So I knew the snowmobiles had worn their groomed trail down too far to keep running so I got my fat bike on it yesterday. Now you riders up in Minnesota and Wisconsin where these gas powered sleds run for months, do you have any idea why they bob up and down like that? Went on like this for 4 miles. That is a flat railtrail in summer.
by Diligent-Advance9371
2 Comments
A lot of gunning it. Same happens on dirtbike trails
So let me preface with I’m a snowmobile rider first and a mountain biker second.
The ruts happen “naturally” with regular use. The bumps/moguls develop with someone hits the gas a spits out a little extra snow. Perfectly reasonable.
But then the next person comes and rides over the extra snow and that gets packed down.
Now the next person comes and rides over the bump. They slow down a bit to go over the bump, then accelerate to get back up to speed. This spits out more snow, backing the bump behind even bigger.
Rinse and repeat until it gets groomed.
It’s really the same thing that happens with other power sports trails, or on the ski slopes.
As a side note, you should rent a snowmobile and give it a shot sometime. I love winter fatbiking but man is snowmobiling so much fun.