@jayrourke_, via Instagram
How do they ride on trail?
Not stellar, but they’ve improved drastically over the last three years. And a lot has to do with how you set up the suspension. Just like a sled, you can set up a snowbike to have a lot of weight transfer and a light front end, or minimal weight transfer and a heavy-steering bike. If you’re going to spend a lot of time on the trails, invest in a new kit, not something that’s three or four seasons old.
@thesnowarriorz, via Instagram
Is it worth the price tag? I've seen some builds be almost double the price of a stock sled from the dealer.
A die-hard snowbiker will tell you yes. They will say: for that price, you get a top-of-the-line brand-new dirt bike that you can ride 7-9 months out of the year, plus a top-of-the-line track conversion kit that lets your ride the same machine the other 3-4 months in snow. They’ll also mention that the price of a stock sled is tough to justify when you can only ride it maybe three, four or five months out of the year.
@snowmoto800, via Instagram
What’s the best snowbike kit?
The one you buy. (Isn’t that the general rule among snowmobilers? I own this sled, therefore it is the best sled…?) We’ve ridden and tested most all of the current snowbike kits. Each has something they do better than the others, and none of them do everything perfectly. Some justify their performance by their price tag, making up for lack of something by being $3,500 cheaper than the other kit, or making up for the $3,500-higher cost by being significantly better at something than the other kits.
Timbersled has the most kits on the market, period. It is a solid kit, especially when you opt for the new ARO with the TSS center shock and the TRIO front fork air shock.
The Camso DTS 129 is an incredible deep-snow performer and priced on the lower end of the spectrum, giving it incredible bang-for-the-buck.
Yeti is the Bugati of snowbikes, with carbon-fiber chassis, belt drive, titanium parts and is very lightweight.
Moto-Trax has come so far in two years that, performance-wise, it’s tough to overlook.
CMX has a build quality that makes you drool and incredibly low rolling resistance.
We haven’t tested the Snowtech MX, but it looks great and has a solid following among its consumers.