The winter sports of snow-biking, and most recently ski-biking, are now becoming big enough in the industry to have big name resorts offering rentals of the equipment.

Credit for the popularity of ski-biking goes to manufacturer Lenz Sport, located in Ft. Lupton, Colorado, a company that has created a sport able to be enjoyed by both adaptive and non-adaptive riders. Lenz, a maker of downhill mountain bikes, produced its first ski-bike several years ago.

What needs to be mentioned first is the difference between Type I snow-biking and Type II ski-biking. The former are bikes with skis rather than wheels, but with the incorporation of riders wearing a small ski on each foot as well. The latter are bikes with skis rather than wheels, with riders placing their feet on pedals rather than on two separate, smaller skis.

Although the sports are still relatively new, there are a few organizations working to help them grow.

The American SkiBike Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to growing the sport and promoting competitions, began in May 2012 and now holds a National Ski Area Association membership.

It also strives to, “increase rider safety, awareness, and improve access to ski areas for adaptive and non-adaptive participants in the sport of SkiBiking.”

The president and vice president of the association, Randy and Melanie Kimball, are also co-owners of SkiBikeFun, which is an online retailer of the bikes.

Josh Westfall, a fan of the Type II ski-bikes, has purchased several for use in his hometown of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Westfall has rented his bikes out in the past and said he plans to increase that number this year, but did note the sport is “still in its infancy.”

“It’s a completely different sport,” he told GrindTV. “Foot-skis [snow-biking] have their place, but these are way more fun and capable. It’s part mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, dirt biking, and snowmobiling—a total Colorado sport. In the next five years it’s going to explode. It belongs in the X Games.”

Despite his love for the ski-bikes, he said it will take a while for others to get on board.

“It’s still too new for mainstream acceptance,” he said. “Resorts aren’t quite sure what to do with them yet.”

For more information, visit the American SkiBike Association website.

Check out the video below that shows a POV GoPro video of someone using a ski-bike at Steven’s Pass in Washington.

Image is a screenshot from video by mountainwonline on YouTube