The rise of fat-tired mountain bikes, not to mention extreme Antarctic fat trikes, has been the biggest news in this area, but we've also seen recreational equipment like the KTrakand BikeBoards. A group of mechanical engineering students at Quebec's University of Sherbrooke is developing a new solution that aims for a smoother downhill ride by combining elements of existing winter bikes.

For the Avalanche Project, the group of five Sherbrooke students is tasked with designing and building a new type of downhill bike for snow riding. The goal is to develop a bike that better mimics the feel of summer downhill biking, a bike aimed at the experienced downhill mountain biker, not simply the novice looking for a new winter sport to try. In working on the project, the students are going well beyond simply increasing surface contact area with skis or big tires. They're redesigning traditional bike systems to better adapt the bicycle to snow riding.