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Winter cycling thread

fi Offline AlephZero

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Winter cycling thread
on: November 19, 2013, 07:35:17 PM
I'm sure there are others who keep pedalling throughout the year, so I got the idea of us sharing winter cycling tips and tricks in a dedicated thread...

Depending of course on your conditions, the tires are the most important part of winter bike gear.

My choice, as finnish winter does get icy, is Schwalbe Ice Spiker

Already had couple of frosty mornings with some black ice on the roads, the grip is awesome

More to come, share your ideas :)
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gb Offline Mike, Lord of the Spammers!

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #1 on: November 19, 2013, 07:42:58 PM
It rarely gets bad enough to worry about spiked tyres over here luckily :)

I am a huge fan of Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres for year round cycling, as they offer good grip levels in the cold and wet, with good rolling and puncture resistance.

A good, upright bicycle is great I think in poor weather, both to see and be seen (hi viz clothing is a must too IMO) and to give you good control of the machine in poor conditions.

Good lighting is a life saver too :)

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gb Offline Zed

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #2 on: November 19, 2013, 07:53:06 PM
Im pretty odd as prefer my road bike when its frosty,i changed my tires on my mountain bike a week ago to the Michelin road tyres(forget the model) but i see me sticking the fat tyres back on soon due to less punctures,ive had one already    :-\


fi Offline AlephZero

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #3 on: November 19, 2013, 07:53:41 PM
I agree wholeheartedly on seeing and being seen, I have four reflectors on my clothes and backpack plus the ones on my bike, and my MTE G33 as my bike light plus a red blinky on my backpack, I swear noone can tell they didn't see me :D
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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #4 on: November 19, 2013, 08:29:50 PM
A decent set of winter riding gear can make a big difference to you moral as well I've found. Nothing like riding while soaked through in a gale to make you want to steer into on coming traffic to end the misery :D

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nl Offline bmot

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #5 on: November 19, 2013, 10:32:54 PM
Wait, what? You outfit your bike especially for winter? :P


I still use the same old thing I always use  :whistle:
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fi Offline AlephZero

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #6 on: November 20, 2013, 02:39:48 PM
Wait, what? You outfit your bike especially for winter? :P


I still use the same old thing I always use  :whistle:

Black ice on the road makes you appreciate studded tires quite fast :D
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nl Offline bmot

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #7 on: November 20, 2013, 03:10:22 PM
Wait, what? You outfit your bike especially for winter? :P


I still use the same old thing I always use  :whistle:

Black ice on the road makes you appreciate studded tires quite fast :D


We don't really get that much ice :P


You should see the average bike here, though (and there are lots) I doubt anyone cares enough to put studded tires on them.
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fi Offline AlephZero

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #8 on: November 23, 2013, 09:05:13 AM
Wait, what? You outfit your bike especially for winter? :P


I still use the same old thing I always use  :whistle:

Black ice on the road makes you appreciate studded tires quite fast :D


We don't really get that much ice :P


You should see the average bike here, though (and there are lots) I doubt anyone cares enough to put studded tires on them.

You're lucky then, I've already have had couple mornings that while riding i didn't notice a thing, but after getting off the bike I found my feet slipping on black ice :)
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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #9 on: November 23, 2013, 10:23:20 AM
Its been pretty foggy of late, and even though I've 3 powerful rear lights, I still half expected to collect a fast moving car up my arse :D

I've been thinking of getting some hand guards for my handle bars to keep some of the wind and rain of, as despite proper winter gloves my hands do suffer with the cold and quickly go numb :(

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scotland Offline Gareth

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #10 on: November 23, 2013, 12:35:20 PM
As a driver I can tell you guys how much I appreciate cyclists who have a good bright set of lights and reflectors.  I don't think some guys realise how hard they are too see with one tiny, dim, blinking LED on the back of their bike. :-\  We have a park in town that i normally drive home through that has no street lighting and, despite having a separate cycle path, I keep seeing (just) guys cycling down the road with no lights on at all! :ahhh
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gb Offline Mike, Lord of the Spammers!

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #11 on: November 23, 2013, 02:42:32 PM
A lot of the young 11-18 year olds keep riding around on stripped down, brake less bmx's with no reflectors or lights whatsoever, they have no concept of danger often riding in the middle of road!

They are to all intents and purposes invisible :(

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nl Offline bmot

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #12 on: November 23, 2013, 03:14:50 PM
A lot of the young 11-18 year olds keep riding around on stripped down, brake less bmx's with no reflectors or lights whatsoever, they have no concept of danger often riding in the middle of road!

They are to all intents and purposes invisible :(

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Pfff, you all should come see the average Dutch city  ::)


At least here you -know- there's people cycling :P (if not, and you come here, consider yourself warned)

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scotland Offline Gareth

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #13 on: November 23, 2013, 03:27:42 PM
A lot of the young 11-18 year olds keep riding around on stripped down, brake less bmx's with no reflectors or lights whatsoever, they have no concept of danger often riding in the middle of road!

They are to all intents and purposes invisible :(

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Yeah, I do see that as well, though they at least have the excuse of being young and therefore stupid. :P

 ;)
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gb Offline Mike, Lord of the Spammers!

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #14 on: November 23, 2013, 06:18:44 PM
You mean evolution hasn't caught up with them yet :D

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fi Offline AlephZero

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #15 on: November 24, 2013, 11:08:55 AM
As a driver I can tell you guys how much I appreciate cyclists who have a good bright set of lights and reflectors.  I don't think some guys realise how hard they are too see with one tiny, dim, blinking LED on the back of their bike. :-\  We have a park in town that i normally drive home through that has no street lighting and, despite having a separate cycle path, I keep seeing (just) guys cycling down the road with no lights on at all! :ahhh

I'm sad to say I don't have a proper rear light, but that's about to change... Going to get me a PDW Radbot 1000

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/pdw-radbot-1000-1-watt-led-rear-light/
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scotland Offline Gareth

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #16 on: November 24, 2013, 11:35:20 AM
That looks a good one mate. :tu:
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gb Offline Mike, Lord of the Spammers!

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #17 on: November 24, 2013, 11:58:11 AM
There quite well thought of mate, and pull double duty having a reflector too :)

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Offline junglegusset

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #18 on: November 24, 2013, 12:54:51 PM
Was going to buy some winter schwalbes but I decided to make my own to save some money.  A bit time consuming but saved myself at £40. Only worth it if you have an old set of tyres lying round.  http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GI-fR2tXR_8

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gb Offline Cupboard

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #19 on: November 25, 2013, 09:54:44 PM
Ahh... it's nice to see some cyclists do think about being seen.

I find it very difficult to judge where one is when all I can see is a little blinky light. Really easy to spot, but really hard to work out where it is. By all means have a blinky but please have a solid one too!


gb Offline Mike, Lord of the Spammers!

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #20 on: November 25, 2013, 10:08:02 PM
There has been a real move to make cyclists more visible, and given how relatively cheap a set of LED's are now, why take the risk???

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scotland Offline Gareth

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #21 on: November 25, 2013, 10:54:19 PM
it's only having a flashing front light that I don't quite get. How is that supposed to to help you see where you are going? :think:
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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #22 on: November 25, 2013, 11:12:06 PM
People are too reliant on street lighting if you ask me.

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fi Offline AlephZero

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #23 on: November 26, 2013, 08:10:30 PM
People are too reliant on street lighting if you ask me.

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Well to be honest, on my route, I could rely on the street lighting to SEE, but that's just one part of it, as you also need to BE SEEN, that's where a good front light, rear light, and reflectors come into play :)

PS: I wish more pedestrians wore reflectors as well...
« Last Edit: November 26, 2013, 08:12:49 PM by Aleph78 »
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gb Offline Cupboard

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #24 on: November 26, 2013, 08:39:35 PM
On a road, in the dark, definitely.

Unless I'm only going for a very short stroll in to the village I would, and my short stroll in to the village is straight, in a 30mph limit and has the odd light. I've very nearly killed someone because they were almost completely invisible and walking in the middle of the road in an area that you really don't expect to see anyone.


fi Offline AlephZero

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #25 on: December 06, 2013, 08:56:51 AM
Oh the joys of fresh snow on the roads... NOT  :P One problem with a mountain bike in the winter is that the wide tires don't plow through the snow very well, so riding through it feels like pedalling through a field of tar... :rant:

:D

After the move, I'm pretty sure I will get a cyclocross bike for winter riding
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ca Offline Jothra

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #26 on: January 11, 2014, 04:09:19 AM
I wish I'd been around when this topic was still more active! Early December is when I picked up some Continental Spike Claw 120s for my mountain bike, a 90 lumen Black Diamond headlamp to strap to the handlebars, a neck warmer (I never thought I'd need one, but self-generated cycling wind is cold!), and a toque that fits under my helmet. Oh, and hilarious-looking ankle straps to keep my pant legs out of my chain, because it's important to keep things classy.

My legs feel each ride more because I'm not going as fast. It's a good time. I'm sure it's not doing much for my cardiovascular system, but I have a trainer for that anyway.

Also, with 2.1" studded tires, I have better purchase on the compacted snow around here than many of the cars. I didn't expect that.

Oh the joys of fresh snow on the roads... NOT  :P One problem with a mountain bike in the winter is that the wide tires don't plow through the snow very well, so riding through it feels like pedalling through a field of tar... :rant:

:D

After the move, I'm pretty sure I will get a cyclocross bike for winter riding

My treads are beefy enough that I mostly have that problem in deep wet snow, but in shallower snow I feel like I'm riding a tank. It's awesome.

A friend of mine has studded tires on his hybrid, which has approximately cyclocross-sized wheels. He loves them.

Edit — I forgot to mention the clear ski goggles. They're not great for peripheral vision, but as long as you can turn your head far enough to shoulder check without turning your handlebars, it's worth it. It beats having your eyelashes freeze shut when your eyes start watering at -25°C.


fi Offline AlephZero

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #27 on: January 11, 2014, 01:12:41 PM
I wish I'd been around when this topic was still more active! Early December is when I picked up some Continental Spike Claw 120s for my mountain bike, a 90 lumen Black Diamond headlamp to strap to the handlebars, a neck warmer (I never thought I'd need one, but self-generated cycling wind is cold!), and a toque that fits under my helmet. Oh, and hilarious-looking ankle straps to keep my pant legs out of my chain, because it's important to keep things classy.

My legs feel each ride more because I'm not going as fast. It's a good time. I'm sure it's not doing much for my cardiovascular system, but I have a trainer for that anyway.

Also, with 2.1" studded tires, I have better purchase on the compacted snow around here than many of the cars. I didn't expect that.

Oh the joys of fresh snow on the roads... NOT  :P One problem with a mountain bike in the winter is that the wide tires don't plow through the snow very well, so riding through it feels like pedalling through a field of tar... :rant:

:D

After the move, I'm pretty sure I will get a cyclocross bike for winter riding

My treads are beefy enough that I mostly have that problem in deep wet snow, but in shallower snow I feel like I'm riding a tank. It's awesome.

A friend of mine has studded tires on his hybrid, which has approximately cyclocross-sized wheels. He loves them.

Edit — I forgot to mention the clear ski goggles. They're not great for peripheral vision, but as long as you can turn your head far enough to shoulder check without turning your handlebars, it's worth it. It beats having your eyelashes freeze shut when your eyes start watering at -25°C.

My eyes start watering in about +5 C so that is somewhat an issue, but I do have ski goggles for the winter and a balaclava for the really cold weather  :facepalm:
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fi Offline AlephZero

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #28 on: November 07, 2016, 07:01:44 PM
It's about that time of the year again, so bringing this thread back to life...

Word of... well... In the way of, don't be stupid smurf like me ( :D ): After the dark season is over, take the batteries out of your lights so you don't have to dish out another 60e for a new rear light because the batteries leaked inside during the summer :P

Also couple of funny(ish) things happened today because of the freezing (-9c) weather:
First, the bracket I have on my handlebar for my light hardens up in the cold so much I couldn't put the light in. Now this happens every winter but seemingly I need to be reminded about it every time :P
Secondly, apparently the expander that holds my front fender in place shrunk in the cold as I was pedalling back home from work the fender fell off! No visible damage whatsoever, I guess the damn thing was a bit loose already and the cold did the rest.

Safe riding everyone, and remember those lights and reflectors!
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wales Offline hiraethus

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Re: Winter cycling thread
Reply #29 on: November 08, 2016, 11:09:03 AM
I wimped out of riding to work this morning after rain yesterday and temps of -2°C overnight.  I've got some studded tyres (Schwalbe Marathon Winter) but they're massively heavy so I don't like using them and there are enough places on my commute that I know get ice that I didn't think it was a good idea to ride without.

Sorted my lights out last week though - dynamo LED lighting front and rear, two backup rear LEDs and one flashing LED on the front.  Reflective tape on my cranks and mudguards helps too.


 

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