Winter sports fans are in for a treat this year as a little known activity has been gathering momentum and will make its mark properly this season.The sport of snowbiking involves traveling down a traditional ski run on a modified bicycle. Chucking yourself down a ski run on a bike is nothing new, but the hundreds of people who tried it previously didn’t do too well on account of the fact bicycles rely heavily on good ground friction. Over the years many snowboard and ski enthusiasts have been working on newer designs in the hope of discovering something that worked. unfortunately, early snowbike designs had some major floors, and only recently have snowbikes been produced that really work well in different snow conditions.

A Canadian firm currently offers the best bike on the market and they have announced the first snowbike world championship will take place next year. Snowbikes are not really freestyle or jumping pieces or equipment, but instead built for speed and manoeuvrability. This will be reflected in the world championship events that will be based around slalom and speed competitions. The large majority of snowbikes that have succeeded in the market share many characteristics with snowmobiles. Steering comes in the form of a front-mounted large blade which is attached to handlebars, and the bike is lower to the ground than conventional bikes. This enables the rider to turn relatively sharply, but instead of having an engine at the back propelling the device, it of course relies on gravity to build up momentum.

Snowbike manufactures admit that snowbiking is not the easiest of extreme sports to master, but that it is well worth putting in the hours to master. Apparently learning how to snowbike shares similarities with learning to ride normal mountain bikes. It is a skill that takes a little while to get right, but it has a steep learning curve and once you’ve mastered it you won’t lose it.  You can get the snowbikes in a variety of sizes, including smaller bikes for children. A portable fold-up version of the snowbike has also now been made that can fit in a regular backpack.

There will be a temptation for many proficient snowboarders and skiers to tackle the hardest runs straight away, but manufacturers urge people to start of small and build up, no matter how good you think you will be. Snowbikes are much harder to stop than snowboards or skis, and if you haven’t mastered the technique you will not only be risking your own safety, but you may be endangering the safety of other winter sports enthusiasts also.

In fact there have been a number of ski resorts in America who have banned snowbiking from their slopes until they have done their own safety tests. A large majority of slopes have opened their doors to snowbikes though, stating that if used responsibly, they are no more dangerous than any other winter sport. Whatever resorts think of the bikes, with a reported 30,000 snowbikers worldwide, this one seems like a trend that is going to stick (or slide as the case may be).