Carrying snowshoes on the bike

For a few years now I've been meaning to experiment with carrying snowshoes on the fatbike, to see if it can be done with what I have. Today I did just that.

I used my Alpkit Kanga harness, which is designed for bikepacking and allows you to carry a pack (usually a drybag) strapped to front of the bike. This attaches to the handlebars and forks and works best with a 'loop' bar such as the Confucius bars that I use. I strapped my snowshoes, MSR Evo Ascents, to the harness and went for a short ride, my local figure of 8.

We had snow on Thursday, not as much as originally forecast, but enough to make for some interesting riding, especially in the quarry. The plateau above was especially good;

Some shots of the snowshoes and harness;

I also fitted an Alpkit Stem Cell inside the bar loop, for gloves, spare skull cap etc. It can't really be seen in the photos but there's also a Beerbabe No Rack Pack, made from recycled inner tubes and designed for forks that don't have rack mounts, I keep a bothy bag in it.

As can be expected the extra weight high up on the front did affect the handling, especially downhill, but does prove the idea to be sound. There are times when parts of my preferred winter route is covered in deep snow and unridable, the ability to don 'shoes and walk for a couple of k would I think be quite good fun.

Paul.