Originally Posted by mconlonx

Guy I know rides his mtn bike with regular knobbies through the winter. I asked about ice and he says, "Ya, it is slippery, but I've figured out that with just the right pressure, it's good enough for some traction. Thing with riding on ice is, it keeps you in the moment -- as long as you are paying 100% attention to your riding 100% of the time, you can ride ice, but the minute your attention wavers, you'll probably go down."

I'm not that zen. I keep a spare bike set up with studded tires... I went cheap, generic tires with steel studs, not the more expensive carbide studs -- for the amount of time I use it, and considering how infrequently I ride when the roads are ice-hazardous, they are fine, have lasted through a few seasons, and I anticipate keeping them for winter duty until they start cracking at the sidewall sometime within the next decade or so.

Originally Posted by 2manybikes

You missed the first two sentences of my post.

I always expect ice if conditions make it possible. Keep the bike straight up all the time, even on pavement. Scan the ground and be ready to slip at all times.


All the time means all the time.

A tire working fine on black ice is not slipping when the bike is straight up. If you want to lean your bike when there may be ice, be my guest, wear a helmet. Clearly you have no idea how to ride on ice. In darkness my light is about the same as my car on low beams. I ride straight up anyway. With two studded tires weighing about 2 lbs each, there's no fast anything. Scanning the ground at bicycle speeds is easy when you're used to doing it on a Motorcycle on ice, snow, soft beach sand, hard packed dirt, and soft ground. At extreme low speeds mud, and water up to the seat.

In the right conditions I have ridden across a lake with a friend with no studs on either bike, thick strong ice, but a warm sunny day, the very top is not too slippery if you keep the bike straight up. That is the photo........his Univega, my Litespeed. yes he has on sneakers ???

With cold hard flat ice and on hardpacked snow on the road, I bank the bike when the conditions permit, almost as much as the pavement. Not the same when riding straight over 3" deep footprints hard as rock, that calls for straight up even in a fishtail. Counter steer just like a car and keep the bike up straight, keep pedaling, the back comes into line and keep going.

Originally Posted by Walter S

Oh - that's all. Similarly, driving while not crashing into anything will keep you safe in a car. Walking and not falling down is a good way to get around on foot. And if you take a plane then show up on time or they might leave without you.

Originally Posted by Roody

People might not realize that you're one of the top ice bikers on BF, which means you're probably one of the tops in the world. Your stories and tips have been fun and useful for me for years now. Without you and a couple others, I don't think I would have ever realized how great this winter riding really is!

You're very generous to post from your depth of experience in order to help out those of us who know so much less. Thanks for all your help!

Originally Posted by 2manybikes

Thanks for the kind words Roody.

Repeating possibly the first thing I ever said to you..........
Ride your studded tire bike to Rhode Island and we can go for a spin.

Originally Posted by Artkansas

It was 73 degrees today. I celebrated by riding the entire 7 miles to work and actually getting my right foot over the top tube when mounting the bike.

Since the encounter with black ice, to get onto the bike, I have had to lay the bicycle down on the ground, step over the frame and then pull the bike back upright. I still have to lower it to get off the bike, and I haven't re-perfected swinging my leg backwards and over the seat to mount either.

Originally Posted by Roody

I'm glad you're healing, hope complete recovery comes soon. I broke some ribs twice sliding on ice, but I've found leaves, sand, and rock salt to be much more difficult than ice, for some reason. Most of the time when I fall on ice, it's intentional and I manage to land in a soft pile of snow.

A bigger fear in winter riding is the snow plows....

Originally Posted by HardyWeinberg

last Monday my son wiped out turning out of the driveway on his way to school. I ran to help him and went flying did a faceplant onto our concrete steps, so finally reached him gushing blood all over my face. He was fine although I wound up driving him to school (wheel in one hand, paper towel in the other, stick shift in the last...).

This morning, not really thinking about it, did a 3 stooges backflip on the backdeck wooden stairs, so slammed directly into my spine above the pelvis. No bones or even skin broken. Crazy. Son made it out of the driveway fine, and I am about to ride to work myself. It is raining so I am counting on that to disperse whatever black ice might remain. I will be going slow though.

Originally Posted by loky1179

I can relate. My sister bought me a ski helmet. I am a very good skier; the chances of me falling and hitting my head skiing are orders of magnitude lower than my chances of falling when I walk out my front door and slip on some ice.

I've been lucky so far, but that ice is always waiting, hiding under the snow.

Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike

Do you wear the ski helmet when you walk out the front door or only when skiing?