show me your winter bike!

[redrhodie]

Here's Princess Ice Boogie, aka Molasses. I've had her about a week now. I've ridden her in snow twice, the first time was at night, and I found $20 in the street, under the slush. Good thing about headlights! That ride was nice and easy, freshly falling snow. It was too slippery to drive or walk (I slid into a curb earlier in the day in my car) but the bike was the way to go.

Yesterday I rode her in just about the worst road conditions we ever get. We had blizzard the day before, about a foot of snow, and there were still 30-40 mph winds gusting when I rode. The streets were really sloppy with ruts and grooves, since everyone was shoveling their sidewalks, and all that extra snow ended up in huge mounds in the street. I forgot to lower my tire pressure, so it was dicey. It was a bit much for me at this point, but I know I'll do it again once I'm more comfortable in snow. I want to try it with around 40 psi and see how it feels. I was at about 80 psi, so my tires were pretty hard.

I ended up getting Schwalbe Marathon Winter studded tires, which seem pretty great, but I have nothing to compare them to. I made my shop guy ride her, and he liked them so much he's going to get them for his bike. I love the disc brakes. I love the Sram hoods and levers. All this is new to me, and I'm happy with my choices.

I have had so much fun on her so far. She's opening a whole new world of eccentricity! Once her crazy panniers are installed, she'll be very colorful.