Snow biking the hard way

obie · Post by **obie** » Sat Jan 07, 2012 8:30 am

http://arcticglass.blogspot.com/

Good catch by Jill Homer. Good summary from Mike Curiak about performance issues in sub-40 below conditions.

Aside from the media-circus surrrounding this woman's Antarctic attempt, the simple fact that her effort is hardly on the radar in the serious snow-bike community, says a lot about how outdated her equipment and tactics are.

Mike Curiak, the Petervarys and others have gone farther with less support. Curiak solo, unsupported for 1100 miles in Alaska. Hanebrinks are bulldozers - just looking at the bike's geometry gives my lower back the aches. Since a hard ride in snow could involve pushing, pullling and lifting your rig, these brutes would needlessly tax your energies. Modern snow-bikes come in at 20-25 lbs. - half the weight of a Hanebrink. Bigger wheels equal more speed, better climbing, better descending - thus 29'ers have taken over the MTB world.

All that being said, I wouldn't mind owning an old Hanebrink. Dinosaurs.

Helen's live blog from Antarctica:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/diaries/helen ... ort-relief

Day 1 on the bike was a 15 mile sufferfest. Kites for the next few days.

atomicoyote · Post by **atomicoyote** » Sat Jan 07, 2012 7:05 pm

Nice find on Jill Homer's blog. I saw a BBC web-article on this lady's plans about a month ago and couldn't see how it would work. Jill Homer's blog indirectly raises some issues I wondered about; mainly how to keep the bearings on the bike working in the extreme cold that's sure to be encountered down south (the problem Mike Clirk(?) had in the Yukon), how to get over some of the various terrains (especially with minimal BB clearance and hauling a sled), and how the heck to carry that thing (everybody who MTBs has occasionally had to hoof it). Tires are strange, too; most folks I know who bike in snow use studded tires, even off road since ground below the snow can freeze and the studs' extra grip helps prevent sliding on an ice layer (or the frozen tundra mentioned in Jill's blog).

Can't see me doing that, but here's an example of what I'd use if I was living in a snow-covered area (or maybe closer to the desert and some serious sand time! 8)

8)

):

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/pugsley

There's also 'Fatbike' a semi-custom builder in Anchorage; they use some of Surly's parts in their bikes. Cheers!

obie · Post by **obie** » Sat Jan 07, 2012 9:58 pm

'Pugsleys' are plenty cool. I've been looking at a 'Mukluk'II over at The Path in Tustin. Both have proven track records on the Iditarod. Makes me wonder if this woman was planning all along on kiting & sledding more than biking - knowing how tough that terrain is - and just used the 'bike ride' to hook people into it.

Salsa Mukluk II:

http://salsacycles.com/bikes/mukluk/

obie · Post by **obie** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:05 am

Looks like Skelton's getting called on this half-assed 'expedition'.

http://www.explorersweb.com/polar/news.php?id=20582

I gotta laugh at these media adventures tho, they keep me amused to find yet another wacko item along the way. The pictures of Skelton having her feet tended to by the "Team" doctor at the end of the day is hilarious.

I wonder if Denis Urubko has his feet tended to everynight at C1 on Nanga Parbat?