Originally Posted by
BROOKLINEBIKER
Hi,
Thanks for the replies. Please let me respond:
I ride non-studded knobby tires.
The tires are fully inflated.
My non-winter bike is a Surly LHT with smooth tires.
The air temperature usually runs between 18F and 25F when I ride.
I live next to Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
I have a bad knee so my riding is usually a bit slow even on the road bike.
I experimented with riding on the middle front chainring but that limited my ability to use a range of cogs on the rear cassette & still ride comfortably. I should explain that I prefer to maintain a high cadence to avoid straining a very shakey knee ☹
Typically, local plowing where I ride is poor so I bought knobby tires to cope with snow. However, the local roads are surprisingly clear now.
Does the above change anyones recommendations or suggest solutions?
Please let me know.
Best,
Neil
'Fully inflated' has far more meanings when it comes to mountain bike tires then road tires. Generally, a 'fully inflated' road bike tire has one pressure...or a very narrow window of pressures. A mountain bike tire may have 30 or 40 psi when off-road riding and be fully inflated (for that condition). It may be used for road riding and be inflated to 60 or 70 psi and be fully inflated for that condition. If you are riding in snow or on poorly plowed streets, you may want to run a lower inflation than the road pressure but a little more than off-road to improve traction.
18F to 25F is pretty cold. Air temperature can have a severe effect on your speed. Your muscles don't work as well and you are more nervous about the road conditions. If your normal speed is 12mph, the cold and the knobbies could easily bring your speed down 4 mph. Add to that spinning in a rather low gear and I'm too not surprised at your overall speed.
You may want to find a
gear calculator and look at your gear ratios. You don't need to always stay in the granny gear to spin. Many of those gears are duplicated elsewhere but you need to know which ones they are. A gear calculator will help.
If it's warranted, you may want to consider studded tires instead of knobbies. Where I live I seldom have any kind of need for them...it just doesn't snow that much and when it does it gone quickly. However in the east your snow and ice linger longer. I don't know that you'll get any more speed out of the bike but you might.
Altenatively HTFU
If you want to get more speed, you need to do something to strengthen that shaky knee. A visit to a physical therapist or doctor might be in order.
Or, lastly, enjoy the ride. It's not a race. You're just going to work. Only a truly sick bastard wants to get there quickly
