Page 22 - Jan_14

EASTON, MASS. — When Stephan
Gellman was 13 and wanted a
Stephen Gellman
mountain bike, his dad said he had to “whether it’s
work for it. Today, he’s making bikes
as the owner and founder of Cyndrome
and Cyndrome
pressing skis or
Cycles, a small brand of bikes that he
started in his garage.
OK, you say, what makes this going out and
story different than every other cycling- Cycles aim to

hobbyist-turned-bike-shop-owner? riding, it’s not life
Gellman’s bikes don’t have tires. Using
innovations of his own design, Gellman bring ski-biking
and death, it’s for
has combined two of his passions—
skiing and snowboarding—into a more to the Northeast
versatile and aggressive variety of ski fun. It’s to watch
bikes. While the bikes have grown

in popularity among bikers in the people smile.”
Western United States, Gellman hopes
to bring these machines into vogue in
By Evan Johnson
the Northeast.
“People move to Burke to bike,
and they ski in their offseason. At the
same time, there are a lot of people

who move to Colorado to ski and they While prototyping, he partnered with
ride their bike in the offseason. I feel two friends, Matt Michaud and Katie
like this is sort of an ideal market for Mros, owners of Sandwich Tech Skis,

this activity,” he says. “People want to a small ski-fabricating company in
ride year-round.”
Littleton, New Hampshire. Both have
Gellman, now 35, grew up in a master’s degrees in engineering and
skiing and biking family. His father, used to work with Gellman at Highland

an avid road biker, would ride 40 miles Mountain Bike Park in Northfield,
every morning before waking up the New Hampshire. Unlike working with
kids for school. Gellman learned to ski a major manufacturer, Gellman was
andrideabikeattheageof3andgot
able to order and test small batches of
his first job in a local bike shop at 13. skis and then head back to the drawing
He saved up his paychecks, bought his board. He went through five prototypes
first mountain bike, and was hooked. before establishing a flagship model

At 14, he began competing in races. released in 2010.
After studying engineering at college, Weighing in at 22.5 pounds,
he shifted his course and became a that model uses many preexisting
paramedic. In 2000, he joined the
bike components, including frames
Army, went to flight school, and served (he uses Lenz Sport from Colorado),
three tours—two in Afghanistan and seats, handlebars, and beefy front and
one in Iraq—as a flight medic, landing rear suspensions from Fox Suspension.

in areas to pick up and treat wounded The skis are fully rockered and feature
while in-flight.
durable and flexible sugar maple and
Biking and skiing continued to Ipe, a Brazilian hardwood. According
be his passions, even after he left the
to PSIA standards, Cyndrome Cycles
Army in 2004 and became a full- are a classified Type 2 ski bike.
time paramedic and firefighter in his
hometown, Easton, where he lives lIkE rIdINg a bIkE

today in his childhood home.
Riding one of Gellman’s ski bikes
engages two sets of muscle memory;
PrototyPEs
that of skiing or snowboarding with
When he wasn’t on call for the fire that of riding a bike. Like skiing, turns

department, Gellman was riding and, are initiated by exerting pressure on
in the winter, looked for an option to the downhill foot and engaging the
keep riding.
downhill edge, but turns also require

He wasn’t impressed with the a biker’s sense of balance given the
options available.
narrower base of the skis.
While the largest brands had “It’s much like riding a bike,”
been making ski bikes with skis in Gellman says. “At lower speeds, you
woods; and if you go over any sort of putting it gently.
place of tires for well over 50 years, the turn the handlebars to initiate the turn, bump, you’re taking one to the groin.”
In his earliest experiments in
models also required small skis to be and at higher speeds, you lean the bike These models also lent themselves 2008, Gellman attached a ski blade to
strapped to the bottom of the rider’s to initiate the turn. There’s some body easily to the “death wobbles,” and the rear axle of a downhill bike and

feet for stability; they also lacked the separation, in skiing or snowboarding, conversion kits featuring ski blades to half of a snowboard to the front. It
aggressive capability that Gellman you’re moving most of your body, but clamp under the front and rear tires were was just a test, but a promising one. In
preferred.
in biking you can keep most of your easily broken; Gellman snapped the kit doing this, Gellman placed both skis
“You can’t jump them,” he says. upper body upright.”
in two on his first run.
on the same axis, one in front of the
“You can’t do any sort of freestyle With some practice, the bikes “It was a basic design that was other and made the ride more stable
stuff. They’re tricky to take in the
float through powder, maneuver
a little bit too simplified,” he says—
and maneuverable.

22 VtsPorts.coM
FEbruary/March 2014