Board Members

Owner/Manufacturer of Skibyk SkiBikes

As a long-time winter sports enthusiast Chris Schuler has a keen understanding of snow sports equipment developed through years of Skiing, Snowboarding and SkiBiking. Skiing since he was 12 and Snowboarding since  1984, Chris has ridden through the changes that both industries have seen. Chris started his winter career as an 18 year old kid fresh out of Hawaii…moving to a Ski Area in Washington State. He worked his way up to management, eventually opened the first Snowboarding  only Rental Shop in 1987. 

Working closely with his local Ski Area, Snowboard Shops and Manufacturers, Chris helped to develop the Northwest Snowboarding Series, which produced many of the world’s top snowboarding riders through the early ‘90’s.  As an active Hardbooter in the world of Snowboarding Chris was focused on snowboards that could truly carve and continues to ride hardboots today. In 2009 Chris was introduced to a SkiBob at Steamboat, Colorado…this experience led him to purchase his first  SkiBike in the spring of 2010 a Geary SkiBike. Over the next 5 winters Chris rode his Geary, making changes to the SkiBike that would help make this bike become more of a carver.  In the fall of 2016, Chris was introduced to a newly designed SkiBike and his  eventual business partner at SKIBYK USA Alfie Fernandez. As the CEO of SKIBYK, LLC Chris’s understanding of turn dynamics and his focus on building a SkiByk from the snow up and not the frame down combined with Alfie’s knowledge of frame geometry and design  capabilities culminated in the SB100 All-Mountain SkiByk, through prototyping, on the hill testing and constant feedback we at SkiByk are confident that we have produced a SkiBike for the masses. The SB100 is lightweight, yet durable…nimble, yet solid underfoot…rippy,  yet carves like a Ginzu knife…the perfect ride. The SB100 All-Mountain. 

I am very excited to be on the board of the American Ski Bike Association and look forward to working with a group of fellow devotees to help promote awareness and acceptance of SkiBiking.

Owner/Manufacturer of LenzSport Skibikes

My first real interest into bikes was in the early 70s when I took my broken down banana seat 20" bike and striped it down and built it into a MX style bike.  Then converted it into a BMX style bike that later got stolen.  At that point I built another bike and rode, and BMX raced up until high school.  During high school I became interested in shop class and the art of designing and building cool things to ride or drive and I took metals classes and vocational welding classes all through high school.   

Once out of high school I began to acquire tools and machinery to fabricate with metals and got into drag racing with my dad and built several drag race cars and raced for about 10 years.  At the same time I got into ski racing and moved up to qualify for my first FIS race which I didn't get to race because I blew out my knee before the race and wound up quitting after 4 years of racing.

I built my first MTB frame in 1989, and then my first full suspension bike in 1996.  In 1997, I began selling my first full suspension XC mountain bikes under the name Lenz Sport.  From then I moved toward long travel DH style bikes and sponsored a race team and traveled to many of the national NORBA races promoting my brand. 

In 2004, I changed my focus from the gravity-type bikes and 26" XC bikes and made my first full suspension 29er bike The Leviathan.  That was an untapped niche area which I was able to develop many sorts of the new big wheel format bikes and lead the way in designs and technology for 29" mountain bikes. In 2004, Matt Hansen contacted me about one of my DH bike models being a good design to work with his skibike conversion kits.  He got me interested in skibikes and I traded him an old frame for 2 kits.  I built up 2 bikes with my Alpine Brawler mountain bike frames I had hanging around.  I took my apprentice at the time, Masa Hiromoto from Japan, to Copper Mountain and there we tried to skibike for the very first time.  Not having anyone to show us how to ride we made our way down the hill any which way we could to keep in control though there was almost constantly thrills and being scared to death as we didn't have the knowledge we have today about bike control, skidding turns, and making hockey stops.  From that first day I was hooked on skibiking and wanted to push it to the level of riding and terrain that I was accustom to with ordinary skiing.  Matt assured me over the phone in our many calls about skibiking that he knew guys that were riding all the bumps and steep stuff that alpine skiers were hitting, so I went out to try and master that stuff myself.  So first chance I had to try a steeper run with deep powder I learned that there were some limitations to the conversion kits related to how much control they had to the pivoting of the skis and also ski design for powder.  It was at that point that I worked on a system to control the ski pivoting so I could have the control I needed to skibike the more advanced terrain.  A few years later I was running out of my mountain bike frames to make into skibikes so I built my first prototype skibike.  That was not a good design at all and I took what I learned and built the Brawler Skibike which was revolutionary to performance skibike designs and riding.  Looking to make a bike that wasn't so difficult to make, I designed the Launch which is more like a bicycle-style bike without the moto seat.  I wasn't expecting it to be as good of a handling bike as the Brawler, but it turned out to be a better handling bike and quicker handling bike as well.  

After about 4 years of developing and tooling up for our own ski manufacturing, spring of 2012 we were able to test some of the first skis we made.  Ever since we started into skibiking we have relied on what the ski/board industry was making to run on our skibikes.  We could not find a ski with the proper shape or size to work just the way we needed, though testing dozens and dozens of skis I had a very good idea of what we needed to make these skibikes be able to go to the next level.  Our first skis pressed are just a basic all-mountain with the main aspects I wanted designed in and you can ask anyone who has ridden them they are hugely an improvement to the sport.  We'll be making speed specific skis and all sorts of powder boards as well to test and sell this year to finally round out all the main aspects to make our product as good as it can be and ready for prime time.

Another link to what I have been able to contribute the development of our sport of skibiking along with the manufacturing capabilities in the MTB industry is my background as a skier.  I have been a ski racer and in 2002, I hired on as a part-time instructor at Vail Ski Resort.  I had the opportunity to go through their training program and learn the methods of one of the premier ski school programs in the world. That along with certifying as a ski instructor through PSIA enabled me to develop a teaching method using the same principals for snow sliding and controlling speed and teaching bike handling skills.  I have now been working with Winter Park Resort to develop their skibike instruction program and instructing clients and instructors since 2007.

Now as a director of the ASA, I will be working to advance our sport in the area of teaching / training programs, race and event organizing, and resort rental program growth and education about skibikes. 

Leif Larson has been in the snowboarding industry for 30 years from semi pro snowboarder, to grooming and helping to build the terrain park for Mt. Bachelor in the late 90's early 2000's. His passion for gravity and frozen liquid have brought him enthusiastically to skibiking. After his first experience riding an early model skibike at Sierra ski resort nearly 17 years ago it never left his mind, and the seed was planted. In 2018 after the purchase of a Skibyk, he joined the ASA and shortly after, became one of our Western regional reps, helping to grow the industry and gain access to more resorts. In the summer months he fights fire as a wildland fire engine captain and outdoor wilderness school instructor for boys, focusing on mindfulness, leadership and self empowerment on the Lost Coast of California.  

Owner/Manufacturer of Koski SnowSports

I saw my first Skibob in 1961 on the slopes of Mt. Rose Ski Resort in Nevada at the tender age of 6. Little did I know how much this would later influence my involvement in the development of three cutting edge sports industries; Skibikes, BMX, and Mountain Bikes. In 1970 my family, during the height of the gasoline shortage, decided to open a bicycle shop because bicycle sales were going through the roof.  I took extra machine shop classes at Tamalpais High School and by the time we opened the bike shop I was a proficient fabricator. The Cove Bike Shop came to be known as the first mountain bike shop in the world.  We gained worldwide attention as the technical and innovative leaders in the mountain bike industry. From Japan, industry leaders, Shimano and Suntour, came to our shop for insight and advice.  Popular Science vol#247 October of 2000

I saw a Brenter skibob from Austria at Homewood Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe, California later that year and decided to fabricate my own. Making use of my motorcycle / Moto-X knowledge I knew it had to have suspension and foot pegs.  I quickly realized rear suspension was not enough and built six more prototypes with front and rear suspension pushing the boundaries of available technology. The seventh prototype used a Montesa MX fork leg with a linkage system I designed and the back was a Fox Shox cutting edge motorcycle rear long travel air shock. Giving incredible performance, this bike proved to be the future of modern day skibiking. My first production run of Skibikes was in 1998 ( 50 skibikes ).  Rigorous ongoing research and development and business partnership with Jeff Butcher led to the production of the current FM series ( FM-1, FM-2, FM-3 ) pictured above. In 2001, Koski SnowSports had the first and only USA factory team at the Durango Skibike Festival. Koski team riders wowed the industry with their dynamic style of riding. These riders pushed the limits for all others to see.   

Before mountain bikes were called mountain bikes, in 1976 we went into business with Harley Davidson racer and “On Any Sunday” star Mert Lawwill to develop and market the Pro-Cruiser, (the first) large production run (600+ units) of a special built off road cruiser. We needed a purpose built fork for our new frame so I designed one and sent the blueprints to Gary and Craig Cook ( Cook Bros. Racing ) a BMX manufacturer in Los Angeles to build the fork to my specs. This collaboration with the Cook Bros. opened the door for other BMX manufacturers in Los Angeles that we dealt with to develop their own line of cruisers (SE Racing, Mongoose, Laguna, West Coast Cycle).

Innovations I brought to the mountain bike industry;

1) Aluminum rims

2) Aluminum handlebars

3) Aluminum brake levers

4) First custom built frame with a large production

5) First custom built fork 

Innovations I developed for the Skibike industry;

1) Long travel front and rear suspension

2) Foot pegs

3) Moto-X seats

4) Aluminum frames

5) Aluminum components

6) Moto-X style riding technique 

Co-owner of  Skibyk SkiBikes 

Riding a bicycle, dirt bike and cars has been a passion for Alfie Fernandez  since he was a kid. He has ridden everything with wheels from BMX to Mountain  Bikes . When Alfie is not out SkiByking in the winter or Mountain Biking in the  summer you will find him in his garage wrenching on his cars and bikes.  

His  passion for all things that go downhill, and building and working on cool stuff  made his venture into the world of SkiBikes a natural opportunity.

I have been an adventure sports enthusiast since childhood, beginning with  bicycles, then evolving to motorbikes, dirt bikes, Harleys, drag racers,  mountain bikes, white water river guide, and then skiing. Many of these I worked  on or built myself, including dragsters and white water cataraft frames.

Due to a traumatic injury to my knee during the service and a foot  fracture later skiing became more difficult with my painful knee and challenging  to fit ski boots. My career as a welder/fabricator, and my engineering mindset  brought me to be interested in building my own ski bike just for the fun of  it. 

I also built another custom ski bike for my wife who is currently  learning the sport and loving it too. I have a strong  enthusiasm for promoting the sport and hope to see it in the Olympics one  day.

I’m happy to partake as a Southwest ski bike  representative!

I grew up on mountain bikes.  If I wasn't fishing, I was on the mountain  bike for fun, or on the way to the fishing hole.  Eventually this turned to a  racing passion, combined with a profession (if you count a 14 year old a  professional).  I worked at various local bike shops throughout middle and high  school, usually handing the paychecks back in exchange for the latest and  greatest parts.  My pre teen years were spent racing mountain bikes, in the  cross country classes.  I took home a win at Ice Man in 1997, and a podium the  filling year.  I also Ski raced throughout high school, doing well, placing at  the regional level.  At 16, my world changed...I gravitated toward cars.  

Since 2003, barely out of high school, it's been full focus on high  performance racing cars.  I've successfully built and driven several cars  specific to Pikes Peak over the last decade.  The skill set learned over the last  2 decades has been interesting.  

In 2018, I stumbled on a YouTube video showing Skibiking, and I HAD to try  it!  So I built an adapter kit for my LaPierre DH bike and flogged it throughout  the 2019 season.  These floggings included the Hoodoo Skibike Festival, where I  nearly podiumed in both disciplines.  The riding was great, the people, even  better!

I decided in the spring that I wanted to build my interpretation as the  "ultimate skibike".  Work began in the summer months and by snowfall, we had the  first Loveland Bikes prototype ready.  A Type 2, Titanium framed, 200mm front  and 315mm rear travel, adorned with top end carbon components, the bike weighed  in at just 24lbs 3oz.  

The other exciting news was that the Boyne resorts would be allowing  Skibiking for the 19/20 season!   We showed up opening day, and were waved off  of the mountain after three runs.  Not to be discouraged, I quickly got to work  and offered the managers any assistance I could, to promote the sport and ease  their shift to allow the sport.  Within days, I was invited back and was  training their instructors on my prototypes (I then had two completed) , as well  as a Skibyk SB100. 

This sport has me for life, and I'm thrilled to represent the Skibiking  community!