Is skibiking like mountain biking?

We hear this a lot:  “I’m a big mountain biker…”  “On my mountain bike I…”  “My mountain bike is size….”

Let’s be blunt.  You cannot compare the size of your mountain bike (MTB) to the size of a skibike.  The geometry is completely different.  The functionality is completely different.  How you ride them is different.  The type of terrain you are riding on is different.

Now let’s answer the question:  is skibiking like mountain biking?  Yes….and no.  Yes, you are on a bike frame with the same components as a MTB, holding on to a handlebar, and there are two things in line with each other that are under your body that make contact with the ground.  However, how you ride a skibike isn’t really the same as how you ride a MTB.

• A skibike frame is going to be smaller than a MTB frame.  Just because you ride a large or XL MTB, your skibike will more than likely be a medium or a large (depending on how tall you are).
• The handlebar on a skibike is narrower than on a MTB.  This is because on a MTB when you are descending you need your weight back; when you are riding a skibike you need your weight forward.  The wider the bars, the harder it is to get forward.  You need to be able to see the front of the head tube, which can be very hard to do if you have a wide handlebar.
• Let’s say that last part again:  when riding a skibike you need to have your weight forward and not back.  If you aren’t loading that front ski with your body weight, you will find it very difficult to control your speed and get the bike to turn when you want/need it to.  The only times you should lean back is if you are in deep powder and you feel like you are sinking, you are on a flat area and need to maintain or gain speed, or you are doing a manual.