This project started because I didn't have a winter bike last year. By current bike was a Castellano Fango which if you have even looked at the rear end of these bikes you'll see they do not fit a very big tire in to start with. So I bought a Soma Groove Steel MTB frame and fork set. The frame was perfect for the bigger wheels (Snowcats) and larger tires I wanted to use (WTB Mutano Raptor 2.4's). I ended up using some of the parts from my summer bike including the Race Face Deus Cranks, and XO shifter/Der set up. I went to Avid BB7 Disc brakes and some other fairly inexpensive parts. Pictured right is the bike with our famous Moose Mitts (Pogies) for winter riding...
I used Avid Flak Jackets to make the cable system flawless and enclosed to keep out dirt, salt, or ice...this thing worked flawlessly.

The only snag was the frame was much shorter than I have anticipated so I ran a 150mm stem...And the Tires were great in all snow except wet stuff or really deep snow. I have since switched to the WTB Timberwolf tires for better snow tracking.

The bike ended up not being too heavy, and handled well in the snow. But I rode it a few times with out snow on normal trails and pavement...It was like driving a truck.

Scroll down to view some pictures we did manage to take before it left the shop...If you have questions about these project bikes please feel free to e-mail us at trails-edge@trails-edge.com and we'd be happy to help as much as we can.