Guitarfool5931

I would much rather commute off the trainer but it would be my first during the winter and I was already looking into getting a pair of tights to wear under my shorts and some gloves. My debate is whether or not to get a better pair of tires. I ride a 2011 Fuji Newest 3.0 with 700x26 tires I believe.

1nterceptor

I commute on a 2009 FUJI Newest 1.0 here in New York City.
It doesn't snow a lot here, I can get away with running 700 X 25
slicks on light snow. I take the bus during blizzards/heavy snow.


THIS IS A BIKE PATH by 1nterceptor, on Flickr

Steely Dan

i tried to ride a trainer during the winter months years ago. it was horrible (so. freaking. BORING.), so i said "screw it" and just decided to become a 12 month commuting cyclist instead.

i took a couple bad spills on black ice that first year before i wised up to studded tires. now, i won't roll during ice season without studded tires.

Guitarfool5931

I was thinking of getting some studded tires but do they make them for Road Bikes?

neil

You'll definitely want better tires. Slicks are just all round bad for winter. Knobbies are fine in snow, but if you deal with ice then studs are the way to go. They make 700c tires, but clearance can be an issue on true road bikes. It's not a bad idea to use a beater bike in winter anyway, as sand and salt are hard on bikes, and I wouldn't want to subject my "good" bike to that.

I have trouble motivating myself to ride in the winter, but then, I think I got onto the trainer twice last winter, so motivation may be a more general problem for me during the dark months.

Rockfish

Winter commuting is OK if you are prepared. Fenders help. And some tires with tread.
Not sure what the max tire size for you bike is but I'd think about some cyclocross tires at least.

Guitarfool5931

The salt on Chicago roads does worry me. I don't have much money to get a beater. Then I would have to buy that bike some studded tires. The tires would probably cost more than the bike. Haha

fietsbob

I'm car free, so at it 12 mos a year.. the old winter bike
now stays with the studded tires, so rather than a overnight tire swap.

i can just pump up the tires and go..

[out here ice may be on the ground for a week, maybe.
rather than repeatedly all winter like in the upper mid west]

zacster

I'll be switching to the couch...

Steely Dan

after the bad spills i took on ice without studded tires, it's not even an issue that's up for debate for me. i see people riding during ice season in chicago on their road bikes with 700x23 tires, but i just tell myself, those are the poor folks who haven't taken a bad spill yet, but they will, they will........



as a fellow chicagoan who's been winter commuting for 3 years now, the amount of salt the chicago streets and san dept. dumps on the streets each winter is OBSCENE. if you have a nice bike that you want to keep nice for a long time, i would not recommend riding it in chicago during salt season. i'd recommend finding a cheap beater and slapping studded tires on it. you can still ride the road bike during winter when conditions are dry, and then ride the winter beater when it's gonna be wet, salty, sloppy, messy, icy, slushy, snowy, etc.

my winter bike isn't exactly a beater (it's a 2011 Scott SUB 10, IGH/disc brake hybrid), but it's a bike that is far more expendable to me than my nice titanium road bike with all of its spendy ultegra componentry that i do not want to destroy with salt.

chandltp

The last set of studded tires I bought cost $90 for the pair, and that was cheap, but they work well. The last beater bike I bought was $80 for 2 identical mountain bikes. I've purchased several parts bikes for $5 - $15 to rehab my current bike to replace the parts ruined by salt. I figure it costs me about $50 a winter to commute to work. If I took more care washing and cleaning my bikes after I got home it could be less.

neil

And that spill may well cost them more than a beater plus studs. I rode one day too long on my summer bike about 3 years ago, and did a slideout on the ice. I managed to bend a crank arm, and then had to replace the whole crank/bb assembly (the original bottom bracket was non-standard and would only work with a now-discontinued crank). It was a $230 repair to get comparable quality to what I broke.

rumrunn6

try the winter commuting, you'll be an awesome animal by spring ...

eofelis 

I've tried the trainer thing in the winter too and didn't like it much. I'd rather brave the cold and ride to work most days. It doesn't get too cold or snowy/icy here, so I end up riding 3 or 4 days a week during the winter.

Tundra_Man 

Exactly my experience as well.

MNBikeguy

Also take a look at the winter forum. A few tweaks here and there and you'll be surprised how comfortable winter riding is. Watching paint dry is more exciting than a trainer.

Closed Office

I prefer 700 - 32 tires for all round use, no studs. With practice, I am comfortable riding across glare ice, but that took awhile. About once a winter I take a spill, usually at a slow speed under difficult conditions. It's also when there is snow covering the ice and I don't see it.

I get the cheaper tires with a bit of tread on them, not the road slicks where they try to shave every gram off it.

rekmeyata

I can't stand cold weather, once it gets below 45 to 40 I'm in doors on the trainer, problem is, I can't stand the trainer either!! Usually I start out the winter riding about 2 hours on the trainer, but as the winter progresses I gradually decrease to about 20 minutes come spring due to shear boredom. This last winter I couldn't bring myself to ride on the trainer at all that's how much I dread trainers. But last winter I had back surgery in December so the dread of the trainer and the surgery worked out well together.

I just can't get comfortable in cold weather, and my computer freezes up, the bike gets stiff, I get stiff, nah, I'll force myself to ride the trainer or take the whole winter off, I don't race so I don't need to be ready for spring. Though I wouldn't mind riding in doors if I one of those computrainers, but those things are too expensive for me just to use it for 3 or 4 months out the year and I don't race so the need just isn't there for one. I won't die from not riding for 3 or 4 months, but I could if I ride that damn trainer!

chefisaac

I started commuting in November of last year. Riding through the winter was one of the reasons I lost so much weight and I got stronger as a rider.

cehowardGS

I don't go when it is a lot of snow on the ground, but I have been out in as low as 15 degree weather. Just a matter of dressing for the cold, and have a ton of DESIRE!!

Rhodabike

I find wind chill and fogging lenses to be the main annoyances of winter commuting. I'm willing to go down to -25ºC, below that I can't see where I'm going even with lots of anti-fog on the goggles. Getting the right amount of wind-proofing in the clothing is challenging - too much and you sweat buckets underneath, not enough and you can get frostbit.
Disc brakes and IGH hubs rock for winter commuting, but a single freewheel would work too if there aren't any steep hills. Studs work well, but avoid puddles early in the morning during warms spells as there's usually very slick ice on the bottom. I crashed and tore my acl even with studs while doing that.
Winter commuting can be very beautiful. Inky skies filled with brilliant stars, full moon with silver edged clouds framing it. Glittering hoar frost sparkling like millions of diamonds in your headlight beam. Christmas lights on the houses in December. Low sunlight gilding the landscape on the way home. Sure you can see this from a car window, but it's like watching it on t.v. - you're not in it and part of it.
Oh, and riding through snow does wonders for bike handling skills as well.

noglider 

I can't stand exercise for the sake of it. The only exercises I do are 1, riding for fun, 2, bike commuting, and 3, hiking for fun. I hear that they have a saying in Minnesota: "There's no bad weather, only bad clothing." Find what works for you. Winter is no reason not to ride a bike.

alan s 

I'll ride in almost any weather to avoid the dreaded trainer. In addition to studded tires, you probably end up spending a lot on attire. Keeping upright and warm are your main challenges.

MadCityCyclist

Winter biking is a blast once you figure out how to dress for it. I used to stop riding during the winter months and now I actually look forward to it. I also do utility riding during the winter, plus recreational rides and group rides.

If you haven't commuted in the winter before you might want to budget for a few things like gloves, etc. Most of it you can find cheap, especially in a city like Chicago. Upgrading the tires is generally recommended for the 700cc size, although many people have made their own DIY studded tires, there's tons of instructionals on the web.

Chicago has a very big "bike winter" chapter, I believe the guy that founded Madison's bike winter was from there. You should look them up, someone may even have some used studded tires for sale.

rekmeyata

For me, it's not about the clothing, it's about I don't like the cold, plain and simple. I can ride my bike from the low 40's on up to the low 100's, but once that temp gets lower then the low 40's I don't care if I'm on a bike, or walking, I'm getting indoors as soon as possible.