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01-05-08, 01:23 PM
Thought I would share a little report of yesterday afternoon's bike ride.
I finally managed to try out the new 20" Schwalbe Marathon Winter tyres with spikes.
The circuit was of Loch Ossian near Fort William. The North shore has a hard pack track, while the South shore track is rough with loose stones in the wheel ruts and tussock grass in the centre i.e. 4x4 only.
There was about 4" of fine dry power snow. It was sub-zero and bitterly cold in the wind. I had to keep cycling to stay warm. It's quite rarely we get such dry-cold conditions like this in Scotland.
On the North track riding on ice and in the the hard packed snow tracks, where the estate's landrovers had been running, cycling was incredibly easy - as easy as a dry road. In the uncompressed snow a lot more effort was required, but traction was still good.
Occasionally in white out conditions and driven snow, I lost visibility and drifted between the hard pack and loose snow. I'm pleased to report the small 20" wheeled bike was perfectly stable even with such snow density changes.
On the rougher South shore, which had been a very easy ride before the snow came down, I did have to push in odd sections, where under the snow were deep partially ice covered puddles containing loose stones.
Attached is a photo
I finally managed to try out the new 20" Schwalbe Marathon Winter tyres with spikes.
The circuit was of Loch Ossian near Fort William. The North shore has a hard pack track, while the South shore track is rough with loose stones in the wheel ruts and tussock grass in the centre i.e. 4x4 only.
There was about 4" of fine dry power snow. It was sub-zero and bitterly cold in the wind. I had to keep cycling to stay warm. It's quite rarely we get such dry-cold conditions like this in Scotland.
On the North track riding on ice and in the the hard packed snow tracks, where the estate's landrovers had been running, cycling was incredibly easy - as easy as a dry road. In the uncompressed snow a lot more effort was required, but traction was still good.
Occasionally in white out conditions and driven snow, I lost visibility and drifted between the hard pack and loose snow. I'm pleased to report the small 20" wheeled bike was perfectly stable even with such snow density changes.
On the rougher South shore, which had been a very easy ride before the snow came down, I did have to push in odd sections, where under the snow were deep partially ice covered puddles containing loose stones.
Attached is a photo