Alta in the winter

[Christian]

Is it possible to ride an Alta in freezing conditions?

 

[Redwolf]

Yes, but you may need to warm the battery before use and charging, if temps are below 25°F

 

[Christian]

Is the bike at risk when taking it out for a ride below 25f?

 

[Redwolf]

Not that I know of, but it sometimes behaves a bit unhappy, there are a few discussions here where people have shared what it's like. But ultimately there haven't been any lasting problems resulting from riding in cold weather.

There's even some pics here of someone using an Alta as a snow bike.

Edit: Here's the pic

 

[Christian]

I’ve seen a couple videos on YouTube. Like Tyler Monagan rides his in the snow.

 

[Philip]

Someone in Canada has done ice racing on an Alta. Won the race too.

 

[Philip]

Damn, winter riding (at the end of this video) looks more fun that summer riding!

 

[Redwolf]

Riding in snow with studded tires is seriously fun. Even without the studs is damn fun, but requires one to Bea lot more aware of where the ice spots are.

 

[Philip]

In Russia we used to race all year round. Only had breaks in spring and fall when it was too muddy. In winter you'd lower the bike, fill the forks and shocks with thin hydraulic fluid, install as soft and as wide tires as you can find, and that's it. No studs back then, they weren't allowed.

It helped to wear thick cotton army pants and coat when you crash on ice, or get run over by another bike. Warm 3-finger army mittens. Stuff a newspaper into the pants' front to keep the cold wind away from the family jewels. Racing at -20C (0F) -- no problem!

 

[bluefxstc]

In Russia we used to race all year round. Only had breaks in spring and fall when it was too muddy. In winter you'd lower the bike, fill the forks and shocks with thin hydraulic fluid, install as soft and as wide tires as you can find, and that's it. No studs back then, they weren't allowed.

It helped to wear thick cotton army pants and coat when you crash on ice, or get run over by another bike. Warm 3-finger army mittens. Stuff a newspaper into the pants' front to keep the cold wind away from the family jewels. Racing at -20C (0F) -- no problem!

@Philip , you are officially nuts, if you didn't lose them riding at -20C.

 

[F451]

You guys need to do the Numb Bum 24 Hr race up in Canada. Course is on a frozen lake, got a crazy friend that’s been doing it for years. Numb nuts taking it to a whole nother level, Lol. The Iceholes.

 

[Wheelsick]

I’ve ridden mine all winter in zero° conditions. Just warm it up a bit on s stand. No issues other than lacking a bit of power.

 

[C5tor]

Saw a vid of an Alta with a timbersled kit last week on facebook. Couldn’t find the vid later on youtube, though. But it looked fun (for probably 20 minutes before the battery ran down.)

 

[Christian]

Yeah in my opinion, Gas bikes are still dominant by a long shot due to ride time and it takes a second to fill up a tank of gas. But I’m excited to see the future of electric bike.

 

[Sumik]

Saw a vid of an Alta with a timbersled kit last week on facebook. Couldn’t find the vid later on youtube, though. But it looked fun (for probably 20 minutes before the battery ran down.)

I converted my Alta MX into a snow bike for the winter season 2018/2019 and I'm going to do it for this winter with my 2019 EXR as well. There will be definitely more power than with the MX. You can watch a short video on

There are no problems with charging if you do it immediately after riding as the battery is warm enough. When starting the ride, it takes about 3 minutes to get warm. Before that the bike control doesn't allow you full power (yellow light on the panel). You can find the conversion kit on Snow bike conversion | Track System Canada I used the kit on my KTM 350 SX-F before. It had some more power but the major difference is the silence when riding in the nature in protected area. The nett run-time is about 25 to 30 minutes.

 

[datadog]

Jeff Fredette won an AMA Ice Racing Championship on one of the demo Altas in 2018. They made a battery warmer blanket, didn't really need it. They kept it in the trailer (heated) until the race, and they charged in in above freezing temps. The bike performed perfectly. If you leave it below freezing overnight and try to take off, it will not perform as it should. Put a little heat in the battery and you'll be fine.

 

[Bswanson]

We never had a problem all year
Prob the last studd ride of 2020
AWRCS Woods Racing Starts in PA in a month

 

[Don Thuren]

Lithium batteries don't like to be under freezing, especially regarding charging, but as long as the batteries are above freezing once you start moving, they should warm up more with use and all should be just fine...

 

[Nitropolitan]

@Bswanson Grip Studs are a game changer! I have a set of studded knobbies on my CRF and had a ball this winter and spring. I just picked up my alta, but can only assume it will go for some rips around the yard and trail next winter as well.

 

[wwmotors]

WInter is fun, but cold fingers pretty quick! Charged it in the house under warm conditions. But a lot of energy is needed in the snow!