Studded tires for sure. Last year I picked up a ski helmet and goggles, that helped make life easier for sure. This year I'll probably try somekind of hiking shoe until the snow gets heavy enough to warrant my old USAF boots.

Ski helmet and goggles? How cold are the temps you ride in? I just use balaklava, winter cap and maybe glasses when its below freezing (20-29F). If you ride in colder temps, then :thumb: for you.

Taking a trip with the bike to Arizona this winter.

Must. Happen.

Ski helmet and ski goggles come out when it’s <10* or below 0. I ride year-round in Chicago and will do so into the negative teens before calling it quits.

I'll probably never use them as every day winter tires here in Portland (unless we have more and bigger climate changes coming). They are a lot slower rolling than my regular winter ride, Paselas. And given their expense, that's a lot of money to throw away building bigger quads. I'll keep mine mounted on spare wheels for the winter and just throw them on when needed. But they do feel like a tire with a very wide range of ridability. Caution required on ice, but that caution is rewarded with the "rubber down" scenario so valued by the motorcycle crowd. They may hit their limit in deep snow faster than the best but that will be for width and drag reasons and just plain being too hard to move that much snow, not safety. (I loved riding diamond point cyclocross tires in my MA and MI winter days; grippy, not very wide and perfect for cutting through fresh snow. Those rides were ear-to-ear grin blasts.)

Edit: and to your question - yes, they are very, very grippy, much more so than any regular tire and significantly more than the diamond point X-cross tires I loved so much. Only tire I have ever used that came close were the green Vittoria cyclecross tires about 15 years ago. I used to joke that I feared when I rode dry roads I would get junks of pavement stuck in my fenders and sought out wet, puddles, sand, leaves, off-pavement, anything to reduce rolling resistance. My Continental ice tires haven't seen dry yet.

Ben

Ah you're in Chicago. I rarely see 0F in the NYC area here. Actually, it never got that cold last winter if I recall. Chapeau to you for sticking it out. I probably would switch to cross country skiing if there's snow. But I can see that skiing would be more difficult than cycling in the city. :) I used to live in Glens Falls as a kid. When we had snow on the ground, I could step right out my back door onto the skiis and use the cornfields that surrounded us.

I don't plan to do anything different, for the simple reason that I don't plan. I will get up every day and get on my bike and ride... and if I learn a lesson, I will try like heck to remember it the next morning. Winter will come, winter will go, and I'll be happy to see Spring again.

Not sure if it would be any different if colder, but I tried ski goggles in the 20's F and just couldn't keep them from fogging up. Now I usually just go without any glasses when it's that cold. I just cover up most of my face and leave my eyes exposed.

No, the protocol is to throw away the right glove, and drop the left glove randomly during a ride. :lol:

You have to get those vented/double paned goggles. I look like a spaceman when I go out but I can stay relatively comfortable on my bike at anytime through the winter. I’ll keep doing this until my chauffeur gets his car out of the shop.

might splurge for a new rain jacket. current one is an LL Bean from 2009 at the Freeport outlet.

Discovery Rain Jacket - LL Bean Intl

the inner parts are crumbling and sticking to bald head.

If you have Google Fit on your phone, it has an interesting feature that shows how much you ride each day. Looking back at last winter in NYC, I was biking through most of February and March. I don't ride in the snow, so this jibes with my memory that we didn't have much of a winter last year.

This year, I'm going to continue to layer more knits instead of a big jacket. Wearing a sweater with a big hoodie over it was all I needed most of last year with all of my extremities covered. I am totally the guy dropping gloves on the greenway! So, getting a new pair is in order. I've also heavily hinted to my girlfriend that I would like one of those cool, retro wool cycling caps with the earflaps.

They are awesome, aren't they!? My birthday present this year was a table to enter all required measurements for knitted pogies into :love:

I can't go out in sub 20 weather without goggles...eyes tear up bad enough I can't see a thing. That said I've only gone out down to about 8-9F. Sub 20 degrees I can't keep my feet warm....that's the limiting factor for me. Feet are fine until about 30 minutes in...then they just get colder and more painful for the last 30 lol. I've tried double wool socks and 1000gram thinsulate boots. i suppose I could get those chemical heating packets for each trip.

I do have to solve the hands and feet problems better this year. I'm out there for an hour at a time, and I often have strong winds. The ski helmet is my solution to the head and face problem.

I have a motorcycle helmet I'm sincerely contemplating :)

I only have pushed it down to 18F or so. Below that, I'll wuss out and take the train and subway. For my feet, I usually wear two wool socks, shoes and shoe covers. It will get me by but my feet can and wiil get cold later on like you...

Edit: I started using a pair of Sidi winter shoes that I bought used from a friend a while ago last winter. They are not bad. But could try them with the shoe covers when its gets really cold next tme. Only minor complaint is that the top velcro strap on one shoe is a little weak and can come loose sometimes.

http://www.wigglestatic.com/product-...=430&h=430&a=7

[MENTION=112221]Abe Froman[/MENTION], it's worth trying, but it might be too heavy.

Haha oh it's definitely too heavy. It's a size too small too lol. But, I'd only attempt it on days where it's around 10 degrees, and I know I'll have major issues with fogging, etc. The one I have is a 3/4 helmet that looks like this...visor flips up, open on the bottom.

https://www.cyclegear.com/_a/product...ck_300x300.jpg

+1

Same here. Although I have a bad habit of not wearing eye protection on the non-winter days. I usually have cheap yellow glasses in the backpack. I'm usually too lazy to take them out and wear them. :innocent:

re: eye protection, by the end of last winter, this was my go-to choice. cheap, clear, safety glasses & elastic strap & tiny zip ties to keep it attached where I wanted them

I tried that too. The problem I had, was when it was cold enough that I felt I had to have my eyes covered, I ALSO felt it was cold enough I couldn't leave my nose hanging out in the wind, so I had a full balaclava on. much harder to make glasses work with that...

yeah, it's a spectrum. there's certainly a threshold where I can't have any exposed skin & I like to cover the bridge of my nose

https://i.imgur.com/lWNX5SIl.jpg

The previous two winters I have dialed in my winter gear outerwear setup:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4474/...c522411b_o.jpg

After riding with a ski helmet for some years, last fall I bought a Bolle "The One" bike helmet with snap-in vent closure panels and winter-weight liner with ear flaps that replaces the summer-weight liner. Ski goggles are also mandatory for me below 15F. In the worst conditions I add a Seirus balaclava

On the hands I've been using Kinco winter work gloves down to 15F, and switch to Hestra lobster mitts from 15F and below. The trigger finger on these mittens is very helpful.

Above 20F I ride mountain bike shoes with an aerogel footbed to thermally isolate the clips. Below 20F I ride with Lake winter boots, which get the job done for my one hour commute down to -10F.

[MENTION=389176]Archwhorides[/MENTION], very useful stuff. Thank you.

You Winter folk are crazy!. I grew up back/up there. When there is Winter, bikes belong in the garage until the streets are only wet (and the day after the first spring ride made it hard to sit down).

This "winter" I will add some intervals on my Tuesday and Thursday commutes so that I get dropped less often on the weekends. I haven't worn gloves since last winter and will need a new pair of fingered gloves this year. (or I will make do with what I used for cross country skiing when I lived where there was winter -- wool mittens and a leather mitten over them. And...since I have access to the car 7 days a week this year, I think I'll leave the fenders off and not ride in the rain. We'll see how it goes. It it rains a couple days in a row, I'll put the fenders on one of the bikes.

Interesting helmet choice there, Was looking at the review of it here:

Review: Bolle The One Road Premium | road.cc

and read that the panels on the top clip on/off, correct? I wouldn't care about the "aeroness" of the helmet that the article seems to be so focused on. I agree with [MENTION=152773]noglider[/MENTION] in that you gave a nice winter clothing list. Your Lake winter shoes look warmer than my Sidi winter shoes.

I commute from Lincoln square, Chicago down to the Qest Loop. Last year I used a Cannondale ST600 with 32mm Kwests. For rain it was fine, and it really didn't snow (I moved to Chi in February). Since then, I've built a drop bar Marin Bear Valley. I'm planning on fenders and studs on the mountain bike do a dedicated ice an snow bike, might make it a fixed. This will be a shared foul weather bike for my fiancé, there is enough seat tube that we can lower the seat to fit her 5'4" hight.
Then when she needs it I can be back on the Cannondale.
The clothing I have sorted, ski goggles, winter motorcycle gloves, usually I over dress if anything.

New job new commute challenges
 

I started a new position in a new building with same company Monday so new to me bike commuting hasn’t happened yet. I hope to get my lock, shower access and system thought through so I can start riding again soon. I have missed a week of beautiful weather. Although my legs feel fresh and I am ready to ride again.

Studded mt bike tires work well for mixed terrain, with a front sus. However, riding them on just wet pavement is sub optimal.