Winter Cycling - Snow plow on a bicycle

http://www-bdnew.fnal.gov/pbar/organizationalchart/peterson/snowplow_files/Bike_Plow.html

this guy is amazing. He rides his bike to work during the summer, but finds the trail has too much snow on it in the winter, so he starts to walk the 7 miles of trail with a shovel clearing the trail with a homemade push plow. Then he switches to a pull behind plow for his bike.

The local bicycles have joined forces in a "pony express" effort. When some of them catch up to this guy, they offer to switch bikes so they can take their turn at the work.

My thoughts: WOW!!!

My ride to work is 22 kms, where only the last 5 kms are on trails that receive priority plowing. the other parts dont ever get plowed.

Do you think this is possible with an ebike, or a motorized bike? Do you think the city police would want to charge me, even though it is obvious that I'm using a motor to accomplish something that really is that easy to do any other way?

Tyler
Calgary, AB

w0w that is sooooooooo awsome!!!! to bad the snow here in alaska is hard as a rock :( lol

w0w that is sooooooooo awsome!!!! to bad the snow here in alaska is hard as a rock :( lol

The snow gets hard here too after not too long.. I think the trick is to get out and ride/plow as soon as it falls - don't wait for it to get hard.

Anyone out there fluent in farmer technology? I was thinking that one of those rake/disc trailer thingys ( I don't know the name, I'm hoping someone will correct me) would break up the snow and ice really well. And, then a second pass with a plow might work to push everything to the side.

I have found a picture of what I was thinking about. this is trailer that is quite capable of ripping the ground up, so could it be used to make short work of hard pack snow?

Seize, you mean to pull something similar behind a bike? Like a smaller version?

that is an amazing idea! i would totally want to help with that!

Seize, you mean to pull something similar behind a bike? Like a smaller version?


Well, currently I am still searching for ideas. I've resigned myself to the idea that most things will be too heavy unless I build it myself.

I actually have 2 goals, which may seem like I am confused if I don't do a good job at keeping them separated.

Goal #1: somnething simple and light that I can drag around all of the time.

Goal #2: something much more industrial that I could use on a weekend trip if I was up to doing some really hard work. With this idea, I wouldn't rule out a blade/ripper on an ATV, if the city would grant me a permit to use the ATV on the trails.

I have a 2 wheel drive ATV with ice chains and a winch. The blade often attaches to the winch so you have the ability to raise and lower the blade.

I have a suspicion that they will be a natural prejudice against ATVs. A lawn tractor or bobcat would be easier to get a permit for.

that is an amazing idea! i would totally want to help with that!

Thats great! I see that you are from Alberta. Please tell me that you are in Calgary.

raevyn, do you think you could get power in motion to sponsor something, if we were to carry some sort of advertizing banner for them?

(PS I just checked your profile to see where you are from. Wuhoo! a fellow calgarian!)

Seize,

Here is what I've gotten so far last weekend.

I intend to pull it with a bike that has an electric motor on the front.

It will be a simple "V" plow. I just ran out of mats.

yes! i am a fellow calgarian! I cant say for sure if my store could sponsor anything at this point in time. things are pretty slow right now. but my boss is usually working with me on weekends, so you could always come in and explain your plans to him and see what he says. I always work on weekends right now, so I am always visitable as well, if you have nothing better to do. We might be able to help come up plow design ideas or supplies as well. Its something to think about as well. I personally love the idea! I would probably have to put a rear motor on my bike to do it. My Roomate, Andrew, works over at the Goodlife Bike shop as well. They would be a good place to bring up your idea. there is a good chance that you can get volunteers there for the plowing, once everything is constructed! I might come up with a few other ideas as well, but I would suggest talking to andrew about the construction ideas, he loves projects like this. He works weekends as well!

Seize,

Here is what I've gotten so far last weekend.

I intend to pull it with a bike that has an electric motor on the front.

It will be a simple "V" plow. I just ran out of mats.


I like the material that you are using. It seems to offer ease of construction as well as ease of repair/modification.

Did I hear you say 'front' motor? I'm concerned about the strength of your front forks, will the front forks withstand the strain from the motor pulling in one direction while the plow is getting snagged on various cracks and bumps.

Actually, this leads me to a general concern about a bike pulled plow. I would like to have some sort of safety mechanism that ensures that it's impossible for the blade to come to a grinding halt. Because if it ever does, I'm worried that I'm going over my handlebars.

Hi Raevyn, up until this morning, I hadn't really thought of this being a bigger project that others get involved in too. I kinda had it in mind that I would build something for myself, and hopefully others would do the same.....ideally on the same trails that I ride ( grin)

But the sponsorshop idea could be a good one. Perhaps something as simple as a safety vest with the power in motion logo on it. or a free shovel after I've worn out the first shovel, etc.

Anything too expensive sort of breaks away from the spirit that we are all in this sport together. Even a really expensive plow design get to be complicated because everyone involved will want to claim ownership of the plow.

For example, if I was to fix up my ATV, the ATV and all accessories would be best paid for and owned by me. But, it certainly would be cool if someone would donate some fuel while I'm donating time. ( keeping in mind that ATVs are notoriously cheap on gas, 5 gallons goes all day)

the most important thing a business or organization could do for an ATV is put some political pressure on the city to make sure I can get a permit to use it on the trails in the same manner as a bobcat or lawntractor.

well my boss knows the bylaw officer in charge of bike path stuff. i dont know if it would do any good though. our best bet is probably talking to the city's transportation services.

well i actually called 311, and spoke to the city myself, and the ATV idea is a no go, just because of liability issues. however, the nice lady suggested that we should take some of our ideas to the alderman. So i think we may be back to bike plows. for the motorized bike plow, you totally want rear wheel drive. I have a front motor, and if it goes on loose snow, you end up sliding all over the road. I do it almost every day on my way to school. it can be fun sometimes, but rear would be more ideal in winter.

I think I understand a new thing about this design...

You see how he puts a wheel on the front of the wedge? I think this is how he prevents the blade from coming to a screaching halt when it finds a crack in the road.

Hi, I'm just throwing out ideas as they come to me..... I have a set of roller blades that i haven't touched in over 10 years. I'd bet the wheels would work well for a design like David's. Also, I'll bet that an old set of training wheels could be made to work, too.

I like the material that you are using. It seems to offer ease of construction as well as ease of repair/modification.

Yes, it's like working with K'Nex. Didn't want to weld in the basement.


Did I hear you say 'front' motor? I'm concerned about the strength of your front forks, will the front forks withstand the strain from the motor pulling in one direction while the plow is getting snagged on various cracks and bumps.

Time will tell. My bike has 20" wheels (smaller lever) and no suspension. When I go out this weekend to plow I'm expecting to be walking beside the bike instead of riding. If the frame's head set ovalizes I won't cry too much.


Actually, this leads me to a general concern about a bike pulled plow. I would like to have some sort of safety mechanism that ensures that it's impossible for the blade to come to a grinding halt. Because if it ever does, I'm worried that I'm going over my handlebars.

I plan to set the plow at a reasonable height. I'm also doubtful of getting any speed with the contraption in tow.

By the way what I have in the picture twists around the main axis pretty bad. I bought what seems like the reminder of mats today so we will see. I didn't use loctite on the nuts and bolts but in retrospect I should have.

... for the motorized bike plow, you totally want rear wheel drive. I have a front motor, and if it goes on loose snow, you end up sliding all over the road. ... .

Hmm... thus far I rode in pretty deep stuff with ruts and the front motor gave me better traction than no motor at all (with Marathon Winter tires). I was very pleasantly surprised. It does sound kind of nuts to have a front drive on a bicycle in winter, but it does work well (thus far). By the way I ride a Xootr Swift where you lean forward quite a bit, maybe that's th difference.

It's OK either way, just trying stuff out. If it doesn't work out it's no biggie. I will let you guys know how it went either way.

By the way I ride a Xootr Swift where you lean forward quite a bit, maybe that's th difference.

leaning forward would help i suppose. and you are right, front wheel drive works much better than no motor at all. but in comparison (my roommate has a rear motor) you do get better traction with the rear motor than the front, as far as i have seen at home and at work. (i work at and electric bike shop) so i am just going by what i have observed. maybe it is a bit different with the 20" wheels. i have 26" tires on a rather large cruiser bike, which may be why i slide around alot. i dont put alot of weight on the front. or maybe i just have bad balence? :D who knows. what i should probably do, is put a basket on my bike and throw a sandbag in it to add some weight, and i dont add alot of weight to it by just putting myself on it. :P

this is my baby right here. as you can see, no weight except the motor on the front. hehe, i slid and almost did a donut on my way to school the other day

why is there a little box on the top? is it for road salt? on the plow i mean...

I think that he wrote something about a water bottle providing weight and a ballast

I've decided that my first attempt will be a hacksaw and ducttape attempt - LOL

I'm thinking of taking an old scraper, cut it, add a hinge and a bungee cord,....then start dragging it around the neighborhood and learn a little from it's short comings.

You know how a scraper will stop on the crack between sidewalk blocks? I'm hoping the hinge and bungee cord will provide a means to deal with this problem.

Raevyn, your bike looks pretty sweet! Killer bar mitts. By the way with no electric assist I do see a significant difference between when I ride a Kona Dawg (xc/downhill? mtb with rear weight bias) in snow and the Xootr Swift. The former is much better in snow without a motor because most of my weight is on my drive wheel and my front wheel sort of glides over the snow. So maybe I just lucked out with the front wheel config on the Swift.

Seize, looking forward to how you fare. I'm hoping to take my contraption out there too and report back: although father-in-law coming this weekend so unless he wants in on the fun, it may not happen this weekend :(.

the barmitts are useless. i got the for christmas, but they are really cheaply made.

I've been working late, too often into the early hours of the morning, so my job for this weekend is to get some rest with the intentions of biking to work on monday. I find it impossible to dust off the bike at 7am, when i went to bed at 3or4 am.

the roads are finally looking pretty decent, wuhoo! it might be a week before i get to building a scraper, hopefully the weather feels the same way that i do.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Tyler

I missed this the first time it made the rounds. Pretty cool. I posted a link to the original snow plow guy on my bicycle commuting blog (http://beginningcyclecommute.blogspot.com/2009/01/bicycle-snow-plow.html).

Finished construction for the most part. Will test it in the park later in the week or next weekend.

I plowed the side walks around my house with it. Had to push the bike the first time through, then I could ride it.

If I find it not practical this winter it will probably take me little time to break it apart :). I will report back here either way.

my first impression is: wow! that is big.

What depth of snow are you hoping to plow?

I think that for a light snowfall, that plow is overkill.Although, you probably have pretty low rolling resistance, so I think it'll be fine.

And for a heavier snowfall, I hope you are stronger than I am.

I do like the fact that you can probably design the blades to adjust up and down, and there will be no need to tilt the trailer up onto your bike rack like the guy from washington does with his.

Most importantly, I really must compliment you on your choice of construction. I hope you realize that you've built a pretty nice utility trailer.

I've been thinking about building a 'pusher' trailer, ie a trailer that has it's own battery pack and motor so it offsets the extra load. I like your angle iron. I gotta get me some - LOL. Where did you find it?

regards
Tyler

Tyler,

Regarding the size, you and me both. When I finished it, I immediately thought I wish I had an ATV like you mentioned.

The plow skims the top. It leaves a layer of maybe an inch. Also, unlike the 2005 plow linked in the original post, I'm using an electric motor on my bike.

I still have two hooks for the "hitch". One under my basket on the rack (for towing) and one by the dropouts (for plowing). The planks are just bolted on. I wanted to keep it simple.

The original intention was to build a utility trailer with those wheels and learn things in the process. So the plow is really that trailer :). But, unfortunately the frame as it is would not serve for carrying too much weight. The "L" beams perform really poorly in torsion: something I didn't think about before. It would definitely be able to carry large volume but rather light objects, such as big paint canvass or something. To make this a good trailer I would need to replace some of the "L" beams with tubes or add some tubes to the existing construction. I did this for the hitch arm: added a round piece of steel.

The "L" beams I bought at Home Depot. It probably cost more than if you got it somewhere else. Just keep in mind that these do not perform well under torsion.

I still have to finish a couple things:

[1] Add a crate at the very back between the wheels
[2] add lights to the crate
[3] tack on corrugated plastic onto the plow "blades" to reduce friction (not sure this will last).

I like the idea of the pedal go kart type of human powered snow plow like the guy who made one from an old riding lawn mower. I want to be able to push a three foot wide swath of 4-6 inch deep snow before it hardens up.

http://1world2wheels.org/blog/for-real-pedal-powered-snow-plow/

I have a 10 mile long bike path nearby that doesn't get shoveled or plowed in the winter. I have kind of gotten bitten by a bug to design something similar. But I want it to be really light and simple so it will be fixed gear with really low gearing and no transmission. Thus it will have reverse. My goal is to have it weight no more than 80-90 pounds. Essentially it will be a light go-kart frame with big knobby tires. The steering will not be so good since it will have no rear differential but this will give it better traction for pushing snow. And since it will be geared so low bad stearing will not be a big problem.

I'm thinking something like a 22 tooth mountain bike sprocket on the front and a 52 tooth front chainring sprocket on the rear axle. It will be hard to go faster than 3-4 miles per hour. I have worked up a frame design out of 1 x 2 and 1 x 1 tubular steel.

jakub,

I wish I could use the ATV, but I think there will be a natural prejudice towards and ATV. If I have a riding lawn mower with a blade, I'm sure the police would not say thing.

Anyways, here's an update on the snow in Calgary. Its disgusting, the chinook has melted a ton of snow but the city never plowed the trails so they are still 1 foot under. And, now its hard, icy, crusty snow. I fear that nothing I do will work on this snow unless I had something more industrial like a bobcat.

I don't know what to do. Any suggestions? If I wait for the city or warmer weather, I could be waiting until March or April.

Hezz,

I like your idea quite a bit more than a trailer, but it sounds like a lot of effort :).

Tyler,

Ouch! Sounds like you need something quite industrial! Almost sounds like getting nice wide rims and dropping pressure would be better than trying to plow!

It's amazing that we all talk about winter cycling, and all what we can relate to and experience is really quite different!

Hezz, I think you have an excellent point - very low gearing is the answer.

I picked up a kiddies bike out of the trash a few months ago. It has 20 inch tires and a 6 sprocket chain ring on the rear.

I also have a 2HP dc motor from a treadmill that I scrapped, and the 4 sets of batteries for my electric bike.

I guess I could try rigging up a bicycle specifically for dealing with snow. Very low gearing, lots of studs or chains, and a big #ss stationary bike seat.

Correction: its a youth's bike, not a kiddies bike. I'd guess it is similar to a youth's BMX bike, so it would not be too small for an adult.

Hezz,

I like your idea quite a bit more than a trailer, but it sounds like a lot of effort :).

Tyler,

Ouch! Sounds like you need something quite industrial! Almost sounds like getting nice wide rims and dropping pressure would be better than trying to plow!

It's amazing that we all talk about winter cycling, and all what we can relate to and experience is really quite different!

Check out this snow conversion:

https://www.ktrakcycle.com/index.html

I like the price but I do not know if the rear assembly could be modified to have a second sprocket for my ebike motor.

thant and i think if you have the blades at a pretty steap angle relative to each other you can grind a slight curve in the leading part of the blade kind of in an ice skate fashion the will ride over the bumps ?

Hezz,

I like your idea quite a bit more than a trailer, but it sounds like a lot of effort :).

Tyler,

Ouch! Sounds like you need something quite industrial! Almost sounds like getting nice wide rims and dropping pressure would be better than trying to plow!

It's amazing that we all talk about winter cycling, and all what we can relate to and experience is really quite different!

Jakub, For me the frame will not be too much work since it won't have to be built very accurately. But it will be more expensive. Not the frame but the other hardware. But I think the trailer is an easier approach to try out. But I wonder how heavy your trailer will have to be to work.

I've decided that I don't want too big of wheels since that will add too much weight that has to be pedaled. I want the riders weight to function as the primary means for added mass to the plow since the rider already has to move this along already.

I'm thinking something like this for the rear tires:

http://www.mfgsupply.com/m/c/8-347.html?id=iqkLxzmv

Something like this for the fronts:

http://www.mfgsupply.com/m/c/8-344.html?id=iqkLxzmv

This would give me close to 16 inch wheels front and back which makes the steering geometry for a no suspension frame a little easier to do.

Hezz, I think you have an excellent point - very low gearing is the answer.

I picked up a kiddies bike out of the trash a few months ago. It has 20 inch tires and a 6 sprocket chain ring on the rear.

I also have a 2HP dc motor from a treadmill that I scrapped, and the 4 sets of batteries for my electric bike.

I guess I could try rigging up a bicycle specifically for dealing with snow. Very low gearing, lots of studs or chains, and a big #ss stationary bike seat.

It seems to me that an electric/pedal hybrid might be a good approach if you have the parts to do it. I'm going to stick with a pure human powered approach to avoid getting into trouble on my bike trail and since I need to keep the project as cheap as possible. Plus the thing could be a good workout.

Jakub,

I wonder if you could cut up an old 30 gallon steel drum to make two curved blades. If you have the curved blades at the correct angle of attack it will dig under the snow and use the snows own weight to hold the plow down.

Hezz,

I'm pretty excited about your vehicle. Using the person's weight sounds like a good idea.

With the trailer I built, I first have to try it out for real, before making modifications. My intention is not to get the path cleared to the asphalt, but to simply peel the fresh layers of snow off. We will see.

so when will you be able to bring this awesome contraption down to my store? i cant wait to see it Seize!

So my plow is a failure. Not that it doesn't plow. It's just that I won't do it. For me, the whole thing is more trouble than it's worth to do on a daily basis.

I will remove the wooden boards and use what I built as a trailer. Once it gets warm I will bring out the torch and improve on this proof of concept.

Following are some photos.

First the plow.

At the start the trail was nicely packed. It was a bumpy ride. I definitely didn't need to plow this part. The plow simply pushed some snow to the sides. I was riding the bike/plow through here without any issue.

Attached are the before and after shots.

Deep snow after several hardening cycles (i.e. maybe 2 weeks old). This was very tough. I was pushing the bike through here. It was tough going. The result was also less than spectacular. The left over snow continued to give me problems on the way back: i.e. I couldn't ride it with the small 20" wheels.

So my plow is a failure. Not that it doesn't plow. It's just that I won't do it. For me, the whole thing is more trouble than it's worth to do on a daily basis.

I will remove the wooden boards and use what I built as a trailer. Once it gets warm I will bring out the torch and improve on this proof of concept.

Following are some photos.

First the plow.

Jakub,

Perhaps on your case it would be better to design the trailer to pack the snow down instead of plowing it. I think this method would work better in places where it is much colder and the snow gets harder. Once the snow is packed down and you have a 24 inch wide path or so it is fun to ride on.

Where I live it often gets warm enough for the snow to melt for several days after a storm so if you can plow right after the storm when the snow is still soft it is often completely melted the next day. But if you don't plow it it can take two weeks to melt off.

What if you could design your trailer to have about ten old mountain bike wheels mounted very close to each other. Kind of like the disk on the first page of the thread.

I am becoming convinced that the snow needs to be removed while its fresh. If it is allowed to settle, pack, or freeze, then it will be to much work for a bicycle.

Once it gets to be too much, I think I'd be better off pushing a snow blower on the weekend in an effort to catch up.

A used snow blower could be bought for $300-$500 dollars. That is very cost effect solution for heavy work.

For light work, its darn cheap and easy to build something for the back of my bike. I think I'll definitely come up with something to pull.

Especially here in Calgary. This year is not representative of a typical year in Calgary. It has taken me 10 years to wear out a scraper on my front walk. Thats a good indicator that plowing isn't needed very often, and sometimes a light plowing will cause the trail to go bare even faster than usual.

This year is unusual. The snow on the path is up to a foot deep, even after a week of nice weather. my options are limited this year....I can either be very patient, or I need something very industrial. So industrial, I doubt that a cheapo blade on an ATV would suffice. And, a snow blower would have worked well until we got that chinnook last week. Now that the snow has iced up, a snowblower wouldn't be a good idea.

/rant

Jakub,

I think your plow would work if you were the kind of person to use the trails almost every day so it never has a chance to build up.

Only the deepest of snow falls would ruin that for you. Then you would have to look for another idea. That david guy in washington actually walks his trail with a shovel. Thats darn ambitious. I admire him for it, but I still don't think I'm up to the challenge.