Snowbike, timbersled, snowmoto, or snowmx—this winter craze has many names. The phenomenon is based on converting dual-sport or dirt bikes into a cross between a motorcycle and a snowmobile. What you need is a bike, a conversion kit, and a good mechanic, if you’re not prepared to do it yourself. Local businesses Cascade Snowbike and Giant Loop cater to the snowbike community.

The snowbike phenomenon hit the national stage about four years ago, according to David Reuss, owner of Cascade Snowbike. Although the concept has been around since World War II, Boise-based Timbersled created the first commercially viable solution to convert dual-sport bikes into snowbikes.

“The dual-sport motorcycle trend is a dream come true here,” said Reuss. “In the summertime, you can ride into the mountains from your house. In the winter, you put a kit on the bike and ride back into the mountains.”

Cascade Snowbike has been around since January 2018. The business centers on Reuss’s passion for snowbikes. With the aim of converting other dual-sport bike enthusiasts to winter driving, Reuss started a snowbike rental company. During a hectic month and a half, Reuss got the business up and running.

“I got three bikes, three kits, insurance to run the business, and had my first client on February 15,” said Reuss.

Reuss offers his customers an introduction to snowbiking. Cascade Snowbike started as a rental business, but now the company is also able to give customers the option of guided snowbiking tours. Reuss takes care of all the logistics.

“We provide bikes, avalanche gear, and know the locations where we are taking our customers,” said Reuss. “All the clients have to do is show up, dressed warm, helmet in hand, and water and food for the day. That’s pretty much it. With our expertise in snowbiking adventures, people can immerse themselves in the experience of just riding the machine. To my knowledge, we are the only permitted snowbike rental and guiding operation in Oregon. We have a special use permit for the Deschutes National Forest and Willamette,” he added.

The idea behind Cascade Snowbike is pretty straightforward, according to Reuss. “Once you ride a snowbike, you’ll probably want to buy your own, especially if you live in an area with snow nearby.”

If the client is happy with the rental experience, Reuss is ready to convert the customer’s motorcycle.

“Dual sport is basically a dirt bike with a license plate,” said Reuss. “Instead of buying a $14,000 snowmobile, you buy a $10,000 motorcycle, a $4,000 kit, and you have a summer and a winter machine.”

Freedom and creativity are buzzwords when Reuss describes riding a snowbike.

“The bike is so capable. Whatever terrain you see in front of you, you can approach however your mind feels like. There is a little bit less planning involved [compared to a snowmobile],” said Reuss.

Bend-based Giant Loop is also riding high on the snowbike craze. Ten years in the making, the company was founded at maybe the worst time in recent history, months before the recession began.

Harold Cecil is the owner of Giant Loop. The initial idea for the business was to become a tour company for dual-sport motorcycle enthusiasts. But Cecil and his then business partner realized the startup costs would be staggering.

“And neither of us had any money,” said Cecil.

After dropping the tour company idea, the next product organically grew out of their adventure riding experiences. The two were riding to northern Nevada and back to Central Oregon, hence the Giant Loop moniker.

“We needed to carry our gear on the bike and not have everything flopping around and getting destroyed,” said Cecil.

At the time, most travel bags were bolted onto the bike frame, which shifted the gravity of the bike, making it hard to ride. Not happy with the experience, the two friends thought they could come up with something better.

The horseshoe-shaped pack bag, able to fit around the back of a bike seat with the help of straps, was one of those lightbulb moments. Cecil’s partner worked out the first design.

“We took our design to a friend who was working for Metolius Mountain Products,” said Cecil. “He sewed the early prototype.”

With a sample in hand, they contacted a company in Southern California to turn the crude prototypes into production versions. After further tweaks, Cecil put the company on the line.

“I used my meager $5,000 savings to pay for a production run of about 130 bags,” said Cecil. “I built a website and let people in adventure riding forums know the bags were ready for purchase.”

The gamble paid off. Both amateur and pro riders took a liking to the horseshoe-shaped saddlebag and Giant Loop survived the recession.

“Within months, we were contacted by our distributor in Australia, a company we still work with to this day and our single biggest customer in the world,” said Cecil.

“We only produced 300 of the original Cordura ballistic saddlebags,” said Cecil. “The design quickly evolved into a product that fits a wide variety of motorcycles, what is now our Coyote saddlebag.”

Cecil sees snowbiking as a way to expand the market year round. He has skiing in his blood. His grandfather Olaf Skjersaa carved tracks on Skyliner Hill back in the 1940s and ’50s.

“One of the connecting points with the snow line is my heritage as a skier and spending time in the mountains and ski mountaineering,” said Cecil.

“The snow market is interesting in that it is geographically specific and weather dependent,” said Cecil. “Initially, we started a snow line because our Canadian importer at the time wanted a snow product line they would carry in wintertime.”

Today, Giant Loop has a wide array of gear for both summer and winter riding. The gear is the same. It needs to stand up to the most rigorous elements, whether High Desert heat or backcountry winter wetness, to protect what is stored inside.

The Cascade mountain range has long been home to snowmobiles, but snowbikes are slowly making inroads in the community.

“Bend is an amazing place for the moto community,” said Reuss. “We have good support here to do this kind of stuff.”

Cecil’s investments in the local dual-sport bike community go well beyond selling gear. He started a group on Facebook, Snow Bike Riders of Giant Loop, and is more than willing to share his experiences with startup companies. Reuss credits Giant Loop and Cecil for helping him get introduced into the community.

“Part of what we’re trying to do, in combination with Harold and other locals, is to build a community so we can have riding partners to go ride with,” said Reuss. “The other part is bringing people together to do fun activities.”