etecheaven
Active VIP Member
Hi Guys, its a little long winded but here you go
Just wanted to do a post of my first experience on a snowbike this last weekend in Revy. First off a group of 5 of us decided to rent one because we were all skeptical and all enjoy sledding quite a bit. We showed up a powerhouse customs in the morning as i had a friend post about using this guy as he was good to deal with. In fairness we didn't call ahead as we got off the hill to late the previous day and he was already closed. When we walked in the door in the morning and asked the guy about a rental his response "not one of my bikes". It kind of took us back and he seemed like he was in a pretty pissy mood. He explained that due to low snow there was no way he was sending out his bikes. As we rode frisby the day before we said that the snow line was actually not that bad to get to but he was not having any of it. We asked if he knew any other companies that would be willing and he said "no, were all in the same boat".
^we all left with a sour taste in our mouth^ I get it, the guy didn't want to wreck his bikes, but he didn't have to treat us like we were bothering him for asking.
Not to be discouraged we called full speed rentals and the guy said no problem. Totally different experience, great store, great customer service, and not just because they allowed us to rent a bike. They gave us a new bike only ridden once with a yeti kit and off we went. The bike was well equipped with heated bars, custom seat, custom belly protector, awesome pegs and a bunch of other things, seemed really well thought out.
Rode frisby again as boulder parking was tight and frisby had a better snowline. Made it about a km past the cabin and the bike blew a belt. To be honest this killed the day, by time we found reception called down, and had the guy meet us at the truck which was nice it killed about 2.5 hours. We installed the belt and found that when it trued out it was not running on both cogs correct. Realizing that this could lead to further problems we stuck close to the cabin and we all finally got a chance to tear it up.
I have to say from my experience it was a total blast. Im 33, in fairly good shape and feel that as a sledder i can really hold my own and love tight tree riding. This bike opened my eyes to a whole new experience. So much so that although i will not sell my sled, i will not be buying a new one next year as i planned. Our whole group really felt the same way. I honestly didn't want to stop and didn't feel like i had to as i didn't even break a sweat compared to ridding my sled.
Conditions were pretty much hero snow setup with about 1 foot of fresh on top. Best conditions were found in the trees and this bike found it all as it seemed like you could drive endlessly. I suggest a GPS if you ride these as you can get lost pretty easily, you can cover so much ground!!!
I honestly need more experience in different snow conditions to be able to give a true review of a sled vs bike, but in those conditions a bike killed it! I will be renting or demoing again on my next trip and hoping for some deep pow to test. I believe once i do my thoughts will be that you can never replace sledding as a sled is so much fun climbing and busting though the deep pow but the bike will be the best for what i do the most which is tight trees, and now even tighter with a bike. Anything less then a deep pow day will be a bike day for me.
Back to the rental as when we got down to the trailer the belt had just about ripped to shreds again and the cover was all melted and bubbled. Another km and i think it would have grenaded. We were not sure how the rental place would respond as we have had both good and bad experiences with rental companies. Plain and simple they were awesome, no charge for the belts which we assumed but also a full refund on the rental. It sucked to not get a full day in and they totally recognized it and stepped up. I know yeti has had some issues with belts but the guy said never this bad. We spent a bunch of time discussing their setup and they were really helpful as i honestly think we are all going bike after a half day with 5 guys sharing one bike, even with the issues. It was unreal and kind of reminded me of my first time sledding in the mountains with a whole new world of fun opened up to me of what i could do there. We even stayed up top till dark to do some night riding.... 10x better on a bike then a sled as you can respond quicker when navigating in the tress.
Still keeping my sled but my guess is at least 50% or more of the time i will be on a bike. I highly suggest everyone try it out, especially anyone who is not in great shape and gets so sore after day one of sledding that day 2 is half ass riding. It makes day 2 so easy and possibly day 3.
Also if you need to rent anything, parts or gear go to full speed, they have wicked store and all the rental gear is top notch and brand new. I will use them again forsure!
Cheers
Just wanted to do a post of my first experience on a snowbike this last weekend in Revy. First off a group of 5 of us decided to rent one because we were all skeptical and all enjoy sledding quite a bit. We showed up a powerhouse customs in the morning as i had a friend post about using this guy as he was good to deal with. In fairness we didn't call ahead as we got off the hill to late the previous day and he was already closed. When we walked in the door in the morning and asked the guy about a rental his response "not one of my bikes". It kind of took us back and he seemed like he was in a pretty pissy mood. He explained that due to low snow there was no way he was sending out his bikes. As we rode frisby the day before we said that the snow line was actually not that bad to get to but he was not having any of it. We asked if he knew any other companies that would be willing and he said "no, were all in the same boat".
^we all left with a sour taste in our mouth^ I get it, the guy didn't want to wreck his bikes, but he didn't have to treat us like we were bothering him for asking.
Not to be discouraged we called full speed rentals and the guy said no problem. Totally different experience, great store, great customer service, and not just because they allowed us to rent a bike. They gave us a new bike only ridden once with a yeti kit and off we went. The bike was well equipped with heated bars, custom seat, custom belly protector, awesome pegs and a bunch of other things, seemed really well thought out.
Rode frisby again as boulder parking was tight and frisby had a better snowline. Made it about a km past the cabin and the bike blew a belt. To be honest this killed the day, by time we found reception called down, and had the guy meet us at the truck which was nice it killed about 2.5 hours. We installed the belt and found that when it trued out it was not running on both cogs correct. Realizing that this could lead to further problems we stuck close to the cabin and we all finally got a chance to tear it up.
I have to say from my experience it was a total blast. Im 33, in fairly good shape and feel that as a sledder i can really hold my own and love tight tree riding. This bike opened my eyes to a whole new experience. So much so that although i will not sell my sled, i will not be buying a new one next year as i planned. Our whole group really felt the same way. I honestly didn't want to stop and didn't feel like i had to as i didn't even break a sweat compared to ridding my sled.
Conditions were pretty much hero snow setup with about 1 foot of fresh on top. Best conditions were found in the trees and this bike found it all as it seemed like you could drive endlessly. I suggest a GPS if you ride these as you can get lost pretty easily, you can cover so much ground!!!
I honestly need more experience in different snow conditions to be able to give a true review of a sled vs bike, but in those conditions a bike killed it! I will be renting or demoing again on my next trip and hoping for some deep pow to test. I believe once i do my thoughts will be that you can never replace sledding as a sled is so much fun climbing and busting though the deep pow but the bike will be the best for what i do the most which is tight trees, and now even tighter with a bike. Anything less then a deep pow day will be a bike day for me.
Back to the rental as when we got down to the trailer the belt had just about ripped to shreds again and the cover was all melted and bubbled. Another km and i think it would have grenaded. We were not sure how the rental place would respond as we have had both good and bad experiences with rental companies. Plain and simple they were awesome, no charge for the belts which we assumed but also a full refund on the rental. It sucked to not get a full day in and they totally recognized it and stepped up. I know yeti has had some issues with belts but the guy said never this bad. We spent a bunch of time discussing their setup and they were really helpful as i honestly think we are all going bike after a half day with 5 guys sharing one bike, even with the issues. It was unreal and kind of reminded me of my first time sledding in the mountains with a whole new world of fun opened up to me of what i could do there. We even stayed up top till dark to do some night riding.... 10x better on a bike then a sled as you can respond quicker when navigating in the tress.
Still keeping my sled but my guess is at least 50% or more of the time i will be on a bike. I highly suggest everyone try it out, especially anyone who is not in great shape and gets so sore after day one of sledding that day 2 is half ass riding. It makes day 2 so easy and possibly day 3.
Also if you need to rent anything, parts or gear go to full speed, they have wicked store and all the rental gear is top notch and brand new. I will use them again forsure!
Cheers
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