milkbaby

What about the people who buy $300 bikes and won't ride in the cold and wet???

I live in Florida, so there is no such thing as too cold to ride here. I will ride in the rain because it usually starts during the ride and finishing the ride is the only good option. It never gets too hot to ride either, you just get more badass.

Dopefish905

I sorta dismissed what lazy ass said in his posts when I looked at his location, I just laughed...bad weather? Cold ice snow? Snow banks taking up half the usual road, Sub zero temps? Salt//sand on the winter roads? Mmhm id easily ride year round if I lived where you do my friend! It's not that easy for some others to be a tough guy year round rider.

superslomo

I tried a trainer and didn't like it, years back. Just too boring and grim. I have ridden through bits of winter, but it feels like a lot of work to just go for a short bit of interval-ing, and I have neither good roads nor good light these days to do so. I snowshoe, I cross country ski, maybe go running, but I tend toward other activities when the weather is such that riding is miserable. I know it CAN be done, but it's like going fly fishing in February... why, if I don't have to? I know, I'm a big soft blancmange of weakness and should HTFU.

cwar

So, no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes, unless it's icy

Hypno Toad

Truth!

Hypno Toad

This reminds me of last winter in Minneapolis, air temp was -25F and windchills were -45F, asked a commuting buddy if he'd biked in - he responded "nope, I'm a fair-weather biker". "Fair-weather biker" is a sliding scale depending on where you live!

(I didn't bike that day because I was coaching snowboarding right after work.... I know, what an excuse, I should pack the snowboard gear on a rack and biked it. I'm a wimp)

Jiggle

I buy $3000 bikes, but I'll only ride my $1500 bike in the wet.

BarryJo

there are those times when your ROI is greater inside than it is outside. Those living in warmer climates probably don't understand.

c_bake

I would get along with this guy right here.
Depending on the winter weather at the time, I'll either use my rigid and road tire equipped Stumpjumper or my Fat bike. I rather enjoy riding in a mild snow storm or on hard packed snow down a quiet rural dirt road. I'm certain it builds up my mental toughness which pays off big time throughout the seasson,besides, I like to be challenged. Come late July when I'm baking in the sun at the end of a 300K Brevet, I'll be thinking about those nice cold winter days. I will however, avoid icy roads for obvious reasons.

fa63

I have to admit; since buying a Wahoo Kickr in December, I have been doing a lot of my favorite routes on the trainer instead of actually going out and riding in the cold (you can program routes into the computer, and the trainer will adjust resistance based on rider weight and gradient of the road).

ThermionicScott 

I imagine we could also extend the chest-beating to "there are no bad road conditions, just bad tires."

I'm a fair-weather cyclist... I tend not to ride unless it's over 10°F out. Went to a spin class about a week ago and might do more before this season is over.

Hypno Toad

I have studded tires and I'm happy to ride in icy conditions, only real issue is the cars can't have studded tires and we share the same roads. A couple years ago I was riding during a wet snow and the snow was getting packed down on the road. I was has happily riding along without any issues, then I approached a red light, I noticed drivers were all being oddly extra cautious. When I put my foot down for the stop, it slipped and I nearly fell. I had no idea how bad the roads were until I put a foot down (good tires!). But, I kept off the roads for the rest of that ride, one over-confident driver and my day gets bad, fast.

Riding in the cold is not for everybody. I run extra warm, even for people in Minnesota. Since I can ride the extreme cold, I'm gonna beat my chest!

But, that chest-beating is hollow - I'm still a wimp until I get up to riding the Arrowhead 135.

bonz50

I'm a fair weather rider, if its crap outside i'm indoor, i'll ride in a bit of cold, my limit is about 40F, otherwise I just don't have the gear for it (and 40 is really pushing it) and don't feel like spending the coin either.

Roadrash3

i just posted in another trainer thread, zwift has made all the difference for me. I have the computer hooked up to the TV and i have been riding in zwift.com every night, i could never ever ever ride on a trainer, too boring. but i am loving riding now. I can't wait to come home and ride, it feels real with the wahoo and gives the riding around people feeling, its awesome

SpeshulEd 

I'm totes jelly (as the kids would say) of you guys. I'm still on the waiting list for Zwift, but once I get in, I'm pretty sure I'm going to to get the wahoo trainer.

I was never much of a trainer guy, but since moving out of the suburbs I've been on the trainer more than on the road, especially during the week when I don't have much more than an hour to ride and would prefer to just pedal my ass off than to stop every block at a red light and wait for traffic. City riding is a hoot when you when you want to race traffic or ride around town for dinner and drinks...not so much when you want to zone out and ride your bike tho.

Vicegrip

Wash DC suburb area rider with around 1800 miles and over 100,000 feet elevation for the year so far. Tarmac for the clear and dry, CADDX with fenders for the wet and slop and a 29er for the snow. Bikes are like shoes. The right selection makes all the difference. Ride to and from work and for fun over the winter. Along with the cold and wet and crunchy conditions I get to to see foxes, deer, hawks and some fantastic sunrises and sunsets. One early am an Owl dive bombed me and I did not know what flashed past until he landed in a tree next to the trail and tracked me with his locked on stare as I rode by.
I ride a mix of road and MUP and the winter months leave the trails for the few riders to enjoy without traffic and unpredictable walkers and runners.

Other than extremes once you have the gear and experience in suiting up with the right stuff the weather becomes secondary. I used to think that 50 deg was cold now 10 deg only means 2x layers of shoe covers and tights rather than one and the mits rather than finger gloves. Lumpy walked on icy crusty snow is a show stopper right bike and studded tires or not. The CADDX looks like a NY street pretzel after some of the road rides from all the salt they dump on the streets. once a week or so it gets a wash with a bucket of hot water and a paint brush and a rinse from the water bucket. Chain get oiled every 3 days or so with wet weather type chain oil.

Do what you like. I don't winter ride to be a Rule 9 badass I ride because I like to.

Lazyass

You must have also conveniently dismissed it when I said I believed we were talking about the 20's to low 30's and that ice was obviously a no go. And sadly, I've lived in the north

Darth Steele

there is a difference between riding and training... it is very hard to train in freezing weather, in those cases rollers/trainer could be more effective. For me, this winter has been brutal, riding outside has been impossible and or dangerous. Having rollers and a power meter has been tremendous as far as putting in some consistent training time.

kevmk81

What about those of us that ride their $3000 bike on a trainer in the morning, get ready for work, then ride either their $500 or $1000 bike to work no matter what the weather? Then ride their $500 or $1000 bike back home after work no matter what the weather. Then hop back on the trainer with their $3000 bike for more (if it's snowing), otherwise take said $500 or $1000 bike for an outdoor ride right after work.

Just curious :-p

ETA: monetary values provided for lazyass

SpeshulEd 

HTFU! lol

Stucky

^This, I've found to be very true. My first year riding, I went out wearing short and a short-sleeve jersey when it was in the 50's....and couldn't get warm when I got home! Now I've i9nvested in some base layers and stuff, and can be quite comfortable in the 30's. It's all about how you dress. Well, that, and overcoming the inertia to actually get out there and on the road when it's cold and windy! But the thing is, after actually doing it a few times, you begin to realize that you never regret having done it. Once you get out there, you end up enjoying the ride- as long as your dressed properly, so that you don't freeze.

bmthom.gis

This is the only acceptable way to ride indoors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrvZsza5wVo

Hypno Toad

Love that one! Crazy skillz!

And I'd put my fridge-weather-trained legs up against anybody's indoor-trainer leg. The guys I know that ride indoors through the winter do not keep up with me in the spring. Spring is my favorite time of year, seeing all the riders come outa the basement for the first 50F day... and I blow their doors off on my commuter bike.

Lazyass

If you ride in bad weather then why are you addressing me, hot rod?

kevmk81

Just saying you can't group everyone together that owns high end equipment and say they are afraid of a chilly weather. There are those of us that do a little bit of everything, with varying levels of gear. I notice a lot of people on this forum like to make those types of generalizations (road bike = snob, wearing a kit = snob, expensive bike = waste of money, etc). Glad you're not one of them! :-)