The Snow Epic in Engelberg in the Swiss Alps is Europe’s first winter festival for fatbikes.
The race comprises of five stages, and competitors from more than 20 countries have entered the inaugural race. Amongst the big names taking part are top mountain bikers Rune Høydahl and Bart Brentjens.
Fatbikes are essentially bicycles with over-sized tyres and are designed for riding on unstable terrain such as snow or desert sand. Although the handling of the bikes is different to bikes on narrower tyres, they require no previous experience to ride adequately on snow.
Because of their volume, the tyres can be run at very low pressure and thus provide a large area of surface contact, gaining more traction and making the bike more stable.
