Winter weather tips thread?

[drevil]

@QuikAF77 151434 wrote:

Bag of Zip-Ties makes turning even worse, not a good idea.

From personal experience? One buddy that did it had a whole bunch rip off after a ride at Gambrill in the snow I wouldn’t recommend it either after watching his experiment fail.

[vvill]

@cvcalhoun 151416 wrote:

I’ve never used studs. But I’ve been thinking about them, and I’m wondering about the practicality of the rear studs, if you don’t have a spare bike hanging around to put them on. It seems like you’d either have to change the tire (in the snow, which is not terribly practical for those of us who don’t have a rack to get the bike out of the snow for the changing process), or have a spare wheel and cassette (which would be a lot more expensive than just a front wheel). Is there some third alternative I’m missing? I mean, other than buying a house which has room for N+1 bikes, a rack, and a lot of tools?

You could maybe have a shop install them at some point in the winter, and then un-install them after the icy winter days are done. Studded tire storage is a little annoying though since you can’t fold them and they’re sharp. (I’m lucky enough to have spare wheelsets for most of my bikes, and basement space for them.)

[cvcalhoun]

@vvill 151442 wrote:

You could maybe have a shop install them at some point in the winter, and then un-install them after the icy winter days are done. Studded tire storage is a little annoying though since you can’t fold them and they’re sharp. (I’m lucky enough to have spare wheelsets for most of my bikes, and basement space for them.)

I’m reluctant to do that, because it’s not like Ohio, in which there is a season in which snow is always on the ground. Most times, the extra traction is required only for a week or less at a time, and I don’t want my ride slowed down for months in order to cover isolated weeks.

I think the Slipnots will be my best option. Just keeping my fingers crossed that they will work well with my rim brakes and fenders. (The site says I need only a quarter inch of clearance, and I should have that.)

[MFC]

@drevil 151441 wrote:

From personal experience? One buddy that did it had a whole bunch rip off after a ride at Gambrill in the snow I wouldn’t recommend it either after watching his experiment fail.

I tried the zip ties. Most of them broke off fairly quickly, presumably because they were tiny frozen pieces of plastic.

[Steve O]

@drevil 151427 wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOaqqNS_oyY

Oh, Puh-leeze! That road he is riding on can be ridden on with any ordinary bike without any special tires. I could ride on that with my Fuji touring bike with slick 28s. And so can you.
Here I am last Jan 26, one-handed (had to hold my camera up) on a very similarly snowy road in Fairfax County on my 3-speed with wide slicks. No worries.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]13044[/ATTACH]

[hozn]

@vvill 151442 wrote:

Studded tire storage is a little annoying though since you can’t fold them and they’re sharp. (I’m lucky enough to have spare wheelsets for most of my bikes, and basement space for them.)

FWIW, there are a few models of folding studded tires. After splashing out for some 45NRTH Xerxes (folding) tires last winter, my opinion on studded tires (i.e. “horrible slog”) has changed dramatically.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Steve O 151454 wrote:

Oh, Puh-leeze! That road he is riding on can be ridden on with any ordinary bike without any special tires. I could ride on that with my Fuji touring bike with slick 28s. And so can you.
Here I am last Jan 26, one-handed (had to hold my camera up) on a very similarly snowy road in Fairfax County on my 3-speed with wide slicks. No worries.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]13044[/ATTACH]

You regularly use this series of photos often to demonstrate your point…but there’s a difference between “I felt perfectly safe doing this!” and “any rider could do this safely and at a reasonable rate of speed.” I consider myself an experienced rider and a decent bike handler and I wouldn’t feel comfortable riding those roads in your photo either a)at anything other than a uselessly slow speed or b)at a useful speed without better tires. My commute is 12+ miles with a huge ass hill on one end (with a mile long line of cars on the evening/downhill side), so riding at 6mph with traffic and zero-margin-for-error traction just isn’t an option.

[trailrunner]

Tip: One of the best ways I’ve found for keeping my feet warm are Polartech or fleece socks. I bought a couple pair from REI a long time ago, and use them on the coldest days. They work great. Thick snowboarding socks also work well.

[Steve O]

@TwoWheelsDC 151466 wrote:

You regularly use this series of photos often to demonstrate your point…but there’s a difference between “I felt perfectly safe doing this!” and “any rider could do this safely and at a reasonable rate of speed.” I consider myself an experienced rider and a decent bike handler and I wouldn’t feel comfortable riding those roads in your photo either a)at anything other than a uselessly slow speed or b)at a useful speed without better tires. My commute is 12+ miles with a huge ass hill on one end (with a mile long line of cars on the evening/downhill side), so riding at 6mph with traffic and zero-margin-for-error traction just isn’t an option.

I wasn’t making any assumptions about your particular commute; I was reacting to the video. You, (not me, you) could take any of your bikes out on that road and ride down it at 10-12 mph without any problem. No special tires or chains or zip ties required. It doesn’t require any secret, special skill that only I know. Moving bikes are stable and will stay up. You just have to believe. In fact, you would likely have more problem at a “uselessly slow speed” than at a moderate speed. Yes, slower than clear pavement, but not that much.
That bike he had? Same thing. Without the chains, he could have just gotten on and started riding down the street. Now he couldn’t have done the slaloming and that sort of thing, but if he just wanted to ride it, he could have–using the bicycle skills he already has.
Does that mean special tires wouldn’t be appropriate for other circumstances? Sure. I just found the video to be overblown in that regard.

[ewilliams0305]

Snow just means no pinch flats, so let out the air and ride! The last two years that’s about all I’ve ever done to handle the snow. I just flat my tires down to 20-40 psi and all is well. Besides falling in the snow can be fun[emoji79]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cvcalhoun]

@ewilliams0305 151484 wrote:

Snow just means no pinch flats, so let out the air and ride! The last two years that’s about all I’ve ever done to handle the snow. I just flat my tires down to 20-40 psi and all is well. Besides falling in the snow can be fun[emoji79]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Falling in the snow is one thing. Falling on ice is quite another. We’ve lost a few teammates over the years that way.

[jwetzel]

@epilsk 151381 wrote:

The best bargain in wool, especially for base layers, are those old sweaters with holes in them you (if you are like me) have stuffed in the back of drawers, closets, and bins. Wool is wool and you already paid for those old sweaters. You can be cheap and warm!

The sweater rack is usually my first visit at thrift stores. Merino, cashmere, alpaca – natural fibers are the way to go and at thrift shops are usually in the $5-8 range.

[vvill]

I don’t think the video is overblown, it’s meant to be a test for the SlipNot chains. I don’t think I’d want to test a product on a surface where if it fails I’d actually crash hard.

Also: photos of riding on snow/ice/whatever are one thing. Riding on a road shared with car traffic and suddenly sliding out on black ice is another. YMMV. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

@cvcalhoun 151443 wrote:

I’m reluctant to do that, because it’s not like Ohio, in which there is a season in which snow is always on the ground. Most times, the extra traction is required only for a week or less at a time, and I don’t want my ride slowed down for months in order to cover isolated weeks.

I think the Slipnots will be my best option. Just keeping my fingers crossed that they will work well with my rim brakes and fenders. (The site says I need only a quarter inch of clearance, and I should have that.)

Understood, given your commute distance, and agreed. Hope that they work for you!

@hozn 151461 wrote:

FWIW, there are a few models of folding studded tires. After splashing out for some 45NRTH Xerxes (folding) tires last winter, my opinion on studded tires (i.e. “horrible slog”) has changed dramatically.

Aww, man now I’m tempted to get one… or two.

[Subby]

I guess you can wear some of your weird uncle’s old sweaters if you want to look like a cycling hobo or whatever, but it might be worth it to splurge and buy a wool long sleeve cycling jersey. That, paired with a long sleeve base layer will keep you squared away down into the high 30s and you can even layer a matching (black) lightweight windbreaker if the wind is ridiculous.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Subby 151497 wrote:

I guess you can wear some of your weird uncle’s old sweaters if you want to look like a cycling hobo or whatever, but it might be worth it to splurge and buy a wool long sleeve cycling jersey. That, paired with a long sleeve base layer will keep you squared away down into the high 30s and you can even layer a matching (black) lightweight windbreaker if the wind is ridiculous.

You just described what I wore today exactly! …..in the second part, not the hobo part.

[Author]

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