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Wrong bike this morning
I installed studded tires on my CX bike yesterday afternoon. Forecast said there'd be a few flurries overnight, but no accumulation. Great, I thought, I can put off riding this bike. I'd made up my mind to take my other commuter with the slick 25mm tires, just because I hate riding the spikes.
My own neighbourhood was fine. About a mile out I noticed a dusting of snow pellets on the road. After another mile these snow pellets had be rolled over by cars and had made the road very slick. I pulled off the road, turned 180 and rode the sidewalk until I got back into my own neighbourhood. I took the car. It was too late for me to switch bikes. Lesson learned: When it doubt, use the spikes. It's not worth taking the risk. So my question to those who have a spike and non-spike option: How/When do you decide which one to take under marginal conditions like this morning? |
Originally Posted by mcours2006
(Post 18339136)
So my question to those who have a spike and non-spike option: How/When do you decide which one to take under marginal conditions like this morning?
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My winter bike has studded front tyre, while the rear one is with just small knobs (Continental Race King). The front tyre is Schwalbe Marathon Winter. It rolls very fast even with studs. If inflated to a higher pressure, studs almost make no contact with the ground.
So my solution is simple - ride the winter bike with tyres inflated to a higher pressure. In case of more snow/ice, I just stop for a minute and deflate tyres a bit. But I rarely risk riding the "summer" bike if there's even a slight chance of snow. |
i chose the right bike this morning: my dedicated winter beast with schwalbe marathon winters.
it was 27 degrees when i left, and we got a whole bunch of slush/snow on saturday that then froze into solid ice during yesterday's subsequent deep freeze. knowing that temps stayed below zero all night and were still below zero when i left, the decision was a pretty easy one for me. riding my winter beast with its studded tires maybe adds ~5 minutes to my 5 mile commute. that's a small price to pay for rolling over black ice/snow pack/frozen slush with confidence. the first ride of the season on my winter beast is always kinda fun, but yeah, in a couple of weeks, i'll be whining about the damn studs too. |
Wrong bike this morning
Originally Posted by mcours2006
(Post 18339136)
...Lesson learned: When it doubt, use the spikes. It's not worth taking the risk.
So my question to those who have a spike and non-spike option: How/When do you decide which one to take under marginal conditions like this morning?
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 18339235)
…In 2013 was the first winter with the CF bike, and over the past two winters, that bike essentially is not ridden from January through March, and I ride the heavy-duty beater bike with studded tires. Last year, I thought about a second lesser quality road bike to ride on dry, but salted roads. My wife nixed the idea of three bikes in the condo...
This weekend, I was in bike shop to get some minor work done and I started to look at second tier road bikes. My trusted mechanic suggested an aluminum BMC costing about $1500, with upgraded components and 25 C tires. That would then become a year-round beater/rain bike, and the mountain bike would become the most severe winter ride. I think if I promised to store the carbon fiber bike away during the winter, and mountain bike during the nice weather, my wife might allow that. This morning though as I rode the CF at 39°F, I could be confident that the sheen on the road was wet, and not black ice. I was reminded about the post by [mention=55787] tsl[/mention] Rochester New York, which convinced me to get studded tires in the first place,
Originally Posted by tsl
(Post 8128194)
I dunno, maybe it's my age showing. Here in Rochester, at least along my commute, there's always ice that miraculously didn't get salted away.
I figure gunk washes off quickly and easily. Broken bones would keep me off the bike for weeks while they mend. |
Originally Posted by Steely Dan
(Post 18339357)
i chose the right bike this morning: my dedicated winter beast with schwalbe marathon winters.
it was 27 degrees when i left, and we got a whole bunch of slush/snow on saturday that then froze into solid ice during yesterday's subsequent deep freeze. knowing that temps stayed below zero all night and were still below zero when i left, the decision was a pretty easy one for me. riding my winter beast with its studded tires maybe adds ~5 minutes to my 5 mile commute. that's a small price to pay for rolling over black ice/snow pack/frozen slush with confidence. the first ride of the season on my winter beast is always kinda fun, but yeah, in a couple of weeks, i'll be whining about the damn studs too. I keep them on all winter long, as I have done for at least six winters, with no significant loss of studs, even though mostly ridden on wet or dry bare pavement. |
We had snow pellets on the road this morning too but it sounds like it might have been worse for you. I tend to put off using the studs until the first significant snow or freezing rain. Studs really only help on ice or hardpack anyway. They need something to bite into which there wasn't today. It's rare that I use them before December but it happens.
Once I switch to the winter bike I won't ride anything else until March. Even if the roads are dry, there is usually a salt residue and I'd prefer not to expose more than one bike to that. I thought I had washed and rinsed everything pretty thoroughly off my winter bike in the spring, but I pulled apart my rear disc brake caliper last night and clearly I need to do a better job. That stuff gets everywhere and wreaks havoc. |
Originally Posted by mcours2006
(Post 18339136)
So my question to those who have a spike and non-spike option: How/When do you decide which one to take under marginal conditions like this morning?
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Rode my winter bike with studded tires for the first time this morning. Added at least 10 minutes to my 8 mile commute. Also added at least 40 bpm to my average heart rate just to maintain that slower pace. My winter bike is an old heavy mountain bike, and I usually commute on a hybrid or a road bike so some of the loss of speed is due to a slower bike in general. But the studs definitely add resistance.
I have a love/hate relationship with my studs. I love the increased security of riding on ice. I hate the increased rolling resistance, especially on those days when 90% of the pavement is clear and you're only riding the studs because of the 10%. |
When to take the bike with studs? Snow or ice present anywhere. Usually from mid December to March something, everyday. Did a full on left body slam in March last year. On the only icy corner in 18 miles. Got the wind knocked out of me. Helmet worked fine. Bruised ego as well. Light rain over wet ice, not good.
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I thought I made the right call this morning, because I did look at the road in front of my house. It was completely dry and clear. But the problem is that over the course of the 20-km route you don't know what you have until you get there. That's the risk you take. I'm just thankful that I didn't go too far before realizing that it was too risky. What if I was at the halfway point? Or the weather turned while I was at work?
The forecast for the rest of this week looks fine for no studs, but after this it might be time that shelf that bike,..probably for the rest of this winter. Sigh.:( |
great post.
we (hubs and i) have studded wheels and plan to switch out wheels when there is snow in the forecast. thanks for asking this. |
I have 2 dedicated winter bikes with studded tires on them all the time.
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Originally Posted by Leebo
(Post 18339726)
I have 2 dedicated winter bikes with studded tires on them all the time.
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Thank God for studded tires. I put them on yesterday and I am glad I did, today my commute was like 60% on icy roads
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Any time it's been below freezing the night before or the forecast shows it's going that low I ride the studded tires. It's mostly for the black ice in the low areas and places in the shade.
I learned that lesson the hard way on my very first winter-weather test ride before I started commuting by bike (before I had the studded winter tires). The bike hit black ice on a cul-de-sac and I came to in the middle of the street with a concussion. |
Originally Posted by Tundra_Man
(Post 18339568)
I have a love/hate relationship with my studs. I love the increased security of riding on ice. I hate the increased rolling resistance, especially on those days when 90% of the pavement is clear and you're only riding the studs because of the 10%.
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Originally Posted by mcours2006
(Post 18339753)
Well that's like asking which of the ugly step sisters you'd rather sleep with.;)
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Originally Posted by Leebo
(Post 18339973)
...The rockhopper has 26 x 1.95 tires and a front sus. fork, helpful for front tire tracking on the rutted and icy paths.
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Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 18339994)
Is suspension helpful on rutted roads? Since I ride paved roads, my mountain bike suspension is always locked.
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Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 18339994)
Is suspension helpful on rutted roads? Since I ride paved roads, my mountain bike suspension is always locked.
This was interesting, because I have been giving serious consideration to replacing the suspension fork on my MTB with a rigid one. But actually I do think having the suspension helped a bit. So now I'm reconsidering it, which feels really odd because up until today I've never really been a fan of suspension. |
Last winter we had a surprise cold front - surprised by time, not by existence. 1-2 inches was consequent of the ensuing storm; the wife had our little son and a poor handling ford ranger so I opted to ride home on my semi slicks (conti top contacts...awesome tires). The powder was mostly fresh and had fallen so quickly and unexpectedly that nothing was plowed. Took some steep hills with mini v brakes modulated by cross levers on 25c tires...that was fun! The only slippage had was trying to accelerate from a stop in low gear. The worst part was the winds - it was damn cold and I had to pedal so slow for the sake of traction that I never built up adequate body heat. I was nearly convulsing with chills by the time I got home, and the fingertip warmup was the most painful sensation I have ever experienced.
I've got studded rubber (as well as conti top contact winters) hanging in the garage this year! We're still hitting erratic highs during the week (nearly 60f today after 20f and snow yesterday) so I'll keep the slicks on for now. |
This is my first winter with studded snow tires (SUOMI W106 A 47-559 (26x1.9)) Had to miss the first heavy snow ride. Rode the next daybut chickened out on glare ice...I don't think these are the tires for that. I used to ride knobby off road tires on this bike before I wised-up for commuting. I used to ride in the snow on the knobbies. These definitely felt better on the snow and non-glare ice than my road tires and from what I remember of the knobbies. Added about 7 minutes to my 9 mile ride, but felt slower and less secure on the dry than the road tires. Can't wait for more snow!
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Originally Posted by BobbyG
(Post 18340292)
This is my first winter with studded snow tires (SUOMI W106 A 47-559 (26x1.9)) Had to miss the first heavy snow ride. Rode the next daybut chickened out on glare ice...I don't think these are the tires for that. I used to ride knobby off road tires on this bike before I wised-up for commuting. I used to ride in the snow on the knobbies. These definitely felt better on the snow and non-glare ice than my road tires and from what I remember of the knobbies. Added about 7 minutes to my 9 mile ride, but felt slower and less secure on the dry than the road tires. Can't wait for more snow!
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I've been fine with the same tires ^^ on Ice I could not walk on, but was fine riding my bike ..
I built wheels with wider rims * so the profile of the tire is more D shaped than Round cross section. * Fairbanks AK All Weather Sports , Snow Cat .. 45mm wide.. wheels Built in 1990.. It's not a regular season , but a weather occasion , but it does Snow at sea level out here, and the roads Ice up. |
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