Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - My winter commuting checklist

Ok, I could have posted this in commuting, winter cycling, safety, or ebikes. But, Darn it, I'm a clyde so I figure I'll put it in this forum. LOL

I've just recently rediscovered bicycling, and I've decided that this is going to be a major hobby for me. I plan on commuting as many days as possible to work. Including this winter. I doubt that I will commute every day this winter, but I aim to find out how much I can tolerate.

So here's a note form check list list I've created for myself. Please add any helps tips or suggestions, because I'm kinda nervous that I'm forgetting something:

Safety gear:
- Helmet with flasher on back, reflective tape on all sides, rear view mirror duct taped to drivers side.
- Construction vest to wear over top of jacket
- reflective tape on all sides of the bike, I'm already up to about 10 feet of tape.
- rear blinker on back of rack
- Headlights: 1W led from MEC, and a cheapo schwinn that floods quite well.
- blue led lights on my valve stem caps, motion activated
- all stock reflectors left in place
- reflective ankle straps for pants
- steel toe hiker boots
- Schwalbe Marathon Ice studded tires for both front and back. 200 carbide studds in each tire. ( on order, should be in this week)

Cold weather gear
- already have 3 different types of balaclavas. One of them is like a smowmobiler's helmet liner, another is quite heavy definitely good for -30
- googles with clear lens, my prescription lens are photosensitive
- gloves: full fingered bike gloves, polar fleece mitts, and high quality gauntlet winter gloves sold to snowmobilers.
- many layers of clothing
- outer shell jacket, wind proof, water proof
- orange waterproof pants, loose enough for as many layers as I need

Other:
- rear rack with saddle bags
- rechargeable batteries
- cellphone

things not done yet, or still debating:
- emergency blanket, and disposeable rain poncho
- dont have a good suggestion on how to carry my laptop
- I have a sheep skin from my harley, maybe I should make a seat cover.

Tools and gear permanently packed on my bike:
- Schwinn multitool
- spare tube
- tube repair kid
- tire levers
- spoke wrench
- tire pump
- 10feet mechanics wire, and multitool knife

Also, my bike is an ebike, so that creates some specific issues:
- the lead acid batteries suck
- Canadian Tire sells some lithium ion Yardworks batteries for their cordless chainsaw. They are 20Volts, and 6 Amp hour for $108 each. Close to half the price of most Lithium ion sold at bike shops. I need 4 of them to match the capacity of my lead acid, but it'll outperform my lead acid, and they will out last them, too.
- I estimate that I'll break even at 6months of heavy use, and they are rated for 1000 cycles of more so I might have them for 2-3 years.
- I want to recharge my batteries indoors, to keep them warm.
- I want to make an insulated cover for my batteries with reflectix insulation to reduce the amount of cooling they experience during cold weather.
- I've already rigged up a cheap cruise control for the throttle so I can move my hand around and keep warm blood flowing through it.

Whew! sorry about the novel, but this is really interesting stuff for me, being that this is my first winter at it.

Thanks
Tyler

Hi Tyler,

Before we can make suggestions, please tell us about the commute. How far do you ride, what hours do you ride, how hilly is the route, etc.

Also, how are you coming along with turning off the electric assist?

My commuter is a metal framed comfort bike with 26" smooth tires, and a 450W motor( completely legal where ever a power assisted bicycle is permited)

My commute starts in NE calgary, I'm only 1 row of houses away from farmer's field. The ride take me south through the NE on an ashphalt bike path that runs parallel to the road, but crosses roads like pedestrians do.

Then I sweep through the SE on a residential road ( driving to the right). Its a spacious road, 50km traffic. I'm quite comfortable on this road

Eventually, I end up in central Calgary where I am able to get onto dedicated pathways along the river, these pathways are shared with pedestrians as well. Its got a 20kmh speed limit, but it is the very scenic and very popular part of the downtown calgary pathways.

My wife works downtown, and does not like to pay $15 per day parking, so I'll be travelling about 3 streets ( 1km or less) through the downtown core to her workplace where I'll pick up her vehicle and take it to my workplace for the day. Then I'll drop it off for her, and take the same bike trip in reverse order.

The trip takes about 55 minutes each way, at about 22kms total distance. My cyclocomputer tells me that I reach speeds as high as 34 kmh, with an average speed of 24kmh.

I find the triip is quite flat, there is some hills crossing the basin that the Deerfoot Expressway is located in. The electric power certainly helps all on the hill. I'm able to put the bike into it's lowest gear and survive the hills without my heart racing into dangerous beats per minute.

I'd guess that my pulse is between 120-130 for most of the ride, and its will be very easy to control my intesity so that I'm always getting a gentle yet effective workout....even though its an ebike.

As far as 'turning off the ebike'....honestly, I'm not really sure that I want to do this. My goal is to ride my bike everyday, not just once in a while. So I feel the ebike will blur the difference between energetic days, and the days where I'm feeling like all I can manage is a knuckle dragging effort.

Additionally, I'm also looking at the ebike as an alternate to a costly and hard to maintain electric car. And, might be adding my son's trailer to the bike so that I always have excellent cargo capacity whereever I go.

I do believe that I will be in good in shape to graduate to a human powered bike by the summer of 2009. I have a older touring road bike that I'll have tune up and ready to go. But, I'm not sure if it will make my intentions for the ebike to become obsolete.

There are many different schemes for controlling the motor on an ebike. Each manufacturer can be a bit different. Mine is quite simple, it has a throttle control that I can do whatever I want with, including not use it, or use it exclusively. I intend to pedal all of the time, and have the motor running all of the time. I don't intend to overvolt the ebike so that it goes faster. But, one of my goals is to increase the amount of pedal power until I no longer need a second battery pack. Each battery pack is 12 amp hours of charge, my commute is currently using up less than 16 amp hours, so I'm hoping to make some improvement in strength until I no longer need that 2nd battery pack.

...I've just recently rediscovered bicycling, and I've decided that this is going to be a major hobby for me. I plan on commuting as many days as possible to work. Including this winter. I doubt that I will commute every day this winter, but I aim to find out how much I can tolerate.

So here's a note form check list list I've created for myself. Please add any helps tips or suggestions, because I'm kinda nervous that I'm forgetting something....[to include]:

- googles with clear lens, my prescription lens are photosensitive

Whew! sorry about the novel, but this is really interesting stuff for me, being that this is my first winter at it.

Congratulations on your plans, but that list is too much for me to consider or comment on. I am a year round commuter of about 14 miles in the Boston area and I have ridden to minus 3 degrees F. One of my greatest problems is with fogging eyeglasses and I am quite nearsighted. Another poster named macteacher and I have traded some solutions to this problem and FYI, here is a post I sent to another winter cyclist:


FYI, there have been several discussion threads about fogging glasses in the past few months. In particular macteacher and I have traded suggestions for modified goggles. See for example, "Glasses fogging up":

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=474041

My post #6 references our respective solutions. Most otherwise recommend goggles with double lenses, one with a built in fan, but mostly various potions to rub onto the lenses.

Hi Jim, thanks for the tips, I particularly want to give the dish soap a try. But, Calgary is extremely dry in the winter. so much so, that I have gone entire winters without have my cold glasses fog up when I come into a warm house. I run a 2000sq foot humidifier 24 hours per day (about 6 gallons per day) and yet, the windows have never gone sweaty unless the outside temperature hit -30. And, at -30 I think the humidity on the windows might be unavoidable.

I know that my breath will be steamy when I ride, so you mught be entirely coorect about the fogging glasses. And, I'll have no problem coming back and apoligizing for doubting you.

best of wishes to you!
Tyler

my tires are in, whuhoo!!!

I could have use them last wednesday

My commuter is a metal framed comfort bike with 26" smooth tires, and a 450W motor( completely legal where ever a power assisted bicycle is permited)

My commute starts in NE calgary, I'm only 1 row of houses away from farmer's field. The ride take me south through the NE on an ashphalt bike path that runs parallel to the road, but crosses roads like pedestrians do.

Then I sweep through the SE on a residential road ( driving to the right). Its a spacious road, 50km traffic. I'm quite comfortable on this road

Eventually, I end up in central Calgary where I am able to get onto dedicated pathways along the river, these pathways are shared with pedestrians as well. Its got a 20kmh speed limit, but it is the very scenic and very popular part of the downtown calgary pathways.

My wife works downtown, and does not like to pay $15 per day parking, so I'll be travelling about 3 streets ( 1km or less) through the downtown core to her workplace where I'll pick up her vehicle and take it to my workplace for the day. Then I'll drop it off for her, and take the same bike trip in reverse order.

The trip takes about 55 minutes each way, at about 22kms total distance. My cyclocomputer tells me that I reach speeds as high as 34 kmh, with an average speed of 24kmh.

I find the triip is quite flat, there is some hills crossing the basin that the Deerfoot Expressway is located in. The electric power certainly helps all on the hill. I'm able to put the bike into it's lowest gear and survive the hills without my heart racing into dangerous beats per minute.

I'd guess that my pulse is between 120-130 for most of the ride, and its will be very easy to control my intesity so that I'm always getting a gentle yet effective workout....even though its an ebike.

As far as 'turning off the ebike'....honestly, I'm not really sure that I want to do this. My goal is to ride my bike everyday, not just once in a while. So I feel the ebike will blur the difference between energetic days, and the days where I'm feeling like all I can manage is a knuckle dragging effort.

Additionally, I'm also looking at the ebike as an alternate to a costly and hard to maintain electric car. And, might be adding my son's trailer to the bike so that I always have excellent cargo capacity whereever I go.

I do believe that I will be in good in shape to graduate to a human powered bike by the summer of 2009. I have a older touring road bike that I'll have tune up and ready to go. But, I'm not sure if it will make my intentions for the ebike to become obsolete.

There are many different schemes for controlling the motor on an ebike. Each manufacturer can be a bit different. Mine is quite simple, it has a throttle control that I can do whatever I want with, including not use it, or use it exclusively. I intend to pedal all of the time, and have the motor running all of the time. I don't intend to overvolt the ebike so that it goes faster. But, one of my goals is to increase the amount of pedal power until I no longer need a second battery pack. Each battery pack is 12 amp hours of charge, my commute is currently using up less than 16 amp hours, so I'm hoping to make some improvement in strength until I no longer need that 2nd battery pack.


How is that ebike battery going to handle the sometimes insanely cold temps that Calgary can provide. You may want to see if you can get an insulator jacket for the battery, and keep it indoors when not in use.

How is that ebike battery going to handle the sometimes insanely cold temps that Calgary can provide. You may want to see if you can get an insulator jacket for the battery, and keep it indoors when not in use.

+10000

I used to hike in the winters a lot, and Ni-Cd or Ni-Mh batteries were next to worthless when it dropped below freezing. All of us generally stuck to Li-Ion for power when the temps dipped.

On that some note, incandescent lighting is also next to worthless in low temps. LEDs all the way!

How is that ebike battery going to handle the sometimes insanely cold temps that Calgary can provide. You may want to see if you can get an insulator jacket for the battery, and keep it indoors when not in use.

this winter will be a learning experience in many ways. I like your idea to keep the battery indoors,and build a cover for it when it is on the bike.

I have some reflectix(aluminum foil bubble wrap insulation) kicking around that I'll try.

also, I'm going to order the lithium ion batteries from yards works(canadian tire)

twice this week, i took the bike to work with half the battery power to get a feel for what it would be like if the cold was to force me to pedal without assist, and only use the power on the hills. it definitely makes me sweat more,and it takes more time, but its manageable. my 55 minute increases to 1 3/4 which means that I logged over 5 hours in the saddle in 2 day. Admitedly, thats too many hours for me to do all 5 days, so you can see why I'm experimenting with the ebike.