Mountain Biking - Are any of you guys going to try Winter Cycling?

I think I'm going to take my old bike and give winter cycling a spin. Should be fun with the snow up here in Canuckleville.

What about you guys? Anyone fancy giving it a try?

No. I barely like to leave the house in the winter :)

Also, how can I hook myself up with a trendy avatar and user title?

Or am I just not cool enough?

:(

Also, how can I hook myself up with a trendy avatar and user title?

Or am I just not cool enough?

:(
:D I'll ride all winter down here in North Carolina, sorry I'm just being a smarta@#. :eek: You heve to be really really really cool. :)

Also, how can I hook myself up with a trendy avatar and user title?

Or am I just not cool enough?

:(

See user control panel click on that and the rest is childs play.

I ride all year round.

I ride all year round, but I live in southern Cali so "winter" is a light drizzle every couple of days and maybe a drop in temp to 40degrees.

In other words we have wimpy winters.

The only time I quit riding is when my wheel won't spin. I went out mountain biking in about a foot of powder last year, but it didn't work out too well. This year, I have much grippier tires and stronger legs, so we'll see how it goes.

I pretty much ride anytime of year... its fun in the snow if you have warm gear. Its slow, you fall, but it doesn't hurt and people think you are insane.

I ride year round, and we have gotten over 21 inches total this month, 17 last month.
I suit up and just go for it, riding in snow is a blast, I usually ride later in the day when the snow has started to freeze back up, (frozen snow has better traction that slush), so I get to use my lights, night snow riding is a blast. My trail of choice is a 7.5 mile loop, with a 3 mile, 900ft climb.
too busy with work this week, no ride so far, but I am shooting for tomorrow!

I pretty much ride anytime of year... its fun in the snow if you have warm gear. Its slow, you fall, but it doesn't hurt and people think you are insane.

Exactly. Last year I came across some XC skiers who just couldn't believe what was doing. The going is slow, it is very hard on the lungs and legs, and a blast.

I am definately the only wuss. I can't handle deep powder, same reason I can't bother pedalling up hill. If I am slowed to the point where walking briskly is faster, I hop off 100% of the time

Yeah, Here in So Cal..Why not.I know, we will loose maybe 10 days to rain.

Winter is our preferred riding season. Summer is too hot and humid.

Mid 80's today and not a cloud in the sky!

...grumble....grumble....

Yeah I think I'll do some winter rides, not like I'm going to miss any hockey games this month.

Usually around this time of the year i would focus on snowboarding, but things change.

http://raysmtb.com/

In Kentucky I ride all winter. If it is above 20 and the roads are clear I am on however I do not put in the miles (or as often) I do in better weather. For instance last January I was only out 4 times and then in February I was out 15 times.

Its cold, very often wet, occasionally windy, but what the hell. Winter riding is no different to summer. Just wrap up and put the extra layer on. Advantages-- fewer walkers, fewer dogs, fewer horses, but those you do see are the friendly ones. Unfortunately, also a lot less bikers, so fewer excuses to stop and talk to them.

Winter around here is also wet and rainy. This means that it's not a good idea to hit the singletracks as that would cause tremendous amounts of trail erosion. I do however maintain road riding throughout the winter and will also hit the tame gravel doubletracks and fireroads to occasionally liven things up. It also gets dark early which puts a bit of a cramp on my weekday riding.

every year. i've trail ridden in temps as low as 10 degrees, though not for more than aobut two hours. in colorado and around boston. i'll go out on my road bike intot he high teens/low twenties, but again only for about two hours. around town errands/commuting, i'll go down into the single digits, as it's quick stop/start riding that keeps me pretty warm, plus i'm going inside whenever i get somewhere.......

the girlyfriend and i did a trail run the other day, in 6" of fresh snow, with it dumping more down the whole time. it was about 20 degrees.........

biggest challenge is keeping hands/feet/face warm. after that, it's all cake. waterproof/windproof gloves and socks are your friends.

Winter is our preferred riding season. Summer is too hot and humid.

Mid 80's today and not a cloud in the sky!
I really hate you sometimes :mad: :p

Oh one thing to be careful of is hunters!!! I have a bright orange longsleeve jersey that I wear all winter... a lot of the trails/state parks here and elsewhere are open to hunters during the mtb/hiking off-season, though now they are still open to mtb use. Its a little unnerving to hear gunshots but hunters are not allowed to hunt anywhere near the main trail anyways. Just be sure to leave your helmet with the deer antlers at home :D

I have run into way too many hunters this fall for my liking. Most of them seem to be mindful, I just don't like the idea that someone with a gun is looking for something moving through the woods. Most, and likely all of the hunters will not cause a problem, it is just a little scary.

I am definately the only wuss. I can't handle deep powder, same reason I can't bother pedalling up hill. If I am slowed to the point where walking briskly is faster, I hop off 100% of the time


I've been on a bunch of rides that are uphill and my speedometer doesn't even read, or it flips between "1" and "0".

walking would be about the same speed, on steep gravel uphills. but what fun would that be?:D

as for winter riding, yep. but we stay below the snow level, so it's really just some ice sometimes, and lots of mud/water.

Last year I brought my bike to the local sledding hill and went down. This isn't a whoosy hill either. You usually can't make it all the way down on a sled. It was awesome. People there thought I was insane, but it doesn't hurt anymore than wrecking a sled.
Last year I hurt my knee pretty bad snow riding. I was really weak and I sucked at riding then. I still suck, and I'm still pretty whoosy, but I'm going to try it again.

I think the worst thing about snow riding is that it takes a lot more cleaning and stuff to keep your bike in good shape.

I'd like to try riding in the snow with one of those 2-wheel-drive bikes. That would probably be pretty fun, as opposed to getting bogged down, washing out the front wheel, and spinning the back tire.

In Kentucky I ride all winter. If it is above 20 and the roads are clear I am on however I do not put in the miles (or as often) I do in better weather. For instance last January I was only out 4 times and then in February I was out 15 times.

Sounds like what'll do here in MA North Shore, pity we're too far away, we could ride together :D
So far, the weather has been very kind I must say.

In Iceland winter riding really isn´t a problem. We have the ocassional snow and we two weeks ago we had 7 or 8 inches of snow and -15C. I just kept on riding with my mom worrying the whole time. The danger is when all that snow melts and it rains...and you forget that because of all the wind....that there´s also plenty of invisble ice. Fell down twice already, once with my $30,000 violin on my back. I make sure to give it some 'protective clothing´as well so fortunately nothing happened.

Gotta love winter commuting and off road is rather fun as well. Just that in the very thick powder my Fire XCs just don´t cut it :(

I ride year round, and we have gotten over 21 inches total this month, 17 last month.
I suit up and just go for it, riding in snow is a blast, I usually ride later in the day when the snow has started to freeze back up, (frozen snow has better traction that slush), so I get to use my lights, night snow riding is a blast. My trail of choice is a 7.5 mile loop, with a 3 mile, 900ft climb.
too busy with work this week, no ride so far, but I am shooting for tomorrow!

Where do u live u lucky S.O.B???
ive been sittin here waitin for snow in southern ontario for a month now, not even a sniff...
as for winter riding, i do it, but always end up destroying my bike, how do i prevent that

Traveling I-96 in Michigan years ago...Hunters shot at red/orange VW's...I think cyclists in orange jerseys' look more like a deer than VW's....Recall some college friends had their car windows shot out while driving the freeways...
A Trek, A deer..All look the same when you are drunk...

Where do you live you lucky S.O.B???
ive been sittin here waitin for snow in southern ontario for a month now, not even a sniff...
as for winter riding, i do it, but always end up destroying my bike, how do i prevent that
Try the Winter Riding forum http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=53

Side note it's "you" not "u" AOL'ese isn't permitted at Bikeforums

Do you mean something like this for winter cycling ?
Studded tire + Lights + ice = FUN!!!

thats me !
http://www.nemba.org/yabbse/attachments/I02.jpg


or

http://www.nemba.org/yabbse/attachments/1-27012_sm.jpg

Holy ice batman. I haven't seen coverage like that in years.

That's impressive. To be honest, I haven't ridden on sheets of ice since I was in college in Grand Forks, ND and I only did that out of necessity of getting to class. You have my admiration. BTW, do you buy pre-studded tyres or do you make them yourself? I used to make mine from old tires but I'd be more inclined to buy them pre-made... that is if I could ever be inclined to go ice-riding again. I'm such a wuss these days.

Where do u live u lucky S.O.B???
ive been sittin here waitin for snow in southern ontario for a month now, not even a sniff...
as for winter riding, i do it, but always end up destroying my bike, how do i prevent that

I live in Evergreen Colorado, about 45 miles west of Denver, up in the mtns. at 8300 ft elevation. We are just entering the time of constant snow, the meltdowns are less significant.

I try to keep the bike cleaned and lubed more frequently than other the rest of the year.

How could you make studded tires?

Read this.
http://www.glpbooks.com/oyb/OYB8/bikes/bikeidita.html

Then go buy this.
http://www.spicercycles.com/images/442-large.jpg

I live in Evergreen Colorado, about 45 miles west of Denver, up in the mtns. at 8300 ft elevation. We are just entering the time of constant snow, the meltdowns are less significant.

I try to keep the bike cleaned and lubed more frequently than other the rest of the year.


I almost moved there about 3 years ago!

Had a job offered to me in Golden. I should have taken it, but my wife (now ex-wife) got really sick and relocating wasn't in the cards.

You may see me soon. Now SHE wants to move there and I may have to follow her in tow. (She'd have my almost 5 y.o. son with her).

She's taking me to court to get permission to relocate.

If single don't get married. If married, do whatever you must to stay married! (DIVORCE SUCKS!)

How could you make studded tires?

There are various pointers on the web. However, mine were really heavy. My first generation of home-made studded tyres flatted very often from the head of the machine screws puncturing through the tyre liners. I then decided to bite the bullet and cut the bead off a smaller tyre so I could shove the whole thing inside the bigger tyre in order to protect the innertube from the heads of the screws. This worked really well but also meant that I had to run pretty high pressures to avoid pinch-flats and of course the result was a very heavy tyre since I was in effect running two tyres per wheel. The commercial studded tyres are a much better option these days.

Did I mention today's temp? Currently 74 degrees and partly cloudy!

Have a nice winter!

I will be out there this winter, I have to choice, it is winter here far more than it is summer.
I looking to buy some studded tires soon, have seem them from $100 each to $50 each, same amount of studs, but I think the cheaper ones must weight more.

Did I mention today's temp? Currently 74 degrees and partly cloudy!

Have a nice winter!


A2, I did 13 years in Florida, glad to get out. Good luck in getting to Colorado.

blue skies, not a cloud in site, 38 degrees, up from the low of 3. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

Arg. Only one reason to bcome american....its call Colorado. From the sounds of it sounds like bc without any snow haha

I'm not sure what it would take to stop me from riding. I rode all of last winter every day basically. My 20+ mile morning rides have been fairly cold lately. THe coldest i have ridden in was 18 F yesterday. I had a flat tire too. That sort of sucked but not really.

I still get in around 20 miles every morning before work on my Mountain Bike. I am running very aggressive tread on the rear and studs on front when there is ice. My legs are starting to look like a baseball player's. (steroids) Winter offers a much harder workout than any other time of the year.

It was cool yesterday watching (in my helmet mirror) frost form on my collar and helmet straps. THey were covered in white, even though it was not snowing. Perspiration i guess? The frozen rutted county roads really give me a good spanking on my Hard Tail.

Have you guys seen the Large Marge Rim from Surly? It only fits on their Pugsley frame. This is a bike specifically designed to be used for winter riding. The Large Marge rim is 4" wide. Yep, frickin 4" wide.

You'll have to do some seaching to find the rims but www.surlybikes.com to get info on the Pugsley you have to go to their BLOG the link is on the Home page.

Hah! Maelstrom's the odd one out! :P Just kidding. Snow is fun but I don't want stuff to rust and like die. Aluminum doesn't rust unless mixed with salt and water I think. With salt and water, hydrogen is given off and rust commences. :O

Now this really does get me MIFFED!

All through SUmmer we had Rain, wind, storms and all that crap, middleof winter here, FREEZING cold, but the Sun is out and all the days so far this week have been amazing!

Not fair! I want Snow but i want sun!

Hah! Maelstrom's the odd one out! :P Just kidding. Snow is fun but I don't want stuff to rust and like die. Aluminum doesn't rust unless mixed with salt and water I think. With salt and water, hydrogen is given off and rust commences. :OAluminum doesn't rust, it corrodes. Steel rusts. ;)

Hah! Maelstrom's the odd one out! :P Just kidding. Snow is fun but I don't want stuff to rust and like die. Aluminum doesn't rust unless mixed with salt and water I think. With salt and water, hydrogen is given off and rust commences. :O

It doesn't bug me that the material rusts, corrodes or whatever. I am just a wuss. The only winter sport I liked was football hahaha

imgoing to try it. i might build a jump out of snow, you never know!