Which bike for this coming winter?

[rykoala]

I'm beginning winter preparations so that by the time it gets here, I am ready. Last winter I couldn't commute, it was just too nasty out. But, I am going to try very hard to make it this winter. I've ridden in temps as low as 17 degrees but it was dry.

My route is 5.5 miles and is generally very flat, save for a bridge and an underpass. Its the bridge that has me worried. Those can get really icy. As far as gear goes, I'm going to build myself a lighting system that'll handle the weather, and will light me up like a christmas tree. No problem there. What I'm worried about is which bike to use.

I have two bikes. One is my fixed gear road bike, which has 27" tires, not 700c. No fenders. The other is my late 80's Rock Hopper. 26" tires of course, and its a 24 speed, no fenders. This one can go as low as 28x32 for super slow going. Derailers in that kind of weather make me nervous though.

Also I cannot get studded tires for the 27" fixed gear. I can for the 24spd though. I don't know if I *need* studded though. I was thinking about gearing the fixed gear down to 42x20 or 42x21 (from 42x15) for the winter, and stick some of the fat knobby tires on from here:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/tires/630.html

Granted, I wouldn't get to work very fast, but I'd get there. Its also worth mentioning that the geared bike has the strongest wheelset of the two, having double walled Mavic's as opposed to the fixed gear's single walled rim. But the fixed gear is a non-dished wheel, so its pretty dang strong.

So which is it, the geared bike with studded tires, or the the fixie with low gearing and fat knobbies?

Thanks for help and if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them!

(edit: sorry for the super long post!)

[eblaska]

I'll send you some thick studded nails from my work and put them in your tires. ;]

[PaulH]

If yu are dealing with snow, knobbies are nice. If you are dealing with ice, studs make a real difference. If the icy bridge is the issue, go with Nokian studs, changing to a modern 622 wheel if you have to. Derailleurs are a hassle in some winter conditions. I'd go with the fixed gear and spring for a new set of wheels.

Paul

[dskunk]

My choice would be whichever bike you feel more comfortable slipping around on, especially that front wheel. The tourer which I commute on in the summer goes down like a shot once the front wheel starts to go. I don't even feel that comfortable on it in the rain. My little ss mountain bike though stays upright over just about everything. If it's an icy bridge that is the deciding factor then try finding a clay surface and ride both of the bikes on it in the rain. Dodge around stones or empty coke cans and see which bike you find easier to keep upright. Get someone to video it too, 'cause it would probably look pretty funny.

[HiYoSilver]

No brainer, go for the gears. My low is 35GI for a 5.0 mile commute and some hills, no problem.

You don't want fixed gear in Jan. You had avg gusts of 28mph and max or 43 mph. That is a lot of resistance to overcome. I would suggest trying first as I did last winter. Skip riding in snow days. That was only 6 for you and that leave a lot of riding days. I don't know if it is worth it for the Nokia's for 6 days of riding. Will you like riding on studded tires on rain or clear days? If you're really into rough weather biking, get another set of wheel sets. Nokia's on one for ice/snow and current for rain/dry.

Temps shouldn't be much problem for you. I had to learn what to wear in Jan. It takes time to get the right amount of clothes to match variables of temp/wind and wind chill. Actual is temp and bike speed and wind. I tended to overdress, but looking forward to this winter to test out new clothes.

Coldest days for me was Dec 7th with windchill of 13, [bike 9mph, wind 17mph, temp 26.] , and Feb 28th
with windchill of 8, [bike 11, wind 11, temp 20 ].

What I did last year and was about right at wind chill of 10ish
-- long sleeve shirt
-- fleece
-- wind breaker
-- ice climbing gloves with liner
-- balaclava

What I'll add this year at that temps: goretex outer pants. Legs get too cold without layering with wind and moisture.
I got the pants, but temps starting rising.

[AndrewP]

I dont winter commute now, but a cheap 3 speed served me well for many years in the winter. I didnt have to worry about the salt eating the aluminum components. I didnt find a problem with ice, but my son commutes in the winter and he wouldnt go without the Nokian studded tires.

[lala]

I'm building a fixed/free mtb singlespeed for the winter.

[rykoala]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'm leaning toward the geared bike because I can get studded tires for it, but I might just try out the assortment of the different knobby tires I've got in the garage already. I have tons of them. As for the wind, I hadn't thought of that. I must say that snow days were alot more than 6 days here. I mean to say, there were alot more than 6 days that I couldn't commute by bike. I intend to bike every day this winter, though.

[HiYoSilver]

Ok, hard core. I was talking about Jan 2005, and I mis counted. It was 7 days not 6.

1.03 .03 in
1.07 .45 in
1.10 .17 in
1.11 .09 in
1.25 .09 in
1.26 .10 in
1.28 .01 in

I don't count the 1st, 8th and 9th that were weekends. I didn't commute as much as wanted as not only did I not commute on snow days, I most often didn't commute on day after waiting for roads to clear and for MagSul to get slopped out to the edges of the road so I had less on bike.

If Nv uses MagSulfite, be sure to either treat bike as disposable or wipe down. That stuff eats at metal even if "dry".

[vtjim]

I'd go with the Rock Hopper. I commuted last winter on an old beater MTB with studded tires. You need wide knobby tires to get you over rough snow, and studs if you ride on ice.

I never had a problem with my derailleur, but I wasn't plowing through deep powder, either. There was one very cold day when I thought I was going to "snowball" my chainring. Powder kept collecting on it. Nothing bad happened though.

[SaskCyclist]

I am with vtjim. The coldest days I commuted on were -30C and I commute 24K. Never really had a significant problem with the derailler. There were the occasional freezeups but no big deal. I ride a Kona Hahannah 24spd MTB in the winter with Nokians. We probably have snow on the ground from mid-December to mid-March. The only issue I had through the winter was deep snow. It can be nasty. We don't have any slush days really to speak of (maybe one or two) which I would suspect that is what you have when you do get snow.

[tibikefor2]

ryk:

I usually go overboard on my bike gear.

If it was me, I would get knobby tires for the fixed gear and nokian studded tires for the other bike. This way you have flexibility......

[rykoala]

Well, my fixed gear bike is now a winter project, because the frame needs some repair work done on it. So, its the geared bike. Except the rock hopper isn't going to be geared anymore. I'm going fixed gear on it, with a 50 gear inch gear (38/19) and room for 2.125's easily. We'll see how it works out!