SleetFox - streetfox on skis

[Voltaire]

Greetings everyone. Please demolish this idea before it's too late:

I'm flirting with the idea of replacing the front wheels for skis. It's been done before, but with hockey blades: http://web.archive.org/web/20130916144925/http://www.fleettrikes.com/ice trike.htm

The model in the url above has ice skates as wheels because it's meant for ice. My idea is meant for snow, closer to a snowmobile.

I know KtraK used to manufacture a rear wheel that simulated a snowmobile's track but that's not an option. Instead, I'm going with a 57mm Continental Mud King tire for the rear.

Single rear disc brake or potentially dual rear brake implementation like the example above.

I'm also adding 350 watts electric pedal assist with a mid-drive motor for low end torque.

Tubing would be 1.5" square stainless steel. Or 1.5" by 1" stainless, vertically laid out. Not sure if 1" would be a long enough weld where the boom meets the front axle.

Besides looking forward to hearing why this is a terrible idea, I'm open to ideas for front suspension (if absolutely necessary, would rather avoid it)

Thanks in advance

 

[Popshot]

Seems like a good idea to me. I think the skis would need to pivot fore and aft at their point of mounting and given some length on them would provide some measure of shock absorbtion anyway.

 

[Voltaire]

Good point, definitely need to pivot. Old school snowmobiles used to have leaf springs on each ski as well as shocks to keep the ski from bobbing about: https://www.snowmobile.com/images/content/2nelson0218.jpg

In that case, instead of rear suspension I wonder if it might make more sense to have a solid tail (like the Warrior) and using only front springs. Anyone ever build a front suspension with solid rear tadpole?

Also considering a track-style solid rear wheel to prevent snow accumulation. Probably accomplishable with wheel covers

 

[Radical Brad]

I like it!
Please post photos when you start, this will be a great thread to follow.

Brad

 

[Popshot]

One of the problems with front suspension on a tadpole is that it allows it to lean in a corner. A small amount can be tolerated but too much can leave it rolling like a ship in distress. If you can find the right material I'd suggest making a set of sprung false wishbones from composite. It's simple and lightweight.

 

[Voltaire]

Love that suspension. It's not trivial to build something like that from composite though because the stresses along the composite slate are not uniform, you need to plan the layers carefully. Definitely above my pay grade. There's also durability issues with composite and snow when the clear coat rubs off.

It might be worth exploring with titanium if it can be done without the extensive machining used in the Azub Ti-Fly. I never understood the complexity and cost of that setup since they end up using shocks on both sides anyway despite all that super expensive Ti machining

I'm thinking of leaf springs on each of the skis to replace the suspension normally provided by the front tires on a solid axle

Brad thanks for the encouragement. What are some of the issues I can run into? Not gonna believe you haven't tried the ski setup being from Thunder Bay...