FS Newbies

[Mtansill]

@Sunyata 170096 wrote:

No. This is actually a terrible idea. Plastic (and items like plastic such as latex or nitrile gloves on hands) do not breathe at all. Your hands/feet WILL sweat. That sweat has nowhere to go. The sweat then gets cold, as wet things tend to do when it is chilly out. Then your extremities get even colder, which could potentially lead to nerve/tissue damage, frost bite, or hypothermia.

Yes. Well. I haven’t lost any toes yet, and this is going to be my fourth year. One note – I only use baggies – they only cover the front half of my toe. Larger bags that cover the entire foot might not work as well because even more dampness would get trapped.

And yes, I’ve ridden multi-hour rides while wearing baggies on my toes. While my feet do sweat, the wool socks absorb the sweat and the protection from the wind usually outweighs the downside of sweat not evaporating as well.

[Mtansill]

@jrenaut 170154 wrote:

Yeah, but my point is that, for me at least, nothing I wear is going to dry until either 1) I’ve gotten home and sat in a warm house for 3 hours or 2) I tossed it in the dirty clothes hamper. The only articles of clothing I wear biking that dry while biking are the outer layers after it stops raining.

My floor vents are usually covered with biking gloves in the winter to dry them out in time to use them again the next day.

[Rod Smith]

@MarkinDC 170040 wrote:

If you are getting snot-cicles then I think you need to work on your technique

To grow them longer? Any tips?

[Rod Smith]

I’m putting anti-perspirant on my feet

[Boomer Cycles]

Bar Mitts to keep your fingers frostbite-free, ditto for your face with a ski mask, fatter tires (with a tread) to keep the bike upright on snow, and an ice pick to keep your brake calibers working and your wheels rolling!

Sent from my VS501 using Tapatalk

[Bob James]

@Boomer2U 170282 wrote:

Bar Mitts to keep your fingers frostbite-free, ditto for your face with a ski mask, fatter tires (with a tread) to keep the bike upright on snow, and an ice pick to keep your brake calibers working and your wheels rolling!

Looking good Boomer. I’m trying studded 40mm tires this year. Last year my wider 44mm did not perform well in any form of white wintry precipitation (as rare as it was). Snow and ice stays on the trails for days longer than anywhere else. Muy biggest issue riding in cold weather is the eyes. They tend to water and hurt below 20F. Googles tend to fog no matter what kind of anti-fogging solution I try. I do have googles with a battery operated fan that helps with the fogging, but they are quite silly looking.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15966[/ATTACH]

[cvcalhoun]

@Boomer2U 170282 wrote:

fatter tires (with a tread) to keep the bike upright on snow

I actually have tire chains for my bike. No, I don’t have tire chains for my car. But I don’t lose Freezing Saddles points if I miss a day with my car. Perspective, folks!

[chuxtr]

12F this morning so a good test for all the newbies!

[MarkinDC]

So some folks have talked about tires and here are some general points:

– Wider and softer is generally more grippy in cold weather conditions, but note if your tires are “underinflated” and not tubeless you will be more prone to flats
– Wider is nice and wider allows you to generally run a lower pressure, but not all road bike frames will take a wider tire. For example a few winters ago I bought some 700×28 tires for my carbon road bike which rolled fine on the maintenance stand, but in certain conditions under the weight of a rider were actually rubbing up against the side of my frame and damaging it, so now even though I’d like to roll 700×28 in the winter 700×26 is with widest tire my frame will accept. The norm used to be 700×18 for road bikes so a lot of older road bikes just won’t take a wider softer tire for the winter.
– If you can’t fit a wider winter tire, look for a set of tires with winter specific rubber. Different types of rubber behave differently in near freezing or below freezing temperatures so especially if you are rolling wide and soft look for something winter specific.
– In the winter it’s more important than ever to think about fenders/mud guards and to really wipe down your bike after each ride. Salt can do a lot of damage to all types of bikes. It’s a bit OCD but I tend to first wipe the salt off with a dry cloth, then a clean damp cloth, then if I have time, another clean dry cloth. A wet cloth when your bike is still salty might help the salt get places it wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise. (it goes without saying my bikes all live in doors).

[Steve O]

To supplement the cold-weather gear discussion here, if you are not following the warm tights discussion thread, I posted something there specific to men only that may be useful.

[Author]

Posts