The Fat Guy In The Back
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Posts: 2,532
Bikes: '81 Panasonic Sport, '02 Giant Boulder SE, '08 Felt S32, '10 Diamondback Insight RS, '10 Windsor Clockwork, '15 Kestrel Evoke 3.0, '19 Salsa Mukluk
Mentioned: 92 Post(s)
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There is a certain amount of snow that will stop me if the plows haven't yet run. Somewhere in the 6"-8" range is when I begin to have trouble.
The problem is at these depths you can't get enough forward momentum to let the bike balance so you can lift your feet onto the pedals. You give yourself a push, but as soon as your feet leave the ground the bike is at a dead stop. I you do manage to keep the bike upright and try and start pedaling, the rear wheel breaks loose and you have to put a foot down.
If you do manage to get the bike moving, your chain picks up snow and packs it into the rear cassette. It's not long until the cassette is so full of frozen snow that the chain starts skipping, which renders that gear useless. And in that amount of snow only 2-3 gears were useable to begin with, so within a mile or two you are no longer able to pedal the bike without chain skip and you're stranded.
But generally, that's the only thing that stops me anymore.