Leveling the Playing Field – Snow Bikes vs Snowmobiles for the Light Weight Rider
Today’s snowmobiles respond amazingly well to rider input, even to riders like myself at a 125 pounds. The new machines are more agile and responsive than ever before! I can apply my own weight to this +430 pound machine from one side to the other, step forward or back on my rails, push / pull on my bars while I give just the right amount of throttle and it responds great in all directions! I carve it, counter steer it, sidehill it and wheelie it as I please. However, as “flickable” as it is, it still requires a lot more energy from me vs from anyone who is 1.5 to 2 times my weight (which is typical in my main group of riding partners). Fatigue usually sets in sooner for me and we all know what happens to our fellow riders when they start getting tired – “situations”. I also still struggle to find that comfort on a snowmobile that I see even less experienced but larger riders display on their machines. I’m aggressive, determined and strong but there’s still a bulkiness and awkwardness about that sled that I feel every time I shift my weight on it or leave the ground with it.
What’s making me so sensitive about fatigue and comfort on a snowmobile when they’ve come so far? A snow bike. They take flick-ability and responsiveness to a whole new level for a “snowmachine” – especially for a small rider like myself! They might not have the power of a 600cc or 800cc snowmobile but after experiencing far less fatigue (and “situations”), a much faster pace and discovering all the other fun lines I can take that I can’t or wouldn’t on my sled, I’m thinking the snowmobile might start taking the backseat. I’m all about using the right tool for the job in my line of work so why wouldn’t I do the same in recreation? I’m not giving up on my snowmobile – I’m really impressed with my Polaris AXYS 800 155! And I will always love grabbing a handful of that throttle and dangling off to the side of my machine in an aggressive carve. As well as wheeling up the face of a steep hillside or off a hump in the snow. I also love descending on it and then throwing it into a sidehill and carving back uphill! I love a lot of the experiences I have on that snowmobile – it’s amazing! But I’m “tired” of fighting fatigue and bad situations because of it. I don’t have to dangle half my body weight off the side of the snow bike to keep it on edge on a steep, treed hillside while precisely controlling the throttle like I’d have to on my snowmobile. And if I get bucked weird or some how separated from my bike, I don’t have to worry about it sending itself down the mountain and into a tree – a 125 lb rider is not going to counter the suddenly changed direction of a +430 lb machine nearly as well as a 180 to 250 lb rider (I know this from experience and we all know insurance claims are no fun to deal with let alone trying to patch a sled back together to get it home!). I also find myself carrying a much closer pace to my husband’s pace on the snow bike vs snowmobile – I’m spending far less time “positioning” myself to ride the sled through a big trench hole or trying to find a new line on a chewed up hillside because the riders in front of me wrecked all available fast lines! One ski just seams to slice right through trenches or across the chewed up hillsides and it doesn’t matter if I hesitated and didn’t carry my momentum as fast! I also find myself jumping the snow bike far better than my sled – it’s much easier to get the snow bike into position, easier to control it in the approach and then when it lands, it has a lot more suspension to absorb the landing (so more comfortable for me from take off to landing)! As far as riding the trail, now that I’ve had some time on the snow bike and learned to trust that front ski, the trail is easy to ride. In fact, I have more fun now because there are lines all over the place, each side of the trail, so I can actually spend less time on the trail! You only need a 18″ wide patch or so of snow to ride and it doesn’t matter if it’s on an embankment, in a ditch or on the flats. Whooped out trail? Hit them like your on the motorcross track! (But be prepared for some cramping quads and sore butt and inner thighs if your not in shape for it!)
So while it might be more fun for riders of the same size and abilities to pick one kind of machine to ride together in order to make the most of their experience, it almost makes more sense for a small and / or less aggressive rider to be on a snow bike with a group of experienced tree riding snowmobilers. I think where the terrain really opens up and is steep and the snow is deep, a snow biker will have to be creative about what lines they take but I’ve found as a small rider on a snow bike, it still goes pretty dang well even in those conditions! I’m riding a Husqvarna FC350 with a Timbersled ST 120 kit and TSS shock – I like the quicker responding 350 but on deep snow days, I’ve found the 450 to have a little longer legs. I think the 450 is more forgiving too and requires a little less shifting so that might be better for less aggressive riders as well.
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