Rakower is the owner of All Weather Sports in Fairbanks, inventor of the double-wide Snow Cat bicycle rim, and the technical support expert for Alaska's Iditasport, known worldwide as the ultimate winter bicycle race, a sort of Tour de France of the tundra.

The New York native and former custom bicycle frame builder started a shop out of his Fairbanks home in the early 1980s, working on bikes and ordering parts for people who shared his passion.

The business grew too big for his home, so in 1990 he reluctantly moved to a storefront, which thrived during the summer months.

"Three-quarters of the business happens in three months, that's the way it is," said Rakower, who has worked in the bicycle industry for 30 of his 47 years.

An avid cyclist, Rakower found little time to ride in the summer. So when winter rolled around, he was out on his bike, battling the cold, ice and snow.

And the bike shop, for the most part, sat stagnant.

That's when he began building a better bike rim.

Winter bike riders and racers needed more flotation over snow than what a normal rim and tire could provide. Rakower began by welding two rims together and cutting out the raised edge in the middle. The double-wide rims fit standard mountain bike frames and allowed for a much better ride over snow.

The new rims were quickly snatched up by Iditasport, which was then called Iditabike, racers who rode them to victory.

After Rakower and shop employees had made about 50 sets of rims, production was contracted out.

Today the rims are made by a San Diego-based company, and Rakower sells about 300 to 600 sets annually.

About 10 percent of the rims are sold in Alaska, and the rest mostly go to snowbelt states and Europe, Rakower said. Some go to the Southwest, where riders use them on sand.

Downhill racers, who rocket down snowless ski-slopes, also use the Snow Cats. The rims have dominated the Iditasport, and have been used to cross Siberia and on bikes in Antarctica, Rakower said.

As popular as the rim has become, the market isn't big enough for a major rim maker to build the product.

"It remains an interesting little niche," Rakower said.

The rims' retail at about $60 apiece, or $250 to $350 for a complete wheelset, depending on the hubs and spokes used.

Rakower also makes a lighter but more expensive version and a new rim for nonstandard 29-inch wheel mountain bike.

Along with the wheels, Rakower began importing Nokian steel-studded tires made in Finland and acted as the company's sole distributor for years.

The tires, which can cost more than $100 apiece, stick to the ice, making once impossible terrain ridable and safer, Rakower said.

A complete wheel and tire package can cost upwards of $600, more than most folks spend on an entire bicycle.

For many, the price is worth it.

"The combination of the Snow Cats and the Nokians have opened up a whole new world for recreational riders and racers," said Dohnn Wood, owner the Bicycle Department at The Motorcycle Shop in Anchorage.

The wheels and tires also get people in shops during the slow winter months.

"It gives more options and more reasons for people to come in," Wood said.

Rakower has promoted winter biking on his shop's Web site, giving tips to cyclists on everything from how to dress to the right grease to use in bone-chilling temperatures.

He also has written for bicycle industry newspapers, giving tips to other bike shops on how to sell winter cycling.

All Weather Sports is one of two Fairbanks bike shops, and employs six to eight people in the winter and about a dozen people in the still-more-popular summer months.

In addition to bikes, the shop carries cross-country skis in the winter.

Rakower's promoting of winter cycling has left him little time to ride nowadays, whether it's hot or cold.

"I used to ride in the winter because I couldn't ride in the summer. Now I don't have time to ride in the winter," Rakower said. "I still fantasize about returning the business to the small house and to my original vision of just providing service and parts."