To ski in areas where snow is guaranteed, winter sports fans have to climb to ever higher altitudes, as snow cannons are not a viable alternative when temperatures are too warm. It's no wonder that the Pistenbock-Cross attracted so much interest from experts at Interalpin 2017. The innovative leisure device was invented by Stefan Bock and his company bock machining. The company, based in Alzenau in Lower Franconia, is both a special machine manufacturer and a specialist in plastic seals. Company boss Stefan Bock founded the company Pistenbock specifically for his sports vehicle.

No driving pleasure without rotation brakes
The product portfolio now includes three winter models for the commercial sector and two for end customers, which are offered exclusively via the company's own web store. The flagship model is the Pistenbock-Cross, a counterpart to the winter models, specially manufactured for the snow-free period with wheels and disc brakes.

Braking and cushioning play a particularly important role compared to tobogganing on snow. This is because snow-covered pistes have a natural balancing element due to the white carpet, which protects the riders from roots and other unevenness. During the design phase of the Pistenbock-Cross, a great deal of attention was therefore paid to solutions that would compensate for these unevennesses in order to ensure a high level of riding fun and safety. Roots or other obstacles running on one side or at an angle to the direction of travel played a major role in the considerations. After all, it was important to avoid sudden steering movements.

For this reason, the technical product design team at Pistenbock opted for a combination of a robust, simple and maintenance-free design, a wide wheelbase to minimize the risk of tipping, hydraulic disc brakes and steering damping. Design engineer Christian Wilms explains: "As forces in the wild cannot be predicted exactly, there was a lengthy test phase in which the rotary brakes chosen for this had to prove their functionality for the Pistenbock-Cross in all possible and impossible steering maneuvers."

For optimum damping for safety and driving comfort, the company turned to ACE, with whom they have been cooperating for several years. The Langenfeld-based company specializes in damping solutions of all kinds and offers a service that extends from planning to product delivery. This was also the case during the test phase for the Pistenbock.