User:Mattinla98/Skibike

Skibiking is a winter sport that involves riding a bicycle with skis attached instead of wheels, down snow-covered hills. The sport is also sometimes referred to as snowbiking, but differs from skibobbing, in that the rider uses foot pegs rather than foot skis. In recent years, the term "skibiking" has been more frequently used to describe the modern freestyle aspect of the sport in which riders are seen performing freestyle tricks in the terrain parks at ski resorts, and riding through steep mogul fields, and off-piste terrain while standing on the foot pegs of the bike in similar fashion to motocross riding. In skibobbing, the rider remains seated and utilizes short foot skis for increased stability.

History

The early origins of the skibike (aka snowbike and skibob) appear to date back nearly 150 years.. They seem to have appeared in the European alps in the 1850's as a means of practical winter transportation, as evidenced by oil paintings from the era. They were quite large with heavy wooden framework. As often happens, invention occurs concurrently in different geographic locations. There is evidence that a similar vehicle had been constructed in North America in the 1870's. In 1892 a patent was granted to an American, a Mr. J. Stevens for his "Ice Velocopede". It was basically a bicycle conversion with a single runner in front and two in the rear. There is no evidence that it was ever produced. In 1911, the "Velogemel" was patented in Grindelwald, Switzerland.

Not much is known about skibike development during the next 38 years. However, an authenticated photo has recently surfaced from the 1939 MGM ski novelty movie "Ski-Birds", depicting a couple sitting on a fairly sophisticated metal skibike. This is something of a revelation, the "missing link" to later designs. Nothing is known regarding the origins of this bike.

Skibikes surfaced publicly again in the late 1940's. On March 10, 1949, Engelbert Brenter, an Austrian ski manufacturer, obtained a patent for his "Sit-Ski". This device incorporated several innovative features. Prior to this time, skibikes were essentially transportation vehicles, a steer-able sledge with runners. Utilizing the principles of skiing, Mr. Brenter replaced the runners with real skis, added a suspension system and began utilizing short foot-skis. The end result of these changes was a slope useable device capable of skidded turns and speed control. These user- friendly attributes were a major contributing factor in the transformation of skibiking into the recreational “sport” that we know today. An improved version of this bike was a commercial success in the 1950's. The Brenter family continues to produce skibikes to this day.

In 1950, the German engineer Ernst Reiss-Schmidt patented a design later to become the "Gfaellerei".

Many designs emerged in the early 50's. Georg Gfaller Sr, a German engineer, produced the hoop-frame bike pictured on the right. This may have appeared as early as 1946/47, there are questions regarding the exact date. In 1952, he patented a rocket powered winged hybrid, with the front ski replaced by two in parallel. His son, Georg Jr, would later serve as President of the FISB, and it is said that he coined the expression "Skibob". This became the generally accepted term for these vehicles and is still in use today in Europe.

With the proliferation of ski areas in the 50's, 60's and 70's the popularity of the sport continued to grow in Europe. At one time there were over 70 manufacturers. Organized competition also began during this time with the first race being held in Obertauern, Austria in 1954. The Federation International de Skibob (FISB) was formed in 1961. The first World Championship was held in 1967. From this period, through current times, skibiking has continued as a popular winter pastime in the European alps.

In America, biking enjoyed a period of relative popularity during the late 60's through the mid 70's. There were many domestic manufacturers. A World Championship competition event was held at Mount Rose, Nevada in 1971. Following this period, through cycles of change, a dedicated group of core enthusiasts has continued to keep the flag flying. An interesting parallel is snowmobiling. Sleds were very popular during this same period with around 100 manufacturers. By the early 1980's this number had fallen to only 4. Changing times..

The late 1990's began the contemporary renaissance of skibiking in North and South America. The pendulum is swinging back around. There is a new progressive spirit, a desire for new experience as evidenced by the interest in alternative X-treme sports. The bike is back! (from the American Ski-bike Association Ski-bike.org).

In 2002, the introduction of the skibike conversion kit marked the beginning of a new era of skibiking. The "Ski-MX (short for Skibike Motocross) Conversion Kit" was introduced by Matt Hanson, and allowed riders to convert virtually any standard bicycle into a skibike by simply removing the wheels and cranks, and replacing them with skis and foot pegs. US Patent #6626441 contains a detailed description of the device and the conversion process. Use of this device allowed riders to use high-tech, full-suspension, downhill mountain bikes with up to 8 inches of suspension travel, as skibikes. Terrain parks, moguls, and off-piste terrain are now the setting for "extreme ski-biking", or "Skriggin" as the early adopters dubbed it (short for Ski-rigging). As converted bikes gained popularity, several companies began to produce purpose-built skibikes that use foot pegs instead of foot skis. The sport of freestyle skibiking has experienced a slow, steady growth ever since.

Additionally, skibikes of all types have always been very popular amongst the adaptive ski community. Adaptive skiers are skiers that have some form of physical disability that prevents them form traditional skiing, such as paralysis, joint replacement, amputation... The skibikes have proven themselves over the years as viable vehicles for adaptive skiers, allowing them access to mountain environments that previously eluded them. There are currently more than 60 ski areas in North America that allow skibike access and dozens more globally. That number increases each year. The American Ski-bike Association (ski-bike.org) is currently the best resource for information about the sport of skibiking. The site lists current manufacturers, skibike friendly ski areas, history of the sport, along with other useful information.

SKIBIKE MANUFACTURERS (alphabetically, from the American Ski-bike Association, Ski-bike.org)

HYBRID/FREESTYLE (Peg bikes) • Alpine Skibikes • Geary Snowbikes • Koski Snowsports • Lenzsport • Schneevelo • Sledgehammer

TRADITIONAL (Skibobs - foot skis required) • Brenter • Leycraft • Stalmach

BOARDBIKES (Stand-up scooters mounted to wide snowboards) • BikeBoard • Funcross • MetalWorx • Slider • Slopecycle • Snowscoot • Snowter • Venom