Dear BF,

I've read through the upgrade thread but haven't found anyone discussing this. Does anyone have any thoughts on setting up the Bikesdirect Mini Velo as a winter bike? Is this a good idea? Is it possible to get 20" studded tires, fenders, and a rack on it? And perhaps sealed bearings and an IGH?

The reason I'm thinking about this bike is two-fold: 1) It's small enough to fit in my apartment without getting in the way; 2) I don't want to subject my Bike Friday to the tortures of a Buffalo winter (it's kind of my baby).

I'd be grateful for any suggestions/advice you may have. Thanks very much.

Ride on,
JG

Well, fenders will keep you and the bike a bit cleaner. Rack may depend on mounting points the mfgr put on the bike, IGH means new wheel and $$, and 20" studded tires were covered in a recent thread on this forum.

Can't be fun riding a bike in Buffalo in the Winter.

Lou

I rode my Bike Friday Tikit as my winter bike for 2 or 3 Calgary winters. I just used the stock Schwalbe Marathons and it had fenders on it. Studded tires are nice if you have to ride on freezing rain days and for the odd thaw/freeze day, but I didn't find them necessary most of the time. I understand Schwalbe does make 20" [406] studded tires if you need them. I found small wheels had issues on days when it was snowing hard and accumulating on the road. The cars would chew up this fresh snow into a gray mess that was very slippery because the snow crystals were rounded and didn't stick to another [studs wouldn't help on this]. Days like that I broke out my Surly Pugsley with 4" x 29er tires. If I didn't have such an exotic bike a 26" knobby MTB tire would have been my next option for riding during/just after big storms.

In terms of it being a good idea...if you want to ride that bike in the winter then go for it. I tended to do the same thing - limiting my winter riding to one or two bikes so I picked the ones I really wanted which were my Tikit and Pugsley.

Just respect the conditions and go slower/brake earlier than you normally would. I'm not a helmet guy for casual city riding in the summer, but in the winter I definitely would recommend a helmet and I even wore pads under my clothes on particularly slippery days.

Have fun with the Winter Mini!...

Do they salt the roads in Buffalo? If so keep the bike frame waxed and clean and exposed metals lubricated and clean. For the frame internals use this https://www.theruststore.com/Boeshiel...FQmdnAodcFIDTg

Since you were looking at getting another bike why not have an extra set of wheels and tires for the Bike Friday for the winter?

No 451 studded 20" tires just 406.

Hi Dynocoaster,

They salt the roads heavily in Buffalo, and winter lasts through April, and I really don't want to torture my Tikit through that weather. Like I said, it's my favorite bike, and I'd hate to have it suffer... Also, I don't think that anyone makes 16" studded tires. Thanks though. Cheers.