bicyclops

hi all

i'm new to nyc, these forums, and to bike commuting. i've been here a few months and commute every day from east williamsburg to dumbo, absolutely love it and very keen to keep commuting thru the winter.

so far i think i want a beater with fenders and thick tires. do i need studded? i read i had to glue one side of the tire to the rim, necessary? how do i take care of the bike thru the winter? if i have to leave it outside at work, should i bother bringing it inside at home? is it reasonable to expect to ride every day of winter or are some days not worth the hassle? do i just dress as i would if i were walking in the same weather? does anyone here commute thru winter on the same route and have any specific tips (i take kent and flushing)?

if you can answer any of these, awesome. worst case i'm sure i'll find out soon enough!

thanks

blakcloud

You might want to go to the Winter Cycling forums where you might get more responses and a lot more information.

bicyclops

good idea thanks!

lostarchitect 

You don't need studded tires in Brooklyn. The streets are plowed and salted pretty well and there are not a lot of ice issues. I don't ride in storms, but otherwise I ride most of the time. I don't know anything about gluing the tire to the rim. That doesn't make any sense to me. It'll sure make it pretty hard to fix a flat.

Yes, take your bike inside at home. Please. If not, you will probably be posting a sad thread soon about how your bike was stolen. Also, there is a new law in New York about allowing bikes inside office buildings. You should look it up and see if it applies. Don't lock it outside unattended unless you really have to.

Kent and Flushing is the best route, probably. I find Flushing to be generally pretty clean and fast.

Clothes you will have to experiment with, but keep in mind that you won't be as cold as if you were walking due to the physical exertion.

AlanKHG

I just moved to NYC, have practically the same commute (S. Williamsburg to Dumbo along Kent/Flushing), and am asking similar questions:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...d-tires-in-NYC
Most folks seem to think either that you won't need studded tires or that you should wait & see.

Especially if you're keeping your bike outside, a winter beater is a good choice. Get an old rigid mountain bike (e.g. https://newyork.craigslist.org/wch/bik/2708736128.html ) or road bike with room for fat road tires and put full fenders on it (if you're on a budget, someone posted these incredibly cheap ones lately, though you might want to add longer mudflaps; I got Planet Bike Cascadias). If the derailleurs are acting up, single speed it.

For bike care: oil the chain regularly, spray water-displacing lubricant of some sort on moving parts and steel hardware, and wax the frame with car wax so you don't have to wash off the schmutz as much. The latter two things are often best gotten at auto parts stores.

MichaelW

Normal tyre and inner tube systems need no adhesive.
You glue tubular tyres (really old fashioned or super high performance), some modern tube-less tyres (like Stans) and you glue some rim tape to the rims (Velox).
You need studs on icy surfaces, knobbles on snowy surfaces and normal commuter tread on wet roads but many riders use normal tyres in the snow. Repairs in the cold are unpleasant so use the toughest tyres you can find.

You normally wear a bit less insulation on a bike than for walking and you tend to distribute it differently but basically you can wear the same. Jeans are bad, soaking up water, slow to dry, with thick seams.

Beater bikes often survive better left out in the cold all the time. Water can condense inside the frame and cause internal rust. Winter bikes are often dirty and unwelcome indoors. I put a plastic bag over the saddle and seat-post to keep rain out. Security is a different issue.

The best Beater bikes started life as decent quality, midrange models and are still quite good. A bad new bike will always be bad and will only get worse with age.