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Waking up to a foot of snow is lovely, but it gets me thinking....how am I gonna ride outside? A web search led me to this really cool site:
http://www.icebike.org/Default.htm
Tips on what bikes to use, gear (great studded tire reviews), and winterizing your bike all look really helpful. If the roads don't clear, I may be looking for a mtb soon! Where am I going to put that!? :eek:
Edit to ad, this website was last updated in '05. Still useful after all these years!
I rode Thursday in the snow for about 1 1/2 hours. It was on my mountain bike with the tire pressure very low. I had a blast! I'm looking at studded tires, but the cost is too much for me right now.
As for clothing, I just wore appropriate layers: Icebreaker Oasis Crewe 200, Mountain Hardware Transition Zip T, Smartwool Balaklava, liner gloves with Pearl Cyclone gloves, PI microsensor shorts under PI AmFib tights, Smartwool ski socks, and some toe covers on my shoes. The only part that got cold were my toes at the end.
I thought it was an ice sculpture.
I put my studded tyres on my Gazelle and it's been nasty ever since. Yesterday it was rain on top of freezing rain on top of ice on top of snow. The stuff in the roads with all the dirt and car debris was really slimy and nasty ... it was like plowing through chunky atmospheric vomit ;) There was a 25 mph headwind, too... gusting to 36 (tho' most of my commute is in town or where there are trees) so only the last stretch was **really** windy)... It was disgusting fun :) :)
Supposed to drop to 8 tonight, high of 10 tomorrow. Time for layers!
I've heard that you have to "wear" your studded tires out for a bit before real riding begins. Is that true? It has been snowing here for the last week, which is really abnormal since we hardly ever have a White Christmas. But anyway, is it too late to get studded tires now? Can I just buy one for the front? They're so expensive.
Thanks for the link! It's very useful.
Here's a link that says you can get by with just one: http://blayleys.com/articles/WinterTips/bike.htm
This is a very cool website to poke around FYI - lots of info on bikes, clothing, etc.
CA
You have to ride them gently for a bit to begin with so that the studs can set properly, but they grip just fine on ice from day one. You can get by with one on the front for steering, but if it's really icy out you can risk your rear wheel, the one with the oomph, sliding out from under you. But that's usually not a big deal at moderate to low speed.