andrelam

I rode my bike into work on Friday as the Winter storm warning was not to go into affect till 4:00PM. Well the weatherman was a little off with his precitions. I got to work just fine, cold and windy, but who cares that is what I expect in the winter. By 9:30 AM there were white-out conditions outside. By noon it was lokking completely white ourside. The road surface was also covered in shopw. The plows were out in full force, but it was snowing pretty well. Not super fast by Buffalo standards (ever experienced 12" plus per hour snow fall?), but it was good and steady. Even with the plows coming by regularly the roads were getting pretty ugly. The plows here work in teams of 3 in the main roads to clear the entire road in one pass. It is a pretty impressive sigh, The volume of snow being pushed off the road by the final plow is pretty hugh. My wife called to ask me if she could please come and pick me up and this time I was not going to argue. I'd have to ride in the middle of the road, avoid snow plows, and avoid getting rear ended because of continuing white-out conditions. I may have the legal right to be on the road, but too me it was not worth it. The snow was supposed to stop mid day Saturday so I figure'd I go and pickup my bike on Saturda afternoon and ride home... no go. The snow just kept on coming till about 8:00 am Sunday moning. By Sunday morning we'd received a total of about 25" of snow. The amazing thing is that by Noon on Sunday most of the roads in our area were clear. I mean totally clear from shoulder to shoulder. I could have gone and picked up my bike was it not for my Mother in-law having been admitted to the hospital with major heart problems, and possible discovery of cancer on her lungs and liver. It appears that my mother in-law is about to suffer the wrath of a lifetime of smoking... sad, but not entirely suprising. Today I'll be able to ride again. I can use the fresh air and some time out on the road. Thank to Google Earth I was able to scout a good route to the Hospital so that I can stop by and give some support to my wife. I find the riding very therapeutic, there are few things that privide as mush stress relieve as ride on my bike. Sadly my mother in-law is also a great reminder of why I ride and why I don't smoke... be active and treat your body well.

Happy riding,
André

aMull

It's winter and i'm cycling, so it is. I don't know about you but i don't see the point of riding studs on clear pavement. If i live somewhere where there is regularly snow and ice, i'd consider fat tires and studs. Here in Toronto i virtually don't need them, roads get cleared and salted fast and nice. 30cm of snow fell friday and saturday, and i did 40km today, monday, on clear streets.

Funrider111

Black ice is no good

Chris_F

Snow here gets cleared off the streets with equal efficiency, but wavering temperatures lead to cycles of melt/re-freeze which leave unexpected slicks of ice on the roads. Hit one of those and you're likely to go down. The alternatives are: take your chances, only bike when it's above freezing, studs.

bgilchrist

Wow! This studded/non-studded debate is almost as good as the helmet/non-helmet debate.

wroomwroomoops...you're coming off as a complete twit ( now you may not be, but that's the impression you are giving from your posts)

I live in Winnipeg and have been commuting all winter where temperatures have regularly dropped below -30C. I commute on major routes, so I don't feel the need to run studded tires. Because of our climate, we don't get much black ice, it's mainly hard packed snow, so studs may not be as beneficial as where you live. There are other factors such as the amount of weight I carry and weight distribution that affect my decision to ride studs as well.

There are some geographic areas where studs are a necessity, there are some areas where they are not. Some riders prefer them, some riders don't. It's a matter of choice. But don't make a blanket statement insulting someone's intelligence because they don't run studs if you haven't experienced the commute that they ride first hand.

And your insinuation that winter riding is only when black ice is present, that's bunk. I really hope you aren't trying to tell me that my -30 degree with 40km headwind isn't winter cycling because I don't see black ice on my route. When it's this cold, the problem isn't as much black ice, but the crumbly snow/sand gunk that can build up on the edges of roads. That stuff will grab you and throw you faster than you can blink. And studs do nothing on that.

And FYI, the icebiking website www.icebiking.com defines an icebike ride as any ride in conditions below freezing. They don't factor black ice at all.

TRaffic Jammer

I messed Montreal for 6 winters, and rode through some form of snow and ice virtually everyday with some seriously cold temperatures. Now some 20 years later, I'm still riding everyday incl the snow storms. Never had studs. If your roads in Finland are completely covered the whole season, then it's possible the "winter" isn't the issue but a seemingly lack of slow plows. Ice can indeed be ridden on without studs, it's not like the road is solid ice. If your riding solid ice then by all means get studs.

scoatw

Riding in Winter conditons requires different riding techniques. #1. You can't ride as fast as on dry conditions. You have to give yourself more time. Maybe an extra 10-20mins. #2. Use common sense. When you're cornering, you have to use some caution. Once you get used to riding in bad conditions and putting up with the extended riding time, you'll get used to it. I tell myself that other people have it a lot worse. And the extra riding time sure beats paying $3 a gallon.

Teemu Kalvas

The fundamental problem we have in Finland is the legal requirement to use a bike path and stay off the road. The roads are usually in much nicer shape in winter that the bike paths. The bike paths are shoddily plowed, and with the current climate we get dozens of thaw/freeze-cycles in one winter, which contributes to occasional iciness on the paths.

To be honest, though, many cyclists don't use studs here. Many do. I certainly think they are very helpful, here.

Actually having so warm winters is actually a part of the problem. Ice and snow get steadily less slippery when it gets really cold.

Heyduke

Aren't Nokians made in Finland?

TRaffic Jammer

Teemu... You HAVE to use the paths despite lack of clearing? That bites!! Our paths on the side of the street are only used to collect snow, and plow into them in the winter. They are full on useless until well into the spring, full of glass, salt, dead squirrels, etc until they get I think the one cleaning of the year. As an aside, we luckily don't HAVE to use them. Most of my routes don't have them to begin with, as I prefer mixing it up with the cars.

Machka 

You HAVE TO use the bike paths and stay off the roads??? Even during the summer??? I'm hoping to cycle around Sweden, Norway, and Finland some summer, but if that's true, that's not good news. I simply do not use bike paths, way too dangerous ... well, except for the tow paths in France, they were OK.


But yes, warmer winters are part of the problem. In Winnipeg, for example, it gets cold in November and rarely warms up before the middle of March. There's not a lot of melting and freezing. Where I live now in Central Alberta it is a bit more of a problem because we get chinooks.

Teemu Kalvas

Yes and yes. Actually, it's more of a problem in the winter. The paths do get plowed eventually, but nowhere as fast as the streets. The typical urban main street will get plowed every ten minutes if it's snowing properly, the bike path next to it maybe once a day.

However, when you get out of the few cities, the bike path legislation stops being a problem, because no one's been insane enough to spend any of the limited public funds on bike paths in the middle of nowhere, which is what 99% of the area of Finland really is. Actually, even in Helsinki, the capital, I think there are about 4000 km of streets but only 1000 km of bike paths, so it is usually possible to find routes where you can legally ride on the street due to lack of an alternative.

And yeah, Nokians are made in Finland. They are really just a barely profitable offshoot of the incredibly lucrative car tire business, where they initially perfected the stud thing. Unlike in some countries where using studs on your car is illegal, it used to be mandatory here for decades. Nowadays there are some studless solutions which are legal for the road even in the winter, but honestly, they are just not all that good.

chephy

I was weight training one day, but dropped a 50-pound dumbbell on my foot and injured myself while causing a laughing fit for everyone else in the gym.

Weight training is stupid. I ride a bike now.

rajman

LOL - I agree...

I rode two winters in Calgary - lots of black ice/hardpack snow. I definitely valued the studs. When you do wipe out, the grip action of them allows for control and stopping power, even in a skid on a steep downward slope.

This winter I've been riding in Toronto - I've been riding my studs - but I'm not sure they are doing a whole lot for me most of the time. However, as far as I'm concerned, the fewer wipeouts, the better, and I've got them anyway.

goalieMN

Well, as someone who just started winter commuting in Minnesota this year, I love it and don't plan on driving any more than I have to next winter!!!

Due to post-work commitments, I drove 3 days in March. That, IMO, is three too many.

rajman

Hey MN - if we need a goalie, can we call you

Off to hockey (with studded tires - they're calling for more snow tonight)!

goalieMN

Sure. My "main" season is about done, and I have a few tourneys the next few weekends though.

scoatw

My theory is, if the roads are bad and I need to put the knobbies on then I want some studs on them.

Sixty Fiver

Do ya all know what I missed when I fragged my back at the end of January ?

Riding.

Cause the weather is never too bad to not ride.

Desertsasquach

Okay I am trying to gear up for a 4 mile one way commute to work in Oklahoma. All of your praise on studded tires has convinced me to look in to getting some. Now , I am not the richest guy so does the best really constitute the best or can I buy the less expensive tires. I rode in the desert for a long time but it only snowed once every 5 years so layers where the main focus. At the risk of sounding stupid I think I would rather walk to work if I couldn't ride just because someone accused me of not caring about my city because I was not supporting the gas tax . People say the strangest things to you when you are waiting for a light to go green .... I just had to laugh

Sixty Fiver

You can make your own studded tyres...it's pretty easy, cheap, and they work really well.

andrelam

I lived in Tulsa back in 1982-3. I remember that we only got snow a few times, but it was cold. You could either consider suing cylcocross tires (if you are on a hybrid) and then just leave the bike at home for a day or two if you are getting some real snow or freezing rain.

Since you don't need quite the hard core tires you should look at the Nokia A10's. These are supposed to have much lower rolling resistance than the W106's yet still offer nice protection against frozen roads and light snow. These cost $46 from Peter White. It doesn't take too many days of cyling to pay for the tires with gasoline being around $4 a gallon.

Happy riding,
André