SSP

From a story on NPR's Morning Edition about a guy training in Alaska for the IditaBike:

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=17246001

Mr. Underbridge

Riding in snow is fun. It's what the snow turns into after a few freeze/thaw cycles that's the *****.

TurdFerguson2

"I predict that not too far in the future, someone will build a bicycle frame with room for motocross tires. Look for it."

You mean like the Surly Pugsley with 4" tires?

Also, flotation is not always the way to go. I ride cross tires in the snow when I know there is pavement or hard pack below the powder. Your tires cut right through the snow and grab traction on the surface underneath. It can be deadly if it is ice underneath though.

TurdFerguson2

Also, I don't think Jill is a guy.

MnIceBiker

[QUOTE=TurdFerguson2;5827194Also, flotation is not always the way to go. I ride cross tires in the snow when I know there is pavement or hard pack below the powder. Your tires cut right through the snow and grab traction on the surface underneath. It can be deadly if it is ice underneath though.[/QUOTE]

I agree with this. In the snow I keep my weight over the front wheel by leaning forward. It helps my tire cut through to the pavement. When I float my front wheel shimmys around and I fall over and look stupid.

madfiNch

She rides a Pugsley.

More stuff:
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=16314506

Fashion:
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=16727516

Check out her blog:
https://arcticglass.blogspot.com/

She's a good writer.

AEO

Front tire flotation is pretty bad.
The big problem is trying to go up a hill where your tires float. You have to balance front and rear weight properly otherwise you go nowhere, or have your front wheel get sucked out from under you.

Those tips are pretty good for beginners.
I figured out 1~8 during high school after watching snow rallies and a Canada > Russia expedition over ice.
9 would never happen in Toronto.
10 I've never encountered.

Gojohnnygo.

Jill's Blog is one of the most inspiring winter cycling blogs out there. I have been reading the Goldfish cracker eating and Pepsi drinking for breakfast blogger for about a year and a half. Her photographs are top notch. I wish her great success and that she rides strong during the Iditarod Invitational.

golazo

I wonder what her locking procedures are?

What are crime rates in the sub-artic anyways?

CliftonGK1

1) place bike near stationary large object
2) spray bike and object with waterbottle
3) allow weld to harden

Artkansas 

Hmmm. She forgot avoid SUVs, their wide tires slip so easily on ice.

climbhoser

I think the narrow vs. wide for snow debate is a majorly annoying bit of contrived analysis.

When I ride wide tires on powdery snow, about 4 inches deep on pavement then yeah, I want thin to cut through because the wide just washes around. When I ride narrow tires on packed snow it digs in and creates it's own rut, causing excessive rolling resistance and a PITA in regards to staying upright. Wide tires are WAY better when the snow is too tough or too much to get throw! Same goes for cars. I see it all the time here in the rockies...guys put narrow tires on to go wheelin' in the mountains and it just digs 'em in. You want wide for float and soft for traction on that stuff!

In the Iditasport there's TONS of snow, no way a tire will get through, and the good portions of it are packed from much dog-sled use (without a brake). You want wide for float!

In slush that happens in much of the NE then yeah, narrow is better. Here in CO, however, we get packed roads with ice interspersing. I want wide.

FarAwayBoy

I learned alot about biking in the snow by falling on my ass. Turns out I should have listened when my friend told me to ride the mountain bike in the winter.

Cosmoline

I want to go see those nuts off this year. But I'm not going to join them! It's really fascinating to see the artic bike evolve. There are a lot of experiments in the works around here.

mike

Maybe the best training you can do for winter bicycling is judo - learning how to fall properly.

BarracksSi

Depends on the conditions, of course.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=crodbUBRcCg

I have slightly narrower car tires for snow & winter than my summer tires.

Sixty Fiver

1. Think surface area: If you've ever used snowshoes before, you know that all that mass at the bottom of your feet can mean the difference between coasting atop power or wading knee-deep in it. Snow bikes work they same way. They incorporate wide tires with a flat profile in order to distribute bulk (you) as evenly as possible, allowing for maximum floatation.

Depending on the type of snow this may or may not work... floatation is not always a good thing.

2. Fat is the new skinny. As long as there have been bicycles, there have been weight-weenie types trying to shave grams off wheels. Nowadays, it's not uncommon to see a spoke-free wheel sporting tires as thin as razors. But once you slice into snow, skinny tires might as well be razors. Snow-bikers know that fat means float, and have been developing bicycles to accommodate increasingly larger wheels for years. I predict that not too far in the future, someone will build a bicycle frame with room for motocross tires. Look for it.

My cross bike excels on hard pack and cuts through slushy layers to grab the road underneath... this is something fat tires do not so. I am running 700:35 tyres.

3. There is no shame in walking. Cyclists hate to admit when they come to a hill or an obstacle they just can't conquer. I have seen cyclists blow out their knees and face-plant over logs just to avoid suffering the indignity of getting off the bike and walking. Snow-bikers have no such pretensions. We know that bikes are not ready-made for snow, and vice versa. If snow is too soft, or too deep, or too wet, we simply step off and amble along until we can ride again. We learn to enjoy it, like walking a dog, but without the constant slobbering.

There is always a little shame in walking...

4. When in doubt, let air out. Often, snowy trails are what we would call "marginally ridable." By letting air out of tires, you can increase the surface area and improve your floatation. Sometimes it means riding on nearly flat tires at a pace a snail wouldn't envy, but, despite what I said in the previous paragraph, it's still better than walking.

This make perfect sense...lower tire pressures do increase the contact area, make the ride much nicer, and does beat walking.

5. Learn your snow types. It's been said that Eskimos have dozens of different words of snow. Snow bikers also understand the myriad varieties: powder, sugar, corn, hard-pack, sandy, slushy, and so on. Each type comes with its own challenges. But understanding the nature of the white stuff you are trying to ride atop, you can adjust your riding and wheels to meet the conditions.

Knowing your enemy is really important.

6. Don't be disappointed when you fail to set a land-speed record. Snow, like sand, puts up a lot of resistance, and snow bikers are not known for their speed. I have often heard accounts of cyclists who said felt like they were careening down a hill, only to look down and see they hadn't even breached the 10 mph barrier. In snow races, 10 mph is considered fast. Eight mph is average. Six mph is respectable, and four mph isn't uncommon. When asked to describe the nature of the 2006 Iditarod Invitational, which was plagued by cold temperatures and fresh snow, third-place finisher Jeff Oatley said, "It was about as intense as a 2.5 mph race can be."




7. All brakes are not created equal. When contemplating what brakes to put on their bikes, cyclists have all kinds of reasons to choose between disc or rim. But snow bikers, who often find their rims coated in a thick layer of ungrippable ice, have the best reason of all: Rim brakes could mean an icy death by gravity. Go with disc.

I don;t run any disc brakes and have never had an issue with braking...riding fixed really helps with any braking issues.

8. Re-lubricate and be free. There is nothing that will slow down a snow biker faster than having their hubs freeze up, which is always a possibility when the mercury drops below zero. We have to lube up our moving parts with a special low-temperature grease, sold widely in cold regions like Fairbanks and Minnesota.

They also sell low temperature lubricants in pretty much all of Canad except perhaps Vancouver and southern Ontario.,

9. Stay away from moose tracks. Common injures for road cyclists include road rash and head injuries. Mountain bikers have problems with broken collar bones and bad knees. Alaska snow bikers are always being tripped up by the deep, narrow holes moose leave when they walk through the snow. Avoiding these minefields will help curb post-holing injuries like broken ankles.

Stay away from the tracks unless you are hunting the moose.

10. Stay away from dogs. We talk a lot about fear of angry moose, grumpy bears and rabid wolves, but our most likely animal to have a dangerous encounter with remains the sled dog. They approach so quickly and quietly that we sometimes don't even have time to jump off the trail. A collision can be disastrous — imagine tangled lines, confused canines and a lot of sharp teeth. Add to that an annoyed musher who's likely packing heat, and you stir up the kind of fear that convinces snow-bikers to give those racing puppies a wide berth.

We don;t often see racing dogs here although running into an ipod equipped pedestrian can also cause serious injuries and entanglements with those cords.