Practical tips for snow safety
 

This is meant to be a Safety thread, not an Advocacy thread. I think it would be interesting to hear practical tips for riding safely in the snow. You might include bike handling, traffic awareness, road positioning and/or special situations like black ice, high winds, snowplows.

Thanks in advance for your constructive messages!

Despite commuting year round in New England more years than I care to recall it was not until I joined bike forums and commuter after commuter spoke loudly about the virtues of studded snow tires. Well, it was the best most practical piece of advice I've gotten here.

• I bought Nokian Studs for my commuter and it really is an amazing improvement. Every winter before that I would ride until I had my inevitable slip on black ice that whammed me hard to the ground and then I'd put the bike away for a week or two until the I felt ready to roll again. The studs are not a guarantee against ice falls but 99% better.
  
• Next when riding the road in snow it is a lesson in what tends to be called in here "being vehicular". I really have no choice but just get out there in the lane and ride along. I split the difference though and give way to passing traffic when necessary. No one likes driving in the snow, it's hard enough to negotiate without some guy on a bike up ahead so I give the drivers a break when I can.
  
• Watch changes in where you are in the lane. Car tire tracks are fine to ride in but when you've got to turn and cross through the mush it can be the most dicey so watch even more carefully who's around you when you move out of your track for a turn or to pass a bus at the bus stop- on my ride this becomes a challenge. Normally when the weather is fine I'll pass a bus once and can get ahead of it. In the winter with the heavier tires my speed is slower and sometimes it's pass and be passed by the bus a few times on a ride.
  
• I find night time winter riding even in the snow to be in some ways easier than the day if I am highly visible and have good lights. For some reason cars give me wide berth with my reflective vest, blinking lights, bright front light and helmet light.
  
• If I'm off the road and on the bike path (if it's plowed) then ice is the major factor and any hidden hazards (fallen branches, debris etc). The studded tires and a little slower pace seem to keep things pretty good. And watch if snow builds up around your brakes (I've got V brakes on my commuter) especially if you haven't hit the brakes in a while don't be surprised if you get virtually no response to them when you first hit them again.

Thanks Roody for throwing the focus on safety in here. Hopefully, not too many people will take issue with my suggestions. Though if anyone has any great suggestions like studded tires that I haven't yet tried I'm into it. Never too late to learn any of this stuff.

Damn, buzzman, that's fantastic advice! Thanks for taking the time and trouble. :)

Avoid smooth ice (AKA black ice) if you can, but sometimes you can't so I'll add a couple tips that have helped me when it comes to controlling a ride on ice. This is what is known as the Zen of ice biking:

1. Handling a bike on ice is almost the same as handling a car. Try to "do nothing." Maintain a straight and steady course. Try not to steer or brake. Just ride it out, and let the bike slow by itself, which can take a long time. As soon as you're going slow enough, keep in mind that you can put your foot down if you do need to stop.

2. When you're riding in ruts in ice, always look at the rut itself, not at the ice on either side of the rut. (Mountain bikers know that the bike tends to go wherever you're looking, so look only where you want to go.)

3. Similarly, if you think about falling, you will fall. So think instead about staying upright.

4. Don't overthink the ice. Your body knows ice better than your brain does. Keep a relaxed grip on the bars and try to keep your muscles loose. Let your weight shift and your hands steer without any conscious planning.

Both previous comments offer excellent advice. I'll add one more thought:

If the roads are terrible, don't feel bad about leaving the bike home for a day. Let the plows get out there and do their job and enjoy the ride the following day. I know I have the LEGAL right to be out on the road, but if there is a lot of snow and slush on the road the other vehicles on the road are going to have a hard time passing me. The more I slow down the other vehicles, the more like they are to make an un-safe pass.

Today for instance I left the bike home. There was already a few inches of snow on the road (very drivable for now), but we may get anywhere from 5" to 12" by the time I go home tonight depending on how the wind shifts around. That is just not a good day to be outside on two wheels. My car also has top quality snow tires, so I take car safety seriously as well. Once the snow stops the crews around here do an excellent job of clearing the roads. Usually within 6 to 8 hours of the snow having stopped falling, the roads are so well cleared that even the shoulders are completely clean. So far I've only had to cancle my cycling about 7 times this winter due to bad weather. That means most of the time I am still able to be out there and have a great winter ride.

Don't underestimate the usefulness of studded tires. Even in the early Fall there can be some surprise icy spots on the roads. You only need to go down hard once to realy appreciate what that extra margin of safety will get you.

Happy riding,
André

Probably the most important rule is don't use the front brake when its slippery. Use only the rear brake and test traction often to see how much you can use the rear before it locks up.

A fundamental difference between a two-wheel vehicle and a four-wheel one is that the two-wheeler uses friction to stay upright. Without enough friction, you will fall over in about as much time as it takes a bowling ball to fall off a table. I've taken a few of these falls and they tend to be very painful; in traffic they can be deadly.

Since I got studs I haven't fallen on ice, touch wood. I also find I can go up hills that cars can't make it up. Which brings up another point: in snow, even if you have studs, you also have to worry about cars losing control and hitting you. For me, this means keeping a larger than usual buffer -- keeping my distance from other vehicles, entering intersections cautiously, and riding "extra-vehicularly" to take my space on the road.

There is a lot of discussion on this topic in the commuting and winter forums.

You got that right. Sometimes on an icy patch of a neighborhood street, especially if going too fast, I have over-thought to myself "must avoid side of road", and that's just where I end up!

This winter I think I've done better at knowing when to go slow, and thinking ahead to slow down before I get to a bad spot. Sometimes if I know the neighborhood streets are bad, and I think of it, I'll take an alternate route which keeps me on the major road longer, and in traffic, but it's in better shape and gives me only a block of neighborhood street, so I think I end up saving time and aggravation anyway.

Thanks for the great tips, both of you!

+1 on the studded tires, I use Nokian W160s and they have sufficed in any situation. I'm not so sure about the rear brake only argument. I'm certainly more careful with my front brake on ice and snow, but I tend to use it, without problem so far. Perhaps that advice doesn't apply because the studded tires generally have pretty good grip? The stopping distance using rear brakes only would force me to slow down way more than I'd like to. Again, I understand where that advice comes from but I'm just not sure it's applicable 100% of the time we have snow/ice. Now, if I wasn't riding studs, well, I wouldn't be riding at all.
Great advice in this thread.

I guess the point I was trying to make is to use the rear brake only when you don't know what traction you have. Now "slippery" is just the traction that you have, on your bike at any one time. If you have studs, you will certainly have more traction than someone who doesn't, so you can certainly use the front brake in a lot of situations. But, for example, in a transition from soft snow to hardpack, the hard pack is usually slipperier, so don't use the front on the hard pack until you have tested your traction with the rear brake.

In many respects, the care you need to take when riding a bike on snow is similar to that needed for driving a car. For start-up or climbing a hill, you should do so using gear combinations that allow you to minimize torque. I am always amazed when I see "stuck" drivers switch to low gear in an attempt to free themselves in snow. Actually, just the opposite is required (all praise to the manual transmission). On a bike, if you choose to start in a short gear, do so gingerly. If you were walking, you wouldn't break into a sprint when coming upon a slick patch of road - why do so many drivers (mostly of cars) try to accelerate madly when on a slippery surface?

Once mobile, endeavor to reduce all maneuvers to a series of straight lines. You cannot, obvious to most, lean into a turn. You need to ride slowly enough to get around that turn in an upright position (and that means really slow!). Stopping is the reverse of starting, so you'll want to apply just enough breaking force to scrub speed without causing your tire to break into a skid. As suggested previously, you'll want to test frequently so that you have a good feel as to where that threshold is, and, you'll want to start breaking early enough so that a reduced threshold will allow you to stop safely without skidding and without overshooting your stopping point.

I would ride more in the snow if only it snowed more often around here. But, when it does snow, I enjoy riding. It adds another dimension to my experience.

I do take note of my distance from curbs with an eye towards keeping far enough away that, if I were to fall, I would not be in danger of banging my (helmeted) head or shoulder on the curb.

Riding downhill is probably the most treacherous. Remember, if the hill is too steep, no amount of skill will allow you to negotiate it if it is really slippery - the same is true in a car, antilock brakes or no. I've seen hills where it was so slippery that stopped cars would slide down. You won't be able to control your bike on that sort of hill, so, in that situation, it's definitely time to get off and walk, especially if there is a stop sign or cross traffic at the bottom.

A previous poster mentioned that a bike depends upon friction (or traction, I don't remember which) to remain upright. That's not technically true - it depends upon the rider's ability to keep his/her center of gravity over those two wheels. In the course of riding on a dry day, we probably lose that precise positioning several times per second. Friction (or traction) allows us to correct and regain our balance. In slippery snow or ice, even sheet ice, if you maintain your balance, keep your weight precisely centered over your tires, you will remain upright. Losing that position (even for a moment) can cause you to splat.

Because we don't get that many snowy days here, I don't use studded tires - the few inclement days we experience doesn't make it practical, so I have to be extra careful.

So far, no spills for me (knock on wood).

IMO, snow is not the gloomy specter that news media types make it out to be. They admonish us to stay home, not to venture out unless absolutely necessary, while they scamper all over town making their ghoulish reports and having a blast at the same time.

Don't believe 'em.

Caruso

I might suggest to be prepared for a flat or link breakage......
Extra link....Do not use plastic tire levers, etc......
In VT they used huge HUGE cinders in the salt that would cause the
most unusual damage and get caught in the strangest places. But, try to
keep extra warming items and a few rubber gloves for use while repairing.
A flat in the winter might add 1/2 an hour to your ride so its important
you are prepared to stay warm enuff, especially fingers !
The worst scares I ever had in VT was unexpected temp drops or time on
the road due to weather and not being able to feel hands or toes with
4 miles left to go :eek:

good point. I always carry those little packaged hand warmer/foot warmer things. I've only had to use them once over the years but it was worth it to have had them all those years and never used it til that time.

Watch out in parking lots and crossing sidewalks. Ice does not melt off these areas as well as well travelled roads do.

Standing water on your usual route may indicate a new pothole developed. I've seen 8" deep and a foot across potholes show up with the space of a weekend.

Car drivers do not see the road lanes and edges as well as we do when snow covered. Following what you plainly see as the road edge may have you in the middle of the travelled "lane" on curves as cars cut corners and drive across shoulders. Your travelled "lane" may quickly change from smooth tarmac to gravel, debris, road edges, dropoffs and potholes.

Unless you have studs as soon as both tires are on black ice you have zero friction and traction. Packed polished snow at back street stop signs can freeze up icy and send you to the ground. Trust me.

Sometimes fresh powder is better to ride on than driven on snow that packs and the shears as you ride across it.

Mostly concur here. I decide front and/or rear brakes usage conditions allow, of course, so I think there is merit in both sides of that discussion.

I'd install the most aggressively studded tires you can stand to ride on.

Of course, practice riding in snow in a low-traffic environment can't hurt.

Stay out of the way of snow plows! :D

If I noticed a snow plow coming up behind me I would pull over to the other side of the road and wait for it to pass. Travel is much easier behind the plow. Watch out for ise at traffic lights as braking and accelerating cars seem to pack and polish the snow. With new snowfalls I found it easier to ride in the virgin snow on the sidewalks than try to negotiate the ruts made by the cars. For a period I used a cheap folder 3 sp for the winter and I found the short wheelbase made handling a lot easier on ice and in the ruts.

Speaking of potholes, keep in mind that potholes that would barely bother cars can easily cause a crash. I learned this the hard way the other night, when I tried to slow (grabbed the front brake - a no-no) for a pothole that I saw at the last second. They are more numerous near spring.

Risking turning this into a lighting thread, I wonder would I have been able to avoid crashing had I been able to see the pothole a couple of seconds sooner. My light puts out a decent 80-100 lumens or so. Could this crash be a lesson to upgrade lighting when riding in the snow after dark? How many lumens is realistically enough to be able to see substantial potholes enough in advance?

Great advice, everyone!

I got a back flat from a pothole a few weeks ago. I was in heavy traffic at the time and it was twilight, which were two reasons I didn't see it in time to avoid it. :mad:

There's one downhill spot on my route where twice now I've slid into the snowbank at the side because I was starting to go too fast and it seemed like the least bad option. Often traffic is passing me at the time, and at the bottom is a narrow bridge over a creek.

Anyone else use internal hub gears in the winter? (Those of you who have gears at all.) I got a Giant Cypress EX with the 7-speed Shimano. I really like not worrying about downshifting while I'm braking, especially on these winter roads.

Watch out for drivers with fogged windows! - Use extra blinkies / side lighting.

Don't hop up or down a curb onto ice! (Took a nasty fall last winter doing this after a few beers).

Don't let yourself get too warm/wet with sweat. You will freeze/cool down really fast if you fall/get hurt/change a flat/etc.

Don't forget to hydrate.

Make sure your rims aren't covered in ice before you take off down a hill!

There is no shame in hitting the snowbank if your brakes are frozen.

I can't believe how many great tips you all came up with! I wish I could have read this thread a few years ago when I first started winter biking!

:)

I am constantly amazed at how little I need to wear to be comfortable on a bike in the winter. I have a Foxwear Evap coat that appears to be pretty thin, but it and a T shirt is all I need to be comfy. Any more layers and I am just sweating like crazy. Over dressing is easy to do and not very helpful!

Just because it is 2F outside doesn't mean your body isn't sweating. My ride is only about 20 to 30 minutes so I drink liquids before I leave the house and then rehydrate when I get to my office. I will easily down a 24 oz bottle of water in the next half hour. I've read in various places that guzzling down the liquids isn't very healthy so I just take a few large swigs every few minutes... don't know if it realy matters, but this works well. I'll drink an other 24 oz bottle of watter by lunch time, and usually finish an other 24 oz bottle by the time I go home. I've had kidney stones in the past so I make sure I stay very well hydrated.

Happy riding,
André