Winter Bike Setup

[Mark Blacknell]

As part of my (still sorta) new Clarendon Cycles column, I wrote about setting your bike up for winter. While I’ve got a stable full of bikes, I like to have one bike I can use to just grab and go at all times (for transportation purposes) That’s a little tricky in the winter, because I’ve still not found a tire that’s really suitable for *all* conditions. Since regularly swapping tires really isn’t my idea of a good time, I’ve got a second set of wheels for the studded tires, now. But as I was reminded last night, they’re really no good in deep snow – I should have had a big fat set of tires on for that. (Which I would have had to swap out this morning for the studded, if I’d ridden.) Still, I’d prefer to do less preparing and more riding. Anyone here ride the same setup all season long, no matter the weather?

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I keep two bikes ready, my CXB on road tires and my MTB on studs. Swap bikes as needed for weather like this. Naturally, the MTB is with me here at work today. Air the studs down to about 40psi (usually 60) and they trudge through the slushy crud just fine.

My friend down the street rides his CXB full time though, and keeps a set of studded tires on a separate wheelset. He can swap them in about a minute. That might be the way to go, although my body was thankful for the front suspension on my MTB this morning.

[OneEighth]

I ride my surly steamroller in any weather, year-round. Vittoria cross xn pros on chukkers and gearing appropriate to the weight of the bike and the width/pressure of the tires. The fixed 1/8th inch drive train is ridiculously easy to clean and maintain.

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