Mountaineering is a gear-intensive sport and can take hours or even days of hiking to approach a climb. The handmade bike brand Boo Bicycles hopes to make the trek to the base a little quicker (and more fun) with the new Ski Mountaineering Bamboo Bike.
We got a scoop on the bike, which the brand is launching today at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show.
See page 2 for more photos of the Ski Mountaineering Bamboo Bike
“The inspiration for this bike was a winter trip I did a couple years back to Torrey’s Peak, a 14,275-foot peak in Clear Creek, Colorado,” said Jacob Lapenna, the brand CTO. “I was climbing the peak when, across the valley, I noticed a pristine couloir full of this 75 degree sloped ice. I have always wanted to return and climb this ice.”
“Instead of hiking or skiing up the 3-4 mile road, I’ve always wanted to somehow strap my skis to a fat bike and ride the snowmobile track. Then, I would leave the bike at the start of the deep snow and ski up to the base of the climb. This is what this bike is all about —pushing the limits of human powered access to the outdoors.”
The frame is part bamboo, part aluminum fat bike aptly named the Alubooyah. There isn’t a price set yet for the complete build, but the frame (with an aluminum fork) is available for $895, which is quite the deal for a handbuilt design.
The bike is stocked with everything you need to get up the mountain. Frame racks made by Old Man Mountain turn the bike into a gear mule.
Attached to those racks are aluminum ski mounts, which the brand designed in-house. “The racks are built to pivot, so they fold down and out of the way while not carrying skis,” Lepenna said. “They also allow you to dig the ski tails into the snow on each side of the bike, which keeps it upright while loading and unloading. If we find sufficient demand, we will be offering these mounts as a product on our website next fall.”
On the bike is a Shimano XTR 1×10 group set with a Race Face crank. “The rotors are Shimano Ice Tech, with radiator brake pads to handle the heat created from stopping this rig when fully loaded,” Lapenna added.
The bike on display this weekend has Lapenna’s custom gear setup, which includes skis from La Sportiva and Petzl ice climbing gear.
While it might be awhile before we get a chance to ride this handmade mountaineering rig, we look forward to seeing what it can do on the way to the mountain. — Amy Oberbroeckling
See page 2 for more photos of the Ski Mountaineering Bamboo Bike…
