Riding in the deep
 

Was riding my MTB in fresh snow, 6" deep yesterday. I was a little disappointed because it was tough pedalliing and very tough to stay in a straight line. Is this a tire issue? My bike tires are good in mud, but didn't seem to handle the snow very well. (The 6" of deep snow was over packed snow, but not ice.)
What's the best way to bike through deep snow?

Walk it....

Have you tried decreasing the pressure in your tires?

I have the same problem, the front tire can shoot out in any direction without any notice. The worst for me is the unplowed bike paths, with tons of foot prints from walkers. Those prints get hard around the fluffy stuff and Im all over, no control.

well, i usually do OK in fresh snow up to a point - 6" should be no problem. as it gets deeper it gets almost impossible to ride anywhere - also your feet start to go under pretty soon.

but if the snow is old or crusted then it can be really hard as you sometimes ride on top and then occaisonally break through. as far as i know there's nothing to help that.

but back to riding in 6" of fresh snow... with my studded tires (Schwalbe non-agressive commuting spiked tires front and rear) with relatively low pressure i can ride pretty well. actually when we have a new snow and before everything gets plowed out i usually have less trouble than most cars and end up passing many (although cars in such snow are to be avoided). on the other hand riding is snow is never like riding on a hard surface - more like riding on loose sand that changes frequently changes consistency... ok, not quite, b/c i hate riding in sand but usually enjoy riding in snow.

most of our bike paths in Munich get plowed, but some get neglected and the worst is when the plowed snow ends up in your path and you have to cross a huge wall of compacted/crusty snow - actually not knowing if it is hard or soft is the worst part (i was ready for a jolt one time expecting a hard landing and almost fell as my front wheel went 2 feet down into the soft pile)

:) I find standing helps in deep snow if you have no ice underneath it. Keep riding and you will get better. Deep snow is one of the hardest things to pedal in.:thumbup: To you.

Studded tires help A LITTLE if there is a slick surface under the snow that you can't see.Wide tires and as little as 20 to 15 psi helps a lot unless the snow becomes thick and heavy.then the wide tires are hard to push.The temperature,
the consistency of the snow,what's underneath, and the tires and the required pressure all vary.You need to experiment for a given snow condition.
It can be different every day.I use Nokian 256's (studded tires) and go from 40 to 15 psi with no tire problems.I have heard of guys running 5 psi and glueing one bead to the rim to keep it on.I am considering the snowcat rims for my snow bike too.I have fenders to keep me dry and I have put them a long way from the tires,like a motocross bike,to prevent clogging.They help keep the drive train ( and me) from getting icy.They snowcat rims are double wide rims that increase your tire footprint.The studded tires and low pressure allow me to ride over the deep frozen footprints in the ice.It's a great deal of work,and slow, as is 6" of snow. 6" deep (if powdery) is about my limit. 4" is much better.Good training.I love it! Fresh powder or very hard ice is great fun.Just practice as much as possible.Be patient it's slow.Eventually you learn to control the slipping and sliding by keeping the bike upright all the time, even when turning.Don't bother to do ice much without studded tires.