I use 35s (going down to 32s) on my 6mi each way commute. I'm also rocking Schwalbe Marathon Plus which apparently are virtually impervious to flats. I couldn't find them in 35, hence the downsizing. I don't see why you wouldn't go with something durable.

I check my pressures at least sunday night but also always test by hand before I ride, assuming I don't top em off midweek.

Upper 30's this morning, not too bad. Went to the gym and the ATM before work.

Last Friday a co-worker stopped me to tell me how impressed she was with my dedication to biking to work, especially as it has gotten colder. I told her we have one car and if I didn't ride in, I would have to wake my wife to go with me and bring the car back.

A very nice commute this morning with the full moon between the clouds and chilly temps at 33 f degrees. I did not wear warm enough gloves so I had to stop at a store to warm up my hands midway through the ride.

Hovering around 0C/32F this morning and going up to 3C/39F this afternoon with rain.

<rant>Pissed off with the radio announcers this morning, today's offense being the worst that I can recall. There are two hosts from 6 to 9. At about 6:35, Gary announced that there is an Environment Canada weather warning, up to 60mm/2.4" of rain expected today and then, likely less than 1 minute later, Shannon announced that the weather forecast for today is 10mm/0.4" of rain expected with another 20mm/0.8" this evening. They've done this before, such as saying it is 2C/36F before the news and then 6C/43F after the news. Maybe these temperatures don't really make much of a difference in how I dress for cycling but it just shouldn't be happening and it is really annoying. </rant>

Windy but warm.. would rather have 20 less degrees and less wind. That should change tomorrow, back down in the 30's and colder throughout the week!

We're expecting a front to move in today. Before I went to bed last night I checked the weather forecast and was pleased to see it said I would have a tail wind for the ride to work, and then after the front moves in I would have a tail wind for the ride home. That's as rare as a Yeti sighting.

This morning after I got up, I was annoyed to discover the front is moving in early and that the wind had already shifted. However, it was projected to only be 2 mph during my commute so although it was a head wind, it wouldn't be too bad.

Nope. By the time I got on my bike the front was arriving. 20 mph headwind that grew stronger as I got closer to work. In addition, there was a light drizzle that wasn't at all in the forecast.

They're predicting 40-50 mph winds and snow starting about 11 AM and lasting through the evening. Most of it is supposed to hit northwest of the city, but we're supposed to get about 2".

However, with as accurate as they've been so far today with the wind and precipitation I wouldn't be at all surprised if the system shifts south and we get the full brunt of the storm. Should be an interesting ride home. First snowy commute of the season.

Super-windy commute here this morning at 5:30. I was wishing I had dug out my clear safety glasses--there were definitely times I had grit in my eyes.

And I keep passing one jogger in the mornings without any lights or reflective items on the MUP, which is frustrating. I point my headlight down as soon as I realize there's a person in the vicinity, but if she had lights or at least reflective stuff, I'd be able to identify her as a person much sooner. I have taken to saying, "You need a light!" as I pass.

warm and windy in the windy city today as well.

it was 57 degrees on my ride in this morning (kooky warm for an early december morning in chicago) with an absolutely ripping 25 mph south wind, gusting to 35 mph pushing me along.

but that's it, after today real winter starts. highs for the rest of the week are forecast in the 30s, with highs next week only in the 20s. so today was likely my last warm morning bike commute for a good long while.

Hard to believe it was 57 in Chicago, it was only 45F here this morning! Wind picked up last night, blowing moist air in from the Gulf so we'll have something to storm with tonight. Even so the headwind wasn't too bad.


But, oh, my lawn! Spent most of the weekend cleaning it up, and then this wind blew down all the maple leaves that were left, and looks like the pecan leaves are falling in earnest. Aargh!

Sacramento was a cool 44° with a gusty wind out of the NNW. Weather nerds forecast the first freeze tonight. Overall, a nice ride. I'm looking forward to that evening headwind.

Back at it after a week off. I've said this before but worth repeating - NY city commuters are rock stars (or nuts)! 43F this morning with near 60 predicted this afternoon, rain and possible thunderstorms. Thunderstorms in November... and snow later this week. Gotta love the Fall?!

32F, foggy

Got my first flat last Friday, ruined two more tubes trying to "fix" it this past weekend, LOL. Turns out there was a microscopic sliver of wire that had embedded itself inside the tread of the tire. I couldn't even see it until I pinched the puncture open. I used a fingernail clipper to remove it. It was exactly like removing a splinter from my finger.

Installed my first foot retention, cheapo clips and straps. Got a frame pump with a gauge. Either my tires were also way underinflated or the new gauge reads 20psi low, either way they're aired up to 90/100 psi according to the frame pump gauge. It took approximately 9 million pumps per tire to get them up to pressure, likely expending far more energy just pumping than I probably will save from having them at the "correct" pressure. At least when I hit a bump now, I can hear all the metal bits on my bike rattling. I didn't get any rattles before. I like that the skinny high pressure tires make me want to check all my nuts and bolts more often. When I hit a REAL big bump, even the kickstand joins in the fun!

At any rate, the combination of higher pressures, toe clips, temperature (around 40F on the way in) and tailwind made for a pretty fast and pleasant ride to work this morning.

I'm seriously on the fence though now about running 25s on my commute. Now that I have them inflated "properly", the ride is pretty harsh. I'd hate to think what it would feel like on 23s on an aluminum bike. I am thinking a 32 in the rear and 28 in the front might soften things up a little.

Although we're quite a bit further north so snow isn't so surprising, we too are forecast to have thunderstorms tonight (with rain).

This might help with tire pressures.

https://encrypted.google.com/search?...V3XNwExjl-QBM:

Thank you. That's actually the chart I used to set my pressures at 90 front, 100 rear. 180 lb rider, 30 lb bike, 20 lb backpack = ~100kg. I think I was reading it right ;-)

I wish there was some way to know how other widths would feel without having to buy/try them! There may be some way to extrapolate how an under-inflated 25mm tire compares to a correctly inflated 28 or 32, but my chart reading skills are not that sharp.

Maybe my engine/bike/luggage combo is also a little heavy for 25s?

Must be that non existent climate change stuff!

Get the widest tires that fit. You won't regret it. You can use a surprisingly low pressure without giving up performance or protection from pinch flats.

And get a floor pump as soon as you can. You won't regret that. It could last a lifetime, and inflating a tire to full pressure is easy.

Wrong, there is climate change!!! The green men from Mars told me when they abducted me. :lol:

Yup, your math is correct.

I think that, unless you use the same 28 and 32 tire as the 25, because of structural differences between different models and brands of tires, it would be impossible to determine without trying them yourselves. I know my Marathon Supreme (https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_t...rathon_supreme) is very cushy.

I think that your combined weight should be fine for 25s but maybe not the thin racer tires, they might not fair as well as more robust tires.

So, I started out this morning, got 50m/yd when I realized I had forgotten my coffee so I turned around and got it. Started out again, then realized I had forgotten my safety glasses but decided I wouldn't need them. About 1km/0.6mi into the ride, I got grit in one eye and regretted not going back for the glasses. The grit was cleared out quickly and no issues during the rest of the ride. When I unpacked my backpack at work, my glasses were packed in the outer pocket!!! :lol:

Beautiful, mild morning, 8C/46F but a strong wind from the SW which was a headwind for 2/3 of the commute. I didn't wear anything under my helmet, lightweight gloves and my jacket was half open The temperature is forecast to drop to slightly below freezing by the afternoon with 2-4cm/0.8-1.6" of snow tonight. I brought a bit of extra stuff for the cooler temperatures going home.

Here's two photos I took on the way today, both handheld (but I leaned the phone against a pole for stability). I'm quite happy with them.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Lg...=w1680-h945-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/WA...=w1680-h945-no

Don't worry about blinding the runner. They're okay with it and used to it from cars anyway. I run without any lights or reflective items in the early mornings. I listen and watch for cars and move out of the way assuming they can't see me at all. However, on a MUP it is usually darker and I'll take a headlamp so I don't hit a stick or step in dog poop or something.

All these windy and cold commutes make me feel lucky. Almost 50F this morning and I only wore shorts. Gonna still be warm today, but I guess everyone's weather is coming my way tonight and tomorrow.

Today was the kind of day where I really second-guess as to why I commute during the winter.

Yesterday we got about 2" of snow. When it started coming down, the temps were in the 40s. By this morning the temp was 19F. The wind howled all night, topping 50 mph, but by this morning had calmed to about 20 mph.

I rode my winter bike on it's inaugural ride of the season. I put brand new studded tires on about a month ago after I had worn out my previous pair.

The warm ground temps, combined with the cold air temps, combined with the snow made for a layer of very lumpy ice with a crunchy layer of snow on top that was firm to the touch but cracked once weight was placed on it. It felt like riding across a layer of peanut brittle. It wasn't like a finer snow that would easily give way as I plowed through it. This had just enough girth to make my wheels climb over the top of it, but then immediately collapse under the weight of me and the bicycle. It was a tremendous amount of resistance. As I went under bridges I would have a dozen yards or so of clear pavement that reminded me how much this little bit of accumulation was slowing me down.

Originally I was scheduled to ride 8 miles to our office this morning for a meeting, then 9 miles across town to a client's office to finish the day when I would then ride 4 miles home. It didn't take long for me to realize that I didn't have the stamina to go that far on the unplowed roads and MUP, plus the headwind. It wasn't critical that I attend the meeting, so I bailed on it and decided to ride the direct 4 miles to the client location.

Usually on nice days this 4 mile route takes me 15-20 minutes. Today it took me 45. I averaged about 6 mph, and it was everything I had to maintain that pathetic amount of speed. I arrived completely drenched in sweat and am still sucking wind trying to catch my breath as I type this. I am really hoping they have everything plowed by the time I have to ride home this evening.

Now that I'm here my commuting streak remains intact and climbs to 421 days. And I'll probably forget how miserable I was this morning and do it again tomorrow.

Yesterday was probably the last warm day we'll have for awhile. It was 51 for the ride in, and it topped out at 71 in the afternoon, and I had a nice tail wind going home. Temperature today is dropping all day, into the 30's by this evening, and we had heavy rains, plus I have some lunch errands to run so I drove the car.

I'm still breaking records with my lack of car driving. After 4 weeks since my last fill-up and I still have just under half a tank left. YTD miles cycling exceed YTD car miles by nearly 500 at this point.

Was a nice morning and 53F. Barely perceptable rain on the way in. Unfortnately, I fell in Central Park going down the hill (Harlem Meer) before the turnoff onto the side road. My front wheel was on the white paint and the very light rain made it a bit slick. Front wheel slid over and that was it. I fell on my left leg so it looks a bit ugly. But got two scrapes on my right arm as well. The bike seemed ok. So hope there's no other issue with it. A runner mentiond to watch out for the white paint but was a bit late on that. :rolleyes: I've seen others fall on wet white paint so I think I'm in good company. Nothing broken as far as I can tell. So knock on wood! I will need to replace my baselayer, gloves, and knee covers, though. Ripped a good hole into all of them...