive moves are required more often from smaller riders on snowmobiles yet for a lot of women, riding aggressively is just simply not natural. You don't have to ride the snow bike as aggressively, you just have to keep your momentum up enough to slide through terrain with a lot less effort.
Anyway, I'm having so much fun discovering what this new machine is capable of and I hope to see more women and / or light weight / less aggressive snowmobilers get into it too so they can start having more fun and struggle less.
