Newspaperguy

That's understandable. There is a point where the temperature is uncomfortable and there is also a point where road conditions are not good. However, the most slippery conditions on the road occur around the freezing point. As it gets colder, the ice is less slippery.
This is why I use a winter bike. The salt and sand will do a lot of damage to a bike's drivetrain. On a cheap winter bike, I don't mind replacing the chain often, but the drivetrain components for my good bike are a bit more expensive.

Also, because I keep my bike in the building at work during the day and in my house at night, I have to deal with the mess made from the snow and sand mixture melting, which means I'm cleaning my floors a lot more often than if I didn't ride in winter.
That makes sense to me. Some cities are good at snow removal and some are not. If the main streets are not well cleared, those of us who cycle in winter end up riding closer to the centre of the road. (Often, side streets are not given a lot of attention, even in cities where the main streets are cleared of snow quickly.)
Good lighting is essential for winter riding. At times, I've used two rear blinkies instead of just one. And my headlight is quite bright if I have it on the full setting. A reflective vest, such as the kind worn by highway workers, is great for night riding and for riding when the sun is low. The vest seems most useful when the light is low.

LuckySailor

Arkansas said it right. Watch out for the Canadians, they have it down to an art. Obviously knows what he is speaking about! hahahaha. Guess that's why I haven't tried it yet. Been here for 12 years (originally from Cleveland, OH)! There are alot of die hards here, and its beyond cold here in the dead of winter. We will get 3+ weeks of -40F, and they still ride their bikes Yep! There goes one now!
For me the answer is no. MUCH to dangerous with all the snow we get.

ironwood

I did ride most of last winter. It was a warm and relatively snowless winter. The winter before was tough. Fortunately there is bus and train service where I live. But I prefer winter riding when the conditions are right to 98°F days.

bobdell

Anything below 70 is too cold to ride.

Newspaperguy

Anything below -70 is too cold to ride.

Newspaperguy

I used to live in Winnipeg and I rode in winter. Yes, it got a bit chilly in January. If it's any consolation, there are colder places to go riding, but that thought might be nothing more than cold comfort.

JeanSeb

I actually ride more often in the winter: my pale skin can't handle the sun and the heat.

When the conditions are awful, most drivers will slow down tremendously making it safer for cyclists.

Jseis 

All 9 wet months.

AsanaCycles

I live in Monterey, Ca
it might get down to 32F.
and thats a big MAYBE

typically it just rains, and more than likely hail.
I just deal with it.

I have a Showers Pass Elite jacket, along with a bunch of other clothing.

being that winter has shorter days, the big difference in my "setup" is that I leave a light on my bike.

lately my work shifts have started at 7am.
I like to ride for a couple of hours before work, so I'm out the door around 5am, using a Light and Motion Seca 1400.
winter will only change my clothing setup.

DX-MAN

Last winter was the first I didn't need to ride the bus in bad weather. Studded Schwalbe's!

We get snow around Thanksgiving, and it usually starts to 'stick' in mid-late December; sometimes it's still here in early March. Plowing on the main streets is good, side streets iffy. The snow there gets packed down and turns slick pretty fast. I would ride the bus most of January, and part of February. $156 got me off the bus schedule during those days, and all the more I have to ride the Schwalbe's, they should last me 5-6 years or more! My mileage goes WAAAY down in winter, usually under 40 miles/week.

I run detachable plastic fenders for bad weather (pop-on/pop-off for rain), and they're on the bike from mid-November until March. I layer up for the cold, have some sweet gear (from Walfart, of all places!).

I don't mind using the bus system for some things, but never again for getting to/from work!

doomtroll

I started commuting daily in January of this year, granted it's Northern California, but I actually find I enjoy the winter commute more

Sixty Fiver

Winter Cycling 101

Yes, yes we do.

lasauge 

Likewise, I ride all year regardless of what kind of weather we're having. There's a certain fiendish joy in riding into work on snowy days and watching coworkers' (at least those who didn't work with me the previous winter) jaws drop - and winter isn't even that bad here!

Here in Colorado Springs we'll get somewhere between 3-10 good snows each season, maybe 1-2 weeks total of 0 to 10° (Fahrenheit) weather, and negative temperatures are very rare most years. Most of the winter the cold doesn't bother me, and snow and ice are no big deal because I've found that I can actually ride up hills that are too slick for cars to climb, and when the road conditions become poor, drivers become wonderfully cautious. The worst part about riding in the winter is having to ride through the slick, dirty slush and the tightly packed ice that gets left behind on the roads after a storm, but it's a minor inconvenience.

ironwood

Maybe Canadian motorists are better winter drivers than people around Boston. Winter driving is a skill, and unfortunately a lot of divers don't have it. Maybe that's what scares me the most. I can handle the snow and ice but can the driver in the SUV?

Roody

Around here the motor vehicle accident rates go up for the first couple snowfalls, but people soon regain their winter driving skills.

howeeee

I am almost finished making a set of my own studded tires,,cost 5.49 a tire I will put them on my mountain bike,,and ride another bike when I dont need the studs

009jim

I ride in winter. We have beautiful cool, clear days. Minimum is about 10 degrees C. I just wear a light polar fleece with sleeves.

Closed Office

I don't even think of it as riding in winter. I think of it as 8 months (Canada, right?) of bug free bicycling weather. As mentioned already, do anything that long and you will get good at it.

This is going to depend on the person. It took a couple of winters of practice, but I can ride very comfortably across glare ice, as long as it isn't sloped up where you need more power and the rear will slip. Or a steep slope.

One spring someone at work asked me what I do for pea gravel. He keeps slipping on it. Someone like that I would never suggest they ride in icy conditions without studs, but I have never used them myself and don't want to.

I don't understand at all why people want fatter tires or knobby grips for the winter. I use the regular cheap type. The expensive ones all seem to be close to slick, and I don't want that. The fat part just slows you down. I use 700 32 for a good all round tire winter and summer.

The 'more practice' part comes into play again. When I used to watch tv, there were a few video clips of US drivers on ice in a city that didn't often get it. Even police cars would be spinning around randomly. Most Canadians probably enjoyed that entertainment.

Hendricks97

I used winter riding as the justification to my wife for the purchase of a Pugsley. Unfortunately, it hasnt snowed since I bought it

ro-monster

We don't have winter here, only the dry season and the rainy season!

SteamingAlong

I ride in the winter. I have had a need for studded tires though. In 14 years, I've only had one season that I had problems with ice.




You forgot to mention while listening to Bob and Doug recordings and discussing Hockey.

fietsbob

have 1 bike used to mount the studded tires, on/off with weather notice, for next day.

since it only incidentally freezes some days some years, the Nokian studded tires
I got in 1991, are still fine,
though I've bought another bike more recently, that is getting the above 0C use,

So the other entire bike is freeze-up studded-tyred waiting and ready, now.

Roody

haha...I especially love it after work lets out. My co-workers are all scraping the ice off their windshielsd and I buzz by on my bike: "Boy I sure would hate to DRIVE in this weather!!!"

gerv 

My poor old winter bike is sitting all lonely in my living room, studded tires still on, hoping that next winter will be more exciting than this previous one. If we can't have a regular winter, perhaps a few days of freezing rain, so it can get out of the house.

Roody

Yeah, the lakes never froze last winter son no ice biking for me.