This video from the The Loam Ranger on YouTube explores the extremely niche sport of ski biking, which is exactly what it sounds like.
While winter in the UK has mostly consisted of rain, more rain, and then some rain, there are places in the world that have proper winters. Places like Canada.
When the world is blanketed in snow, cycling can become a bit of a chore, and some riders turn to more conventional winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding. With a ski bike, you can keep riding.
The ski bikes shown in the video resemble conventional full-suspension mountain bikes but have skis in place of wheels, and no pedals or drivetrain.
The rear ski is fixed straight-ahead while the front ski turns with the bars. Both seem to able to tilt fore-aft, but they're sprung in such a way that the movement is controllable.
A further key difference is that, as with regular skis, there are no brakes, which must feel quite intimidating when you first jump on. Speed is controlled by carving left and right, or, as happens throughout the video, falling over.
Ski biking looks mildly terrifying and enormously amusing. Could you be tempted to swap wheels for skis?
