St. Paul man adds electric motor to fat-tire bike for sport and business [View all]

[NickB79]

http://www.twincities.com/business/ci_24936387/fat-tires-electric-motor-new-winter-sport

Kevin Spreng loves off-road winter bicycling -- vigorous slogs on snowmobile trails and snow-packed woods on bicycles with extra-fat, often studded, tires that are partially deflated for improved traction.

But Spreng knows this is a niche sport for the physically fit. It's hard work, he said.

So the St. Paul man has made it his calling to transform off-road winter biking into a mainstream sport -- and he is using electricity to help make that happen.

Spreng recently co-founded Defiant Bicycles, which retrofits a fat-tire cycle with an electric motor. This gives users optional pedaling assistance as they power through snowdrifts, and lets them go faster than the standard 5 to 10 miles per hour on flattened trails.

Not only is this an interesting development for those who bike in snow for recreation, but also for those who want to commute via bike in snowy climates. My job is only 6 miles away in a rural area, and I've thought about buying an E-bike for commuting (the battery boost would help with the hilly terrain here), but biking in a snowy Minnesota winter over often slushy roads would be treacherous and incredibly tiring with a regular bike. With a bike like this, I could commute most days with no worry. Now, to see if the price falls over time, cause $4000 is a little steep for my budget.