Winter's coming. Are you ready?
 

There's a wind advisory tomorrow and the potential for snow showers on Wednesday.

Probably nothing that will stay on the ground so I'm good with the road bike for now but it's a warning that I probably only have 4 to 6 weeks left before I'll be riding on studs.

Rode in snow/sleet this morning. For the most part, I had wet (not icy) pavement to ride on, but there were a few snow-covered sections where I wished for studded tires. I'm a bit reluctant to mount them yet, because it could easily warm up again and be warm all November. I'd like to keep the faster tires on as long as possible.

I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be. No, that's not true. I'm still waiting for summer.

Hey tjspiel,

I don't have snow tire, so I'm definitely unprepared. I've got a touring bike (Jamis Aurora Elite) with Vitorria Randonneur tires. I'm going to be really sad in 4-6 weeks when it becomes too snowy / icy to keep commuting to and from work by bike. Should I consider switching to grippier tires now, even if I'm not planning on commuting once it gets snowy? Do you think it is reasonable to commute to and from work during the winter on it if I get winter snow tires for it? I'm asking cause we both live in the Twin Cities, and you seem like a pretty seasoned winter bike commuter. There are big chunks of my commute that don't have "Share the road" signs, let alone marked off bike lanes. I'm a bit nervous about it, and I don't think my wife will be entirely supportive of the idea of commuting all winter. I think I'm probably going to switch back to taking the bus once we get much snow on the ground. *sigh*. And approximately when do you think it'll warm up enough again in the spring to allow bike commuting again (i.e. snow and ice free roads)?

Yes, I am ready! I have new winter riding boots I am dying to try out. I have two different bikes with studded tires all ready to go on them. I have my balaclavas, face mask, ski gloves, and oodles of tights ready. I do still want to get a pair of goggles to try this winter.

Until there's snow and/or ice on the roads plain old slicks are still your best bet but be careful of wet leaves. ;) Even wet snow isn't much of a problem as long as your tires can cut through to pavement.

Conditions vary so much from year to year. We've had Decembers with almost no snow at all. Last year the snow was gone from the roads in early March and never really came back. Generally I expect that I'll be using studded tires from about December 1st through the end of March. Typically though the last weeks of March don't really require studs except for maybe a couple of days here and there. Snow storms are definitely possible in April but so is 80 degree weather.

Studded tires make a huge difference on ice and hard-packed snow. They really work well. On fresh snow that's been driven over and pushed around by cars, not so much. That stuff can be really treacherous.

As far a not having bikes lanes go that's not a real disadvantage in winter because most of them are kind of useless that time of year. As the winter wears on and stuff accumulates on the road cars can't park as close to the curb and they end up half in the bike lanes. Besides that, it tends to get more icy and uneven towards the sides of the road where the bike lanes are.

In Winter you're often best off riding in the right tire track because that's where the road is going to be the clearest. Obviously if you're on a highway with the traffic moving at 45+ mph, that's not going to be a lot of fun but on narrow, snowy roads cars aren't going that fast anyway.

Winter's coming. Are you ready?

In June I got my winter cycling jacket cleaned and had the hole in the pocket repaired. This past weekend I brought out all my winter wear to make sure I could find all of it, and I shopped at REI for gloves appropriate for below 25 degrees, to about 0 degrees F. I think I'll go with lobster claws, before trying heavy mittens, or pogies. The studded tires, already in year 3, go on my beater mountain bike around mid December. Bring it on. :D

tomorrow wind gusts 40-55mph, not sure if I can ride in this weather, never tried it.

I just got my studded tires last week. But there's still a month of cold November rain before I can even think of putting them on...

I wish I could say that I was ready. I haven't decided if I wanna ride the trike through the winter or use my hybrid. If I use the trike, I need to get studded tires. If I use the hybrid, I need to mount the studded tires that I have and do some pretty good repairs to it before it will be good. Hopefully the snow holds out so I can these accomplished in time. Either way, I definitely plan to keep commuting through the winter and avoid the car as much as I can.

I am a Chicagoan that will be riding. You never know, it might be an epic kind of fun.

Great to hear from a fellow Chicagoan. I figure I'll see how bad it is tomorrow morning.


As far as winter is concerned, we're expecting mid-70s today, and no snow any time soon (would be a little early anway). I did check last week on my Nokian W106s from last year, and they look good and ready.

I'm trying to convince myself I want a fancier raincoat but I'm not succeeding.

I do have studded tires ready to go when the season arrives.

I try that with a lot of bike gear. Failing usually, but to the betterment of my spousal relations.

Other than perhaps adding a balaclava to my wardrobe, I am ready. I have the advantage of making my commute childishly short if I want/need to so fearing for frostbite,etc is not really an issue. That said, I prefer to dress appropriately and still get in the full commute. People thinking I'm nuts just further enhances the joy of cold-weather riding :)

Took me a few minutes to swap in the front studded tyre this morning... figure things might start icing up later and wanted to make sure I had enough clearance with the new fenders.

Hub has been topped up with a little 10W30 semi synthetic and the frame has been waxed... have been riding the bike pretty hard the past few weeks to make sure things are 110%.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...010winter2.JPG

And you can't forget the thermos of hot tea... :)

Winter here is pretty mild compared to the upper Midwest, New England, and, of course, the Great White North.

Last year's DC snowmageddon did demonstrate to me that it might be a good idea to have some studded tires around. The ice and packed snow lingered for weeks. Bikewise, my focus for the near future is more on getting a decent touring frame to replace my crappy, too small hybrid frame, but if I have some cash left over come the end of that process around the holidays, I may buy a set of studded tires.

Clothingwise, I'm prepared. Again, thankfully, pretty mild around here; even a bitterly cold morning here is still generally above 10-15*F, so it's pretty easy to make due and stay warm w/o too much special clothing/equipment.

I also set up another studded front wheel for my extrabike as it sees a great deal of winter use... pulling a trailer here in the winter presents some unique challenges so the extrabike sees a lot more use.

It is about as stable a winter bike that I have ever used although I am more confident in the Kuwahara's IGH to keep running smoothly in extreme cold and it is easier to keep clean.

It's nearly 70 here and is supposed to stay like that for a few days. But yes, I'm ready for winter - I've decided that I need to drive to work for a few months, to get the extra few hundred bucks in OT pay per paycheck until my credit cards are paid off. I haven't seen a zero balance on them in something like 20 years and I'm sick of it. I also want to sock some money away for vacations so we can start going cool places instead of camping in the same place every year, and OT pay is the only holdout I have from family money that I can't control.

So, I'm ready for winter in the worst possible way - by hanging up my bike probably until spring. Not by choice either, I have the gear, just not the time to use it.

Winter? What winter??? No one updated me on this! I refuse to believe it! Temps are going up to +18 C tomorrow!

Ah, the denial I go through every year... Yeah, it's coming. I'm prepared - my hockey stick has been dug out of the basement and the skates will get sharpened soon... And soon I'll be putting a knobby on the front wheel that beater...

It can be done. I've done it before. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that it will be a struggle into a headwind and a friggin blast with a tailwind. But be sure you are aware before you set out that if you get caught from the side by a gust you need to be expecting it and ready for it to try to push you sideways. It can get dicy, especially in traffic. Give yourself room.

Not really. I have clothes, but need to do something about my tires. Just not sure if I'll need studs in Vancouver or just use knobbies. Burnaby Mountain does get a fair bit of snow, but it might be cheaper to let the bus haul me down the mountain for those bad days than to buy a set of studded tires.

Bummer. Hope you'll hang around to give out advice through the winter...

I am humbled by the fortitude you guys have. I don't know that I could do it. For my first 7 or 8 years of cycling, I hung my bike up in November and didn't ride again until March. And this is in Florida. Three years ago I committed to riding through the Winter. The first Winter, I refused to ride when it was below 40 F. Then one morning it was 39 and I thought, what's one degree? Then one day it was 38 and I thought, what's one degree? I think the coldest I've ridden in now is somewhere in the low 30's. I do recall riding one morning and seeing a little frost on the grass (green grass, by the way) - doesn't that mean it was freezing?

The moral of this story I guess is that it's all relative. But having been born and lived my whole life in Florida, I just can't imagine riding a bicycle in snow - much less in air cold enough to produce snow.

The bigger problem with Winter commuting here are all the 80 year old retirees trying to get out Christmas shopping. In the dark. It's scary.

Bike (Check)
Clothes (Check)
Willingness to ride (Hopefully)

Yeah, I'm as ready as I'm going to be.