Next years plans
 

Well after my first year of winter riding I think I know more of what I want in a winter bike. This year I mainly used a Raleigh Mojave 8 with some jerry-rigged fenders.

What I want is something lighter than the MB's 42 lbs. An IGH is paramount as I had too many days of a frozen up rear cassette. Full fenders and rear rack are important too. Want the something that will take the skinniest studded tires I can find so probably around 700 x 35 or maybe even a 28 if I can find one. Disc brakes are important also. Oh an lots of area to put reflective tape as there will be a lot of night rides.

So now to decide if I just modify the Raleigh to use an IGH or find something else...

My only plans are to find/make fenders to fit my Pugsley. The tires worked great without a need for studs, and no issues with freeze up (coldest I rode in was -18F), but lots of slop and muck thrown at me from the rear tire.

Something like this
http://www.pugsley-on-patrol.org.uk/...arge/build.jpg
http://www.pugsley-on-patrol.org.uk/index.htm

I found this link yesterday.
http://nccyclery.files.wordpress.com...pg?w=510&h=382
http://nccyclery.wordpress.com/2010/...rs-done-right/

Yeah those fenders look great! I just can't cut up a $50 set of fenders and hope it turns out ok :)

Did you switch lubricants in the freehub? IGH have also been known to stick.

Nope, just a standard XT rear hub with factory grease.

@ the OP: Your criteria pretty much describes my winter ride, minus my belt drive. I too quickly tired of frozen cassettes & dérailleurs, and iced-up rim brakes. My Alfine IGH/belt drive setup has been a maintenance-free dream this winter, and my disc brakes have been very reliable. My hub did give me some shifting woes when the season began, but turned out to be moisture in the cables, which was easily sorted out.

I use 35mm Schwalbe Marathon Winter tires and they are a great compromise between aggressiveness and reduced rolling resistance. Goldilocks would have said they were "just right." I do, however, wish I could also afford to own a Pugsley for "those other days."

Attachment 193978

single-speed
 

I used a Cannondale F7 hardtail with Klondike studded tires this winter. The only problem was salt accumulation. I'm thinkin' for next year, converting a Gary Fisher hybrid bike into a single speed. Less bike, less salt. It seems like in the winter time, you need three different bike types: one for snow, one for ice and a road bike (when you get those cold days but perfectly clear roads).

Well if you can service a hub, then you should flush the thing out every season and relube with a lighter oil... works great - i haven't had a frozen freehub since.

I'm just debating all my options. Wonder how hard it would be to convert the current MB to a IGH setup. That may be the cheapest route.

Still I'd sort of like a lighter, faster setup than the mountain bike, decisions, decisions...

Kinda curious about some of the postings in this thread. Personally I`ve driven for three years with cantilever brakes, a 7 speed 11-26T rear cassette and either cyclocross tires or studded tires. Haven`t run into any of the issues posted here and I`ve been out all day in minus 30 degree Celcius weather and every major storm that ever hit Montreal. Mostly it was to test equipment.

So I can`t figure why a cassette would freeze up if properly prepped for the winter. And I also can`t figure why a cassette might freeze up but disk brakes wouldn`t. The theory about single speed / fixed gear bikes also has me puzzled. Winter can present various challenges and stability at low speeds often depends on a minimum candence. I would have thought that mtb gearing would be an advantage. I know I`ve used the lower range of my crank and cassette more in winter than in summer but thats just my own experience.

So some people here obviously have different driving conditions or experiences and I`d be interested in hearing about them if you`d care to share some details.

I need to rethink my winter cycling also. I live in Chicago which is flat, has fast snow clearing and uses plenty of salt. I used a $170 Trek touring bike with 700x28 tires and fenders this year. It was ideal for salty wet or dry roads, but dangerous when ice was present. I was off the road much of this winter!

I want to add a bike with 700c sized studded tires and fenders. I would still use the touring bike on mild days, but I need studded tires and a second bike. I like having gears for windy days. A Cylocross bike would be ideal, but the cost is high. A cheap 700c hybrid might be better. Or, should I just get a cheap single speed 29er from Bikes Direct?

Any suggestions?

Well I can speak about the cassette freezing. It happens on days where the temp is a little below freezing yet the roads are wet and slushy. Add in the sand and gravel they put down and this all will clog up and actually freeze in the cassette. This despite running fenders. On the front I even added an 'extension" using an old 2 liter soda bottle but still get slop thrown up. The rotors for the disc are much higher up and pretty much remain clean and dry.

salt and sand does a lot of damage to the gears but i have yet to have my gears freeze.

i'm hoping next year plans look like this
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_u...HT6M/DFsig.png

I never had my cassette freeze up on me, but it sure got packed with snow, slush, and road grime. I did, however, have my dérailleurs freeze in place. I learned to park my bike in 4th gear (rear) just in case I only had one gear for the ride home. Conditions in winter around here involve a lot of freezing/thawing cycles and freezing rain to go along with dumps of snow. For me, cleaning and lubing the drivetrain regularly was the only thing that ensured its efficient operation. That got old real quick. Now that I've experienced the almost zero-maintenance of a belt drive/IGH setup I'll never go back to a dérailleur drivetrain for winter riding. I'll save that for fair weather rides.

Very strongly considering getting a Longstaff axle for a trike conversion. My other options are to (a) spend the winter in Vietnam or Australia or (2) get an old Subaru. Or maybe I'm just grumpy that it's almost April and there's snow on the ground tonight in the 612.

*edit to add* Am I the only one to think that a Pugsley 2wd trike would be the shizz?