SnowCat Rims

• Snowcat Rims

Dirt Rag #40

- Jay DeJesus

Yes, a timely review, eh?! Well, America so dependent on the automobile it should be relatively soon that, due to all this smog, we'll see endless winters. Then we'll all need these... Since we had such a gnarly winter (don't drive, I'm telling' ya) I was fortunate to log a hefty amount of time on these babies.

What they be are double wide single rims (as opposed to two single welded hoops) that are 45 mm wide and weigh 700 grams. The extra width is designed to give a LARGE footprint. Combine the rim width with 5-15 psi and you have the ultimate floater combination. I used big Continental mud tires (the bead was glued to the rim wall to stop tire rotation on the rim) and rode all winter.

Pennsylvania gets some screwy weather so I rode in all types of the white stuff. If the snow was relatively hard-packed, you would stay on top and cruise (while anyone on conventional rims would sink in and work much harder). Traction was remarkable and control was spot-on. Though the variables are snow hardness and body weight, the benefits are great. BUT if your weight overcomes the hardness of the snow, these suckers are hard to push. Still, everyone else has broken through way before, so no one is riding.

So, yes, they are awesome. Snow riding is unbeatable, as are these rims. I did discover some other things, too. They work in the dirt, the wide rim contributing to much less sidewall flex and a great mechanical advantage in the brakes due to the pads relation of swing being changed. Then (sin of sins) I pumped up them Conti's to 85 psi and went road riding. The only disadvantage was the rims wide, flat profile did not slice the wind. E. W. R. Mark would simply roll away on skinny tires, and tires with half the contact patch. You certainly would not take Conti mudders on the road, right?

At $100 a pair they are worth the investment if you ride all winter. They could be good downhill rims (well, off road) as their benefits are also dirt-worthy. I didn't get to do any dirt riding, though, so I don't know their strength. They are available in any drilling, and build up like conventional rims. Price: $100 per pair [AWS note: they were $100 in '94, Today, they're $140/pr]. Contact Simon @ All Weather Sports, Phone: 907.474.8184.

SnowCat History

The Iditasport, a 160 mile (from '87 to '96) winter bike race, provided the original inspiration for Snow Cat rims. The last five runnings of this event have been dominated by riders on our rims. When the Iditasport began (then called the Iditabike) participants went on a mad scramble to find the widest rims and tires that would fit on a bike. In response to this seach for an ever wider platform, Simon Rakower, who was (and still is) the tech support person for the race, started hand making rims for the participants.

By welding two rims together, then carefully cutting out the middle ridge, Simon was able to get a rim that would fit in every frame, but still offer the greatest possible flotation for the riders.

The Original Wide Rim is Born

After the making the first fifty pairs, demand reached the point where it was practical to have our own extrusion. Thus was born the Snow Cat. Besides, the shop employees were really sick and tired of cutting little sections of rim out of the middle.

The rims are 44mm wide with a single wall cross section. Spoke lengths can be calculated from Sutherlands (they list them under All Weather Sports with a correction factor of -23). If you use spoke length software the ERD is 554. We drill the spoke holes slightly off-center and angled to match the line from hub to rim.
We'll drill them for you in any spoke count or pattern, eg. holes 10 mm off center for dishless rear wheels.

But the width of the rim itself is only half the story. It’s the way a wide rim changes the tire profile that creates the flotation you need on snow. Snow Cats increase the width and volume of tires installed on them. With the right tires and at appropriate pressures, they'll let you ride on trails that are softer, more slippery, or more churned up than you can ride on conventional rims.

To get traction on soft surfaces, we run pressures as low as 5 PSI. Remember to glue your bead to the rim! More typically, we'll run them at 12-20 PSI.

Snow Cats were designed to get the most on-the-ground tire width available with conventional frames and tires. They fit just about about all MTB frames and forks going back to 1990. They fit almost all modern mountain bikes with no frame modifications. Simply swap rims and re-adjust your brakes. They work with most cantilevers, with Maguras (stock out of the box) and of course, with any hub brake. Linear pull brakes can be a challenge to set up with super-wide rims. Some don't work very well; others work but hang out too far and cause clearance problems. V-brakes work, but the arms stick way out unless the brake pad washers are thinned. We can do this for you if you're squeamish about modifying your V-brakes.

We have a quick solution for those of you who don’t want to mess with your existing V-Brakes, and don’t want us to either. We sell inexpensive Tektros that are very adjustable and can be installed "inside out" so they set up and perform like standard brakes on standard rims. If you order them from us, we’ll ship them to you already switched so installation is straightforward.

On our own bikes, we leave cables and housing attached and use a second set of cables and housing on the summer brakes. This makes the spring and fall wheel changes very quick and easy.

Taking the SnowCat Further

In 200X Gary Fisher contacted us to ask if we would be willing to make a set of SnowCats for a new style of mountain bike he was considering building - one that had 29 inch wheels, but was not just a ‘sidewalk bike’. We told Gary “sure”, but we never envisioned anyone else ever wanting a pair.

Boy, were we wrong!

We found that the 29 inch wheels and tires provided a noticeable improvement over 26 inchers for soft snow riding. As soon as the 29ers hit the trails, they gained a loyal following among hard core snow riders.

For smaller snow riders, the 650b (27.5) size can provide some of the benefits of the 29ers without compromising fit and handling. If your MTB frame size is 17 inches or smaller, this new size has a lot to offer. And there’s even a 650b tire that works quite nicely on the snow: The Pacenti Neo Moto.

Still not Convinced?

Why Snow Cats?

vs stock rims: better traction and handling in soft conditions

vs DH rims: lighter, rim brake compatible (good for retrofitting older bikes for winter), all drillings available, cost

vs 90mm?? rims: lighter by pounds, lower rolling resistance, buy a wheelset for $100s rather than a new bike for $1000s, keep your normal Q-factor Many 90mm bike owners have a pair of Snow Cats for when trail conditions favor faster wheels.