Snow bicycle beats British winter

A kit that transforms any bicycle into a caterpillar track-driven snow bike has been imported from Canada by the Environmental Transport Association (ETA).

The ETA was the first organisation to offer breakdown recovery for cyclists in Britain and now includes the service for free with its cycle insurance.

The £600 K-Trak system is believed to be the only kit of its kind in Britain and may become a useful cycling accessory if the weather we have experienced this month becomes an annual event.

Half bike, half tank

The kit replaces the front wheel with a ski bade and the rear wheel with a caterpillar track system driven by the pedals in the conventional way.

Ktrak is is popular in mountain resorts in America and Canada and works best on downhill sections of packed snow, but it gives useful amount of traction on the flat, too.

The ETA’s Yannick Read has been testing the snow bicycle over the past week: “A twenty-mile commute in the snow this week was one of the most rewarding rides I’ve had, but the K-trak is unlikely to find a market in Britain because conventional mountain bikes works so well in most wintry conditions.”

Compare your cycle insurance

Cycle insurance from the ETA includes free accidental cover (including at race events), personal accident cover, a breakdown service for cyclists and much more.