Originally Posted by
ThermionicScott
The fact that with black ice, you are generally on the ground before you realize it, makes pedal selection out of scope.
I didn't fell on ice 3 times the last 2 winters so it seems relevant even more since you have even less time to react so tiny differences between systems becomes even more relevant. That's when you push things to the limit that differences usually emerge be it in mathematics in order to define a function, looking at black holes to understand the universe or knowing what the limits of a F1 engine are.
On ice because it can happens fast and without any warning, your bike usually falls before you realize that your bike is falling. With clipless your feet are still attached to the pedals before you start reacting, on platforms your feet are free to move in all but one direction therefore can lose contact or not with pedals before you realize your bike is falling. Since we're talking falling on ice chances are that your bike will fall on one side or the other. Therefore, one pedal may go up and one may go down so chances are that you may start losing contact with one pedal while increasing contact with the other one because of inertia while the bike is slipping. At this time platforms offer the advantage to not contribute to you rotating contrary to clipless. While falling your body gather energy before the reaction occurs. Then comes the reaction...At this time on platforms you have the option to move your feet in nearly all directions while with clipless you need to unclip unless it is a relatively violent falls that make you unclip automatically.
You can guess it from this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxpB1TszKME
Originally Posted by
TransitBiker
I went down for the first time on the new bike a few minutes ago on black ice that was literally in the process of forming. The ONLY warning was my rear wheel slipping but i thought at first the N360 may have a problem (one i could deal with later) but no it was simply slipping on ice that had formed literally minutes before i rode over it. As soon as the sun goes down, the IR light keeping things wet vs frozen goes away, it seems. I am OK, bike is OK, broke strap on one of my shoes, but that is fixable as i have a pack of plastic rivets.
Has this happened to anyone else, where the black ice simply wasn't there not too long before (under an hour)?
I am really looking forward to getting a winter wheelset this autumn if possible, and maybe even a set of studded tires in addition to a default set of slightly knobby tires.
- Andy
It seems that there is so many variables to black ice forming that i don't think there is a way to predict where and when black ice is going to form.
I've noticed though that there is usually more black ice in small unplowed streets than in wide busy streets and along where cars usually park.
That's usually a dilemma for me. Small and slippy streets with just few cars passing or ice free (for the most part) but wide and busy streets.