One man’s unusual bucket list adventure could be a first for polar exploration, but it’s already a first for the cycling world.
Four wheels, a Pinion gear box, a rear sled mount, and 11-inch-wide tread front and rear, Hank Van Weelden’s ride is less a bike, and more an “Antarctic assault vehicle.”
His custom, fat, quad-cycle is a $17,000 monster built for one purpose: Crush 750 miles of ice and snow.
The 50-year-old Edmonton native plans to accomplish something new — bicycle from the South Pole to the Antarctic coast. Previous expeditions by Eric Larsen, Daniel Burton, and others begin from the coast and travel inland, and ended at the pole.
“I have 30 days to make it to the last airlift off the continent,” Van Weelden told us. “Barring medical or catastrophic bike issues, I’m confident in success.”
Four-Wheel Fat Bike
Custom Bike, Custom Journey
![Hank Van Weelden testing a four-wheel fat bike](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2016/11/antarctic-fatbike-700x469.jpg)
Antarctic Bike & Gear Kit
- Titanium frame
- 60+ lbs. full build
- Carbon rims
- Four 5.5-inch-wide Vee Snowshoe tires (tubeless; 2 psi)
- 18-speed Pinion transfer case
- Front hydraulic disc brake
- Acapulka carbon-fiber sled
- Repair kit
- “Mickey Mouse” combat boots
- Boiled wool socks
- Aclima merino-wool mesh shirt
- RaceFace vest with1.5-liter hydration bag
- Icebreaker top
- Patagonia Merino Air
- Patagonia Nano-Air
- Arc’teryx windstopper shell
- Patagonia down vest
- Kluane Mountaineering down jacket
- Marmot Expedition mitts
- Pogies
- 2 x MSR xgk stoves
- Aluminum kettle
- 2 titanium spoons
- Stove board
- GSI Outdoors Fairshare mug
- Anker solar panels and batteries
- 2 x Garmin Etrex 20 GPS
- 2 x Iridium extreme satellite phones
- DeLorme Inreach
- Nikon Key Mission 170 camera