Winter Cycling - how upright do you like to winter bike?

I was wondering how upright everyone likes to be when they bike in the winter?

I like being semi upright, lets say handle bars just above my seat.

I don't know about your side of the lake, but on mine, the winter winds are stronger and more relentless than the rest of the year. That's why after one winter on an upright hybrid, I switched to a drop bar bike for winter.

I have a roughly three-inch saddle-to-bar drop when measured to the tops. I don't care for the current style flat ramps, preferring the old-school drop to the hoods, which are about four inches below the saddle. I don't change the position with the seasons.

about 1 or 2in above the saddle, because there are some steep valley roads and trails that don't get ploughed and ice over.

i agree with the winds... but i like to be upright because i can get to standing faster :) another solution to me falling and needing to stand up would be to not ride on the really snowy days... but its fun if i can stay off busy streets :P

Same handlebar drop as summer (we're talking MTB here though)

I've never changed handlebar height for winter riding, just kept on riding with the old riser bars set just above the saddle. This summer I changed from risers to a Nitto Albatross set at saddle level, putting me more upright than I've been since I outgrew my tricycle, so we'll see how that goes this winter.

The trekking bars on my winter bike give a higher forward position, lower rear position, and a comfy nearly level hand position at the middle / side...

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/uavatv2010winter1.JPG

Out of curiosity, how much does an upright position affect traction?

Out of curiosity, how much does an upright position affect traction?

doesn't seem to matter.
traction is more of a function of how much weight is over the tire and how large the tire foot print is.

Sorry, that's what I mean. If I'm upright, vs an aero kind of position, am I not distributing the weight more to the rear wheel?

I ride my recumbent with a Zzipper fairing in the winter months. I’m what you call laid back. It works great in the winds.

Sorry, that's what I mean. If I'm upright, vs an aero kind of position, am I not distributing the weight more to the rear wheel?

it's probably insignificant enough.
I can only get my rear to spin if I lean forward while standing up, if that's any indication.

I can get the same effect by deflating the tires more.

I raised my bars a bit, so that they're just above the seat. I plan on moving slower, because of the roads, so I'm not too worried about the wind. Also seems a bit easier to get feet on the ground. It's my first year of commuting, so first winter, I'm not sure if I'll stick with it, might lower them again, who knows.

I am with Sixtyfiver, Trekking bars, hight front position, low rear position, level mid position---works for me.

The B bike... little higher hand position on the hoods and nice for standing and hammering up climbs with a comfortable and higher position in the drops a la Marco Pantani.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/mouldenkenda1.JPG

I kept my bars the same as always which is a few inches higher than a typical road bike.

My commuter is a 29er. I have set it up several ways, but for me, it’s a matter of being able to better see what’s happening around me and being in a “body position” to make a move quickly and efficiently. I travel on a bike lane alongside a highway and in spite of all my on-board lighting (headlights both very bright and a secondary flashing,, flashing tail light, spoke light, reflective vest, blah, blah blah…) I feel a bit at risk in the dark. It is already dark for the morning leg of my commute and is soon to be dark coming home. And it snowed today (studs go on this weekend).

In the past I have used Midge bars with bar cons, but found that set up wasn’t as confidence inspiring in the slush as I wanted. I like a wider bar. The last two winters I have used riser bars with twist shifters and LP composite bar ends. This allows a wider grip on the bars and better control when out of the saddle.

For me, traction is more affected by getting my butt back over or even behind the saddle, than by the height of the bars, as AEO kinda said.

Out of curiosity, how much does an upright position affect traction?
For me traction is either there or it's not... over the rear wheel, anyway. I did discover, however, that by shifting my weight reward I can save myself from a spill if the front wheel starts plowing. It's sort of counterintuitive; my mind is telling me to put my weight over the front wheel so it will bite down, but that just results in more plowing. Shifting my weight over the back wheel lightens the front end enough to enable course corrections, allowing me to avoid spills (which is sort of the idea with winter cycling). This technique only comes into play when I'm riding through "mashed-potato" consistency snow, when the snow is conspiring to push my front wheel around. While I use flat bars I would imagine the technique would work equally well with drops since it's just a matter of shifting body weight. I use trekking bars on one bike and Ergon GC3 grips with integrated bar ends on another; both allow me to stretch out and duck down while riding into headwinds. That being said, when I grow up I want to use drop bars. :D


I ride my recumbent with a Zzipper fairing in the winter months. I’m what you call laid back. It works great in the winds.
This is why I don't want to try riding a 'bent; I'm afraid I'll like it too much and then have to explain to my wife why I need another new bike (or two). :thumb:

I have a 58cm frame on my Xtracycle and I have a 3" riser with bar ends, I'm often cargo or kids, so I'm mostly upright. I feel neck strain pretty quickly, I want to upgrade my bars to a set of 5" risers and a shorter-necked quill stem. I get a lot of rain, and I commute home in the evenings, so being upright helps show of my yellow jacket and helmet blinkie. I have a large DIY visor (http://blog.bitratchet.com/2010/10/18/diy-helmet-visor/) to help keep sun and rain away from my eyes. However if it's windy, have a short bike with a 2" drop on the trekking bars and I take the visor off my helmet so I can get my range of vision back. I like yellow tinted safety glasses because they help reduce after-image from headlights in the early evenings. I want to find a way to reduce the rain from beading up on my safety glasses tho.

I'm laying down on my back, so not changing very much, but I do run lots lower pressure in the front tire to gain as much traction as possible for the front, which doesn't have as much weight over it as the rear.

I kept my bars the same as always which is a few inches higher than a typical road bike. Whoa! That's quite the Machine you have there! It looks to be a Wallyworld MTB that has been well-modified. I would love to know the details of your stem/bar set up and how you got it set up so high!

Whoa! That's quite the Machine you have there! It looks to be a Wallyworld MTB that has been well-modified. I would love to know the details of your stem/bar set up and how you got it set up so high!


Are those rapid-fire shifters on the drop bar? Interesting!