winters a brewin...
 

what special prep are you doing to get your bike ready?

I'm repacking my bearings this weekend, and ditching the mtn bike grips for bar tape, learned the hard way last year that exposed aluminum plus bear hands is the worst thing ever.

im building a kona kaboom mtb for fixed duty... hydraulic front disc... 42 or 44/16... rigid... totaly excited...
oh yeah... and a bunch of cold weather clothes lol
-pete

i'm a human and have the same issue with my hands.

Fenders. Put the headlight back on it. That's it.

OK, so I'm a wuss: the fixie is hanging in the garage, the road bike is on the trainer, and I'm waiting for Spring! :D

made some fenders out of 2L pop bottles and wooden chopsticks.
putting some bartape to save hands
changing out the 23 rear for a 25.

I completely forgot about fenders, crud more crap to get...

The rear fender went on as soon as the rainy season hit, now the goal is to find the fattest, knobbiest cyclocross tires that will fit in my road frame. Us Wisconsinites don't have the option of running road tires year round. :)

putting a real beater 700c fixed wheelset (suzue jr rear hub, an unmarked front one; unmarked rims) on my old steel mtb. my winter ride. i'll prolly dig up fenders, too, and i need to figure out a braking situation. it will be ugly, beat-the-****-upable, and awesome. and i wont' have to worry about crapping up my regular ride.

The bike stays as it is. Pretty winter-worthy. I'll repack the rear hub halfway through the winter, that's about it (But then I'm not going to do that many miles)

Just a lil' hijack: Anyone used the Pearl Izumi Cyclone gloves? Comments? I'm sorta afraid of the big bulgy palm pads.
Or other recommendations? I need a glove that's comfy for half an hour to one hour of cycling at 30F.

From risers to a tall stem with bullhorns for a more upright riding position. and a brake.
Full fenders went on a month ago.

I'm throwing the cheesy clip-on rear fender back on.

That's about it, really.

I'm still riding my daily bike for winter. I'll just change out all my 105 stuff after winter. and new bearings for the miche hubs in the spring.

I just slapped some sks race blades on (no fender mounts) and will mod them w/ duct tape XL mud flaps sometime very soon. A bit of frame saver, and that's all for now... if the ice gets too bad i'll be attempting to squeeze some cross type tires under my fork for added stability. Let's hope burlington plows well this year and i can save the $60-$80 new tires for something fun in spring!

i am selling everything to rethink the herd.

SS in the works, perhaps. A little roots-revival for me.

Impala SS? I hear those are great in rental fleets.

i just bought a new jacket... other than that, winter riding for me involves riding my road bike a lot less and my 'cross bike a lot more... maybe throw on a clip-on rear fender. or riding my full fendered conversion... though i prefer my 'cross bike for the real crappy stuff.

Not sure what to do. Don't want to **** up the new bike, but I just spent all my money on it and don't feel like dumping much into the beater to winterize it. Needs a new bb (feels like pedaling a rock tumbler), rear hub is stripped so i'm running it 48X16 ss (that's not gonna fly in the snow methinks), junk old steel 27 by 1 and 1/4 road wheels. I think it'd be super fun to ride a fixie in the snow, but I need to do it on the cheap and at minimum I need a bb, rear hub, tires, big big cog (20 teeth min), and at least a rear fender...that's so much more money than i want to spend on this pos. but at the same time, i keep picturing myself balls on stem skidding down the central park bike path in an inch of snow and i think "money shmoney"...

You probably don't need to replace everything, just wash the gunk out, oil and grease, repack etc. and you'll be good as new without having to buy a whole new component set.

I just change my tires for ones with a little more volume and inverted tread (conti city rides). I already have full foul weather parts on my commuter (rack, fender, lights, low gearing, wateproof everything).

I did stock up on winter clothing though including neoprene socks, pack cloth waterproof booties, new jacket, new gloves and arm and knee warmers.

I don't find a brake any more useful in the winter than in the summer either really...

I bring my bike into work and hang it up so it has a chance to drain during the day, lessening the chance of rusting, but it goes in the garage on both wheels when I get home so there may be some corrosion of the frame over night...

Yep. Get em. Love em. Wash em from time to time. The pad isn't that big at all. This'll be my third season with mine. I just wish they hadn't changed the style.

I put some monster tires on my trail bike and I'm in the process of altering some clothing for winter use. I'll throw together a 700c SS beater with fenders for daily use. That's about it...

how do you guys wipe off the wheels (my hubs are sealed) and drivetrain? i rode in the rain here for the first time, and although i did get it flat, it was ok.

oh yeah, the rain shell worked nicely, you should get one of those.

getting new fenders today and some bigger tires.

winter bring it on

What's winter?

It's when the temperature drops into the low 50's and it rains hard for maybe a week.

In anticipation of those intimidating conditions, I got a new jacket at REI recently. They had them for 25% off and I couldn't resist. I also got a pair of seriously kick ass wool knickers from Swrve Cycling.

I'll probably throw the fenders on when it does rain, but that probably won't be until January.