[Stacy]

I don't know if it's just coincidence but after several days riding my Specialized Sirrus in temperatures just below freezing, a number of resin/plastic parts are amiss First I noticed the plastic cable housing for the rear brake had come out of it's socket. Then one of the toe clips broke off. Then I discovered the plastic-like flap broke off of the fender.

Has anyone else noticed similar problems or is it just normal wear and tear hitting me all at once?

Stacy

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[Drakonchik]

Yes, plastic gets brittle in the cold, some types more than others. Nylon, polycarbonite, and Delrin (aka "acetal") are the best plastics widely used--these differ as to strength/brittleness. You can get useful technical info on these plastics at www.mcmaster.com.

I've noticed cheap parts break easy, but design is a huge factor also, best take it easy on all plastic parts in the cold.

[Stacy]

Thanks Drakonchik. This Sirrus has plenty of plastic - from the "composite" pedals, to the Alex rims and brakes. I suppose a nice vintage bike would make for better winter transportation than a modern day bike with so many plastic componants.

Stacy

[MichaelW]

Washing up liquid bottle make good fender-flap materials.
If you want toe clips, then a metal setup is probably better. MKS pedals and Christophe metal clips are a good match. Rivendell have some Christophe copies.

[Michel Gagnon]

Some plastics are better than others. The type of plastic used by the Profile water cages (http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/11136-055_PROBC2-2-Accessories-171-Hydration/Profile-Kage-Water-Bottle-Cage.htm) stays good in the cold, but the brittle plastic used by the Topeak Road Morph pump breaks at -15 or -20 C. I installed the Twinhead upgrade kit (http://topeak.com/products/pump_025.html) and it now works again in Winter.

The morale : also make sure your repair gear works in Winter!

[Stacy]

Thanks I took MichaelW suggestion and picked up a pair of MKS GR-9 (http://www.awcycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m5b0s86p680&z=148&PHPSESSID=02edc5ad535507f19e6edc032a9a4d30) Platform pedals, a pair of small MKS toe clips, and leather toe straps It'll be nice to have toe clips that actually fit my size 6 shoes

I don't really care all that much about the mud flaps but it was sort of a wake up call to check the plastic parts that do matter.

Stacy

[2manybikes]

I made a beatiful camera mount to my handle bars that was plastic. I used it all one summer. Then I took it out in 20 degree weather and it snapped and tossed my digital camera to the gound and it was destroyed ! Feel better yet? :)

[Juha]

Ahh, your digital camera would have been useless anyway, at least if you had NiMH batteries in it. They seem to die quickly in the cold, too.

--J

[2manybikes]

Ahh, your digital camera would have been useless anyway, at least if you had NiMH batteries in it. They seem to die quickly in the cold, too.

--J

It works OK in the cold with the NiMh batteries. The camera seems to insulate them for a long. long, time. Plus the draw is not much compared to what they can supply. That is a very important part of the equation. Also the camera is not a constant drain like a light, it can recover between shots. Been doing it for years. It does not go below about 0f around here very often. They worked in the cold yesterday for 6 hours at 25f. At a reduced performance, but plenty of juice to take pictures if I wait a little in between a group of say 5 or 6. I took about 75 photo's yesterday.

From yesterday

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=163556

This one was on a tripod at about 15 F. Used it all day long. On a lake.

[Juha]

[thread hijack] All true. And I usually have the camera in my pocket, keeping it warm. But the lake looks like a blast. With so little snow on the ice, I bet long distance skating would be good, too. [/thread hijack]

--J

[2manybikes]

[thread hijack] All true. And I usually have the camera in my pocket, keeping it warm. But the lake looks like a blast. With so little snow on the ice, I bet long distance skating would be good, too. [/thread hijack]

--J

I would guess your winter is a lot colder too? Creating more problems with batteries etc.

I'm in North Eastern USA. The lakes don't freeze enough to be safe every year, just once in a while.