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New to Bikes? (click here to scroll down to skiing section)
Choosing your bike
The first time bike buyer has many options at Olympia, and we're happy to help you with your questions and concerns, teach you a bit about the different bike types and encourage you to take a few models for a test ride.
It might be helpful for you to come to the store with some knowledge of yourself, the cycling you'd like to do, and some basic information about the type of bikes that are available. To help you prepare we suggest that you be able to answer some of the questions below. Answers to these questions will help us narrow the options that will be most applicable to your needs and wants.
Are you:
:: A new cyclist?
Analyze Yourself
Think about your purchasing tendencies: For example, do you consistently demand the highest quality or are you more apt to look for reasonable quality and lower cost? Are you fascinated with high-tech gadgets or are you satisfied with simpler designs, or will any two-wheeler that does the job be just fine for you?
Where you live plays a major role in what type of bike to get. You'll ride more if your new machine matches your riding opportunities. For example, if you're surrounded by shimmering pavement, a hybrid bike might be a better choice than a mountain bike.
Your Budget
While it's always possible to upgrade parts down the road, bike components are much more affordable when they're included as standard equipment on the new bike. It's most economical to get what you want when you buy your new bike, as opposed to constantly upgrading down the road.
When calculating how much you'd like to spend on that new machine, remember that you may need some extra items, like a helmet, lock, pump, tool kit, cycling shorts, shoes, gloves and so on. Figure these costs into your budget, too.
Bike Types
Yes, this is the world wide web, but we assume most of you reading this are from Winnipeg, and guess what?...that means you live in a climate that is cold and snowy in the winter (if you're not from Winnipeg you need to come here in January to experience - 30 C with blowing snow for yourself). In fact, we must live in one the strangest places on earth; it's usually sunny and warm in the summer, with plenty of beaches and swimsuit clad warm weather revelers near by, but in winter it seems most of these outdoor enthusiasts put away the sunscreen and beach towels and hibernate. The funny thing is that it can be just as enjoyable to be outside in the winter as it is in the summer. Different, but enjoyable. Really.
In winter some of the same parks and waterways that are used for summer fun become a snowy playground perfect for cross country skiing. The snow in most of our plentiful parks and on our waterways is usually pristinely white and untouched (unlike the mucky roadways full of brown and gray sludge), and the relative solitude of skiing through the urban wilderness is a nice break from more chaotic summer activities.
If you haven't spent a few quite moments skiing down the Assiniboine River or through a local park forging new tracks and breathing the crisp, clean air, you need to rent some skis from us and try it. One try and we trust you'll be hooked.
But how do you choose the type of cross county ski best suited for you? You need to assess where you plan to ski, which type of ski technique interests you, and then look at the options available to you. After you have some idea of what you're after come on down to the shop and share your ideas with us, and we'll do our best to help you from there.
Where do you plan to ski?
Are you planning to be an urban skier, or would you like to get out to 'true' wilderness? Urban skiing may mean than you'll be on trails that are usually groomed, or at least you'll be somewhere that someone else has already skied and set down the first tracks.
URBAN SKIING: If you plan to ski exclusively on groomed trails then you might want to check out track skis, which are generally narrow, with boots that resemble running shoes, and with generally longer, but lightweight poles. At Olympia most of the skis we sell are 'track skis', and we therefore tend to refer to them simply as cross country skis and don't use more specific terminology unless we're referring to other types of skis listed below. These type of skis can be designed for either classic or skate skiing (we'll discuss the difference between classic and skate skiing further below). Track skis are very efficient and move fast. However, they require groomed trails, so untouched snow is more or less off limits.
Do you think you'll ski on a mixed terrain of groomed trails and some fresh, untouched snow? For instance, you might consider yourself an urban skier but sometimes you may want to head down to a nearby creek or river and forge a new trail on some light snow instead of heading out to the groomed stuff. In that case you might want to get some touring skis, which are designed to be something of a middle of the road, do anything set up that allows you to be reasonably efficient on groomed trails but also lets you break through the fresh stuff for the first time. In many cases the more entry level track ski packages that we stock do well as touring skis owing to their wider ski surface and beefier boots. Ski and pole sizes are generally mid-sized, and the boots more resemble hiking boots than their racier cousins used exclusively on groomed trails.
BACKCOUNTRY SKIING: If you know that your true love is heading out to unexplored backcountry and pushing through untouched, heavy snow then you'll need backcountry skis that are wider, with stronger and heavier poles and boots. In tame, urban setting these skies will feel clunky and overdone, but in the backcountry they're exactly what you require.
What type of ski technique interests you?
There are two main categories of ski technique: Classic and Skate
Classic: As the name suggests this is the form of skiing that has been around the longest. As you likely know the classic ski stride is essentially a matter of gliding one ski at a time along a straight track (or forging your own straight track), sort of like an exaggerated walking stride / shuffle step. Because the motion of classic skiing is somewhat familiar to everyone (you know how to walk in a straight line, right?) it's relatively easy to get the hang of classic skiing. Classic ski technique can be used in virtually all terrain and conditions, so you can use it on urban trails or in the backcountry. In fact, on untouched terrain you pretty much need to resort to classic technique. Classic skiing is great for getting a constant, controlled workout that can be enjoyed in almost any conditions, possibly right out your back door, or at least close by.
Skate: Skate skiing resembles, you guessed it, skating, and has arguable only been around since the early '70's. Your stride looks more like when you push off with one ice skate blade while the other blade points forward and glides along. The technique is often thought to be harder to get used to for beginners, but once you're used to it the skate ski provides impressive power and speed that simply can't be replicated on a classic ski. However, skate skiing is pretty much limited to groomed trails (and only those trails that are groomed specifically for skate skiing). You can try to get some skate skiing in on a hard packed river surface, but rougher terrain, and certainly backcountry skiing, is out. If you do plan to be out at the local groomed ski club most of the time though, skate skiing can be an exhilarating, fast paced experience.
Technical Issues: Wax, binding and boots, poles, and so on
As with almost anything you can make skiing a more complicated discussion than it necessarily needs to be. Experienced skiers have their favourite wax techniques (and just to complicate things you can get a few types of skis in waxless versions), there are a few different binding systems, there are slight variations from pole to pole, and so on.
In the future we may decide to tackle one or more of these more technical issues on this site, but to be honest most of us don't need to worry about the technical side of skiing. If you know what type of skiing you want to do (or even if you don't) come on down to the shop and we'll help get you going. If you want to learn about the more subtle issues of preferred bindings, wax set-up, pole baskets, and so forth we'll be happy to talk with you about it face to face.
Get started
Hopefully we've provided enough basic information here to give you the confidence to know generally what you're after. The next step may be to visit us, talk further, and (if you decide it's for you) take the plunge. We're looking forward to joining you on the trails or in the outback soon.
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If
you're reading this then chances are that you're already inspired enough
to check out skiing that you don't need to be handed more reasons to do so
(after all, your own reasons are the best) but just for the heck of it
we'll share some of our motivation to break out the skis every winter, and
we'll share some tips on how to choose the right skis further down.