1990's Specialized Rockhopper that was donated to my bike coop. Came in needing some love, now its hitting the roads again as a winter bike. Replaced the crank, added wheels, brake (singular for now), repacked the BB and headset. It definately isn't perfect, but Vermont has *nasty* salt.

Test ride (the dropouts make it hard to fit the chain well...)


Removed rear extraneous gears, added fenders, changed gearing to be better (ie, not 1:1) had some paint chips in my shoddy paint job, so I just used bedliner to protect the bottom.



Total cost:
$30 (mostly paint, bed liner, and Planet Bike fenders - everything else was salvaged from other donated bikes in our parts pile)

Hi everybody,

Put together a snow bike for myself this weekend. I went to Wal Mart and bought a cheapie cruiser with a single gear and coaster brake. I had an old Mountain Bike that my daughter never rode anymore and robbed the front brake, seat, shock absorber seat post, handlebars, and 26" MTB tires off of it. Had some nice pedals from a road cruiser with straps and put them on. I purchased some Freddy Fenders and now am the proud owner of a bike I can ride here in Wisconsin for less than $100. I've got an order in for some nokian hakkapeliitta studded tires and I think then I'll be all set. I took her out for a nice 10 mile ride this afternoon and it was a sweet ride. If anyone lives in the Sheboygan area and wants to ride this winter, look me up.

This is my fixed gear for winter.. or was. I replaced the frame and fork with a KHS Flite 100. Skinny tires are great for everything except ice. I have not ridden everyday as we have had some nasty snow/ice that have severely narled the roads. I still might put studs on my hybrid yet if it continues to snow this way. Last winter the roads were clear almost everyday.

Location: Halifax, NS
Temperatures: -10 to +5 C in the winter
Road conditions: Typically wet with salt and slush.

VTRoadie........

Love how clean and simple that rockhopper looks. Perfect commuter/winter bike in my mind.

A little update now that the weather has turned.

My 1988 Trek 820 with Schwalbe Marathon Winter tires. It's my commuter.
It's old, ugly, dirty, tough as he** and dependable.











Happy Trails

Here's my "winter/commuting-to-be/down-to-the-shops" bike.

It's a Dirt Research Kobuk frame bought from eBay with a singlespeed kit. I've slapped on a 9 speed SRAM RD with a grip shifter (good when you're wearing winter gloves!).

I was out on it today. It's fun!

it can be a challenge at times, but handles really well in the snow.

That front fender is magnificent!

Winter in Eugene mostly means rain, with ice and slick roads limited to the south hills (where I work). This past weekend we finally had some snow! Today's commute was significantly fun!

This gets me around:

This is my bicycle in it's natural habitat.

ijgrant, did you know your bike had an evil twin ^^?? Except mine hasn't evolved past the geared-stage.

new pugs for snow


and then the litespeed is running nokians for ice.
we haven't had decent ice yet, only lots of snow

finally there is great granny, configured ice-style
it is a vintage Rollfast with beaver-proof bar ends and studded tires

I have been taking "Jenny", my Trek 6700, out every day this week as I have been doing some upgrades on her at the shop and I really don't have a bike better suited for the new snow and slushy streets.

She has also logged more winter miles than any of my bikes as this is her 3rd winter season

edzo,
How do the 4" tires handle in various snow conditions compared to a 2" mtb studded tire? I think I am jealous!

at 15psi, it goes in fresh snow fine, up to where show hits your toe each pedal revolution

if you encounter xc tracks, or snowshoe tracks, or grades, you might start
to wash out a bit, or the xc tracks tend to bobsled you a bit

jump off, bleed the pressure to 8 or 9psi (so the tire really squashes down)
you still won't bottom the rim and then you literally steer the bike no trail
imperfection, footprint, or parallel track steers for you. you just truck right
through and over anything. once in a while if there is deep soft snow and you sink
past a certain depth you may end up dabbing, but it is insane what you will float
up and over


compared to a 2 incher ? it is definitely all about riding and not dabbing... where you'd be
walking and give up riding that trail, or that day previously. it is a HUGE difference. I am
able to ride snowmobile tracks [that are too soft for other bikes] quite easily. and I often
just turn off into the freshies and motor along where no bike could go more than 10 feet
w/o busting through and bogging down, or getting steered off track by the terrain.

best thing I ever did for winter is get this rig. I got the fendered CX bike for sloppy
spring melt. this will be my snow and wet grass/'waiting for the woods to dry out for summer' bike
super low to no impact on fragile spring trails. (tested while we had january thaw)

I love fat tired bikes!!!!
Arctic Idita(sp?) Bike

My Surly Crosscheck. Great snow bike.

I am sooooo jealous!!!!!

Man those 4 inch tires...yum. There is an Italian maker of the dbl wide rims that are really nice, the name escapes me though. Awesome for sand riding I've heard as well.

Here is my commuter I use for work and stuff in Iceland.


Scott Sportster P1 on Nokian 240 nails.




This is the best buy.....Light and motion ARC for all the long dark winter days in Iceland this is the ****.

Here's my trusty Norco beater setup for it's 4th winter of riding. I went SS half way through last winter as I was constantly having drivetrain issues, best upgrade ever. I also went with the rigid fork rather than the crappy elastomer suspension fork that it came with. I spent a whopping $250 on this bike and have replaced EVERY part minus the headset. This year I had to replace the wheels after my old, well used, Mavic Crosslands broke. The rear hub flanges started braking off but I thought the front would be fine so I ordered a Deore rear wheel. The day before my new wheel showed up the front hub flanges started breaking off! Should have got the pair, but luckily I had an old front wheel lying around that came off my wifes bike to keep me rolling.