Riding on ice/Winter riding
 

After searching the forum, I did not find a satisfactory answer to my question.

Now that winter is upon us, does anyone have useful advice about riding in dangerous conditions such as ice/snow? My solution is not to do it, but if anyone can recommend a product or solution for wintery conditions, I'm all ears. I'm less worried about control of my ride and more about four-wheeled traffic...

winter forum is full of this type of info.

ice/snow = studded tires and go slower if you need to.

There is nothing you can do about cagers except to make sure you are visible. Otherwise if it's icy and it's not affect your control, remeber its probably affecting at least some of the cars on the road, once again all you can do is be more careful

Thanks - didn't see that forum. DOH :eek:

There's also www.icebike.com that you can check out. :)

I ride more slowly and swap tires to meet conditions. I rotate between Knobbies, studded, and inverted tread. There are cornering techniques to be aware of. Keep that weight over the front wheel and your body AND bike vertical or you may be sorry. Winter is not the time to be making fast sweeping lane crosses in front of oncoming traffic.

The only things I think are mandatory are:
1) clothes (probably less than you think; overdressing is common)
2) lighting
3) studded tires.

Many people will say studs are overkill, but I wouldn't ride without them. They're your best bet on ice. If you spend a bit extra and buy quality, carbide studs (Nokians from Peter White Cycles or wherever you find them) they will last several years. Mine will be starting their 4th year in a few days when I'm finally forced to mount them. I leave them on all winter despite that 95% of the miles in the winter are on bare pavement. Ice and slippery, packed snow occurs on almost every ride for me.

Honestly, I have ridden my 11 miles to work on days when I would NOT have driven. It was really almost too slippery to walk, but I had no problems riding it with the studded tires.

Have a lot of lighting. A LOT of lighting. At least two rear-facing, bright lights; one can fail at any time due to dead batteries, shock damage, or just plain old falling off. Supplement with reflective stuff; a cheap reflective vest for < $10 from harbor freight will be VERY noticable on the roads. I also use a 1.5" x 4" DOT truck reflector in the back of my bike. Some reflective leg bands on your pants just above your ankles will attract attention and keep the pants out of the chain too.

Nokian Mount and Ground studded tires on 26" wheels is my winter solution. The bike handles pretty much like normal. I have gone down on packed snow without the studs and I won't ride without them now.

Be cautious of manhole covers though. I hear they can be slick on studs. I also know they are slick when wet so I avoid them in general anyway but it's worth remembering.

+1 on the manhole covers, although if you make an effort you can scratch them with carbide studs. I'd say the best thing you can do is make yourself super visible [blinkies galore], dress appropriately for your local weather conditions and use studded tires if required. Studs aren't magic, but the traction on any iced-up surface is remarkable. I rode with studs front and rear for the last couple of years and the bike rode almost as if it were totally dry out. The big negative is the weight, but that just means stronger legs in the long run.

How about this one? I remember hearing good stuff about it.

I personally think studded tires are overrated. I have a pair of nokians, and have only used them once. If you just have snow, then off-road knobbies are all you're going to need. Unless you you have glare ice, studs are generally un-necessary. I used them one day as a messenger in Milwaukee (4.5 years) and man I was worn out after that. The studs and extra rubber required to support them add a lot of extra weight. But all in all, they're nice to have around, just in case you get that BEAUTIFUL ice storm where everything is magically coated in ice and nobody in a car can go anywhere. But then, if you're commuting to work, your office is probably closed due to the ice storm, so you can spend the day riding around on your fancy knobies. They work great though, I spend most of that one day I used them just TRYING to make them brake loose, they would not.

I like thin knobbies for snow riding, so that the tire cuts down through the snow to grip the packed stuff underneath.

Just slow down before your turn. This allows you to NOT lean as much as you would normally during the turn. The more upright position keeps weight over the wheels so they won't slip out from underneath you.

good luck

I rode a couple of Toronto winters on 1" slicks, and while I wouldn't recommend it (and my distances were quite short), it is entirely possible. +1 to the not leaning in turns -- I had several falls when I turned too aggressively. I've never used studded tires before, but I would use them if I were in a wintry climate again. Even if the roads are mostly clear, black ice can be a killer.

In terms of clothing, you will come to develop your own system fairly quickly: I had clothing calibrated to 5 degree (celsius) steps in temperature below zero, and very rarely felt cold. Oh, and I wasn't wearing cycling-specific winter clothing. This worked for me down to temperatures (without windchill) of about -20C / -4F.

They're carbide studs, they should be fine.

I ride on glare ice or hard-packed snow (essentially ice) on hills over gravel roads. Every day. I tried it once without the studs, and I had to walk up every hill. Also I had to take every corner very carefully, essentially not leaning at all.

Sure, there are big stretches of my ride that are over pavement, and if I rode them in the daylight were I could see the ice patches reliably and early, I could avoid them. But I'm riding in the dark, fresh ice patches can form overnight, I can't see them reliably even with an HID headlight, and 40% of my ride is over gravel which is compacted snow most of the winter.

In the summer, my commute is about 36 minutes. in the winter with the studs, about 46. In the winter without studs, about 50 minutes because I have to do so much walking and going slow.

I no longer bother taking my studs off.

Where are these magical places that just get some fluffy snow and then 'POOF' it is gone?

Here is how most of the snow falls on my ride.

We get a dusting...maybe 1/4' of snow. Cars pack this down until it becomes a sheet of ice. Last February this ice condition persisted on my route for 3 weeks due to perpetual sub freezing weather.

Or we get a good snow....4" or more. This gets plowed into banks along my route. Over subsequent weeks these banks thaw during warm afternoons when the sun shines and the melt water runs onto the roadways. This water refreezes over night forming intermittent sheets of ice.

Last winter by my records I rode to work on the studs 32 times....and I rode on ice (not fluffly snow) just about all of those days.

We get a lot of the fluff in Colorado Springs, but for a month or so (like last season) I did not feel like risking the ice. I am very envious of those who can do the Bike-All-Year challenge. Sitting on the indoor recumbent excercise bike, watching TiVo'd shows is just not near as fun :(

that is because you don't ride on black ice (or haven't yet)....

there is usually about one week a year around here (maybe less down by you) where you get black ice on the roads. i wish you luck without studs those days.

me, i take the bus those days... i got studs but i just won't mount them for the five days a year i end up needing them. maybe this year...