Just because colder weather is on the horizon doesn’t mean it's time to put your bike into storage. Indeed, there’s lots of fun to be had in the winter time, even if it’s snowing outside. This is precisely why fat bikes were invented, with their fat knobby tires capable of traversing through snow and loose terrain.
Canadian bike brand Rocky Mountain has quite a solid fat bike in the form of the Blizzard, and now, the brand has launched an electrified version of the model, dubbed the Blizzard PowerPlay. Just like its non-electric counterpart, the Blizzard PowerPlay is perfectly at home shredding it in the snow, and given that it has an electric motor, riders can go further without breaking a sweat – thereby letting them stay warm longer.
It’s a well-known fact that batteries and icy conditions don’t work well together. This is why the Dyname 4.0 motor and battery found in the Rocky Mountain Blizzard PowerPlay has been engineered specifically to withstand frigid conditions. In fact, Rocky Mountain claims that they’ve tested the motor in extreme conditions, ensuring its longevity and reliability. The battery, too, which is a 720-watt-hour unit, is said to be able to operate efficiently in temps as low as -20 degrees Celsius, or minus-four Fahrenheit.
That being said, there are a few key differences between the Blizzard non-electric and the Blizzard PowerPlay. Apart, of course from the Dyname motor, the Blizzard PowerPlay ditches the carbon fiber frame for a 7005 Aluminum Alloy frame. It’s a bit heavier as a result, but the weight is made up for by the punchy motor with a max output of 700 watts. It can pump out 350-percent of the rider’s pedal input, too, resulting in 108 Newton-meters of torque – more than enough for some pretty steep climbs.
Rocky Mountain has included a total of 15 mounting points onto the Blizzard PowerPlay, so you could easily set it up as a nomadic explorer for the winter. Its aluminum frame means that it can carry a heavier payload, too, so you can go crazy with the racks, bags, and accessories. That said, the bike is sold with a rigid carbon fork, but you can upgrade this to a Manitou Mastodon EX fat-tire suspension fork with 100 millimeters of travel.
Pricing-wise, Rocky Mountain’s newest e-bike carries quite a premium, starting at $5,249 USD for the Blizzard PowerPlay 30 MicroShift. Up next, the PowerPlay 50 takes things up a notch with Sram componentry, and carries a higher retail price of $6,259 USD.
