winter riding
 

hey yall, Ive been riding a single speed bike just under a year. now my first winter is coming up. (well 2nd winter of my life but first with a bike) ive been stressing on how I should get thru it. I commute to work and back home (10 mile roundtrip, Im living in salt lake city) all I know about my bike is its tires are 700x25, got a front rim brake and im fixed to the hub
so heres the two issues im having trouble deciding...
1. diy snow chains ((http://www.mtnbikeriders.com/2007/02...y-tire-chains/)) but what if I get a flat? just cut them off and finish a ride and re install them later since I don't see much flats anyhow. could this work on such skinner tires? also I would have to go brakeless, is that a hard ride?
2.studded tires, but doesn't seem like I can find them in my size of tire, and if I get a bigger tire don't think I have clearance on my frame. even if I get them what if some days the roads are decent, wont the studs get messed up?
plz help me out with any or all the info you got. thanks!

How bad is your winter there? Here we don't get a lot of ice, so I just take it easy and be careful in turns and stops. Never felt the need to studs. Even though I did a DIY set last year

Seriously, how much snow does Salt Lake City get?

Anyhoo, my advice for winter:
1. Bundle up
2. Harden up

I don't know what to say on how the winter is, im from AZ and only been here a year. from what I remember its snowy but as far as ice well ill be riding around 2am and later around 4pm. thx for the reply tho

I don't know how bad the winters are in Utah, but I've commuted on my ss/fg in Minnesota for the last 3. Nokian makes some 700x32c. That's wider than what you're riding now, but as far as I know the narrowest you'll find for studded tires. I would see if those fit your frame, and if so rock them.

I would definitely NOT ride brake-less on a freewheel in the winter. Personally I wouldn't even want to ride brake-less fixed in the winter, as I don't see a lot of good coming from trying to skid stop on icy streets, but ymmv.

This ^

Im gonna go ahead and assume you don't get as much snow as he does in Minnesota, or as I do in Buffalo. That's not dismissing your question but merely saying you don't need snow chains. Get fenders. You probably don't need studs either, but to each their own. But a set of the Nokians if you're curious and if you have a spare wheelset, throw them on there.

What this ultimately boils down to is that you probably don't have a bike that's too well-suited for serious winter commuting if you don't have clearance for fenders/larger tires, but I've gotten away with 28's the last few years and 25's last year.

I run CX studded tires in the Chicago winter and have been fine 3 solid years running. You should be fine with the same.

This dude knows what's up.

I rode through all last winter on 25s, and no fenders. Just don't ride like an idiot and you'll be fine.
Just make sure to throughly clean your bike when you get home.

If you get good quality tyres, the studs will be fine. Nokians suggested above have carbide studs, you don't have to worry about wearing them out.

--J

it snows in utah?

in nyc our winter can be pretty terrible and i get around on slick 23s just fine

gearing up for winter riding is more about you than the bike. wear a lot of things made from wool, and layer it up. not overdressing is a delicate balance

avoid things made of metal and the painted lines. if it looks wet its probably frozen and you should stay away from it or go over it really slow

Annual Snowfall:
Buffalo NY 93.6 inches
Deluth MN 80.7 inches
Helsinki Finland 72 inches
Salt Lake City UT 58.5 inches
Chicago IL 38 inches
Staten Island NY 29 inches


Flagstaff AZ 100.3 inches

We get more snow than some spot in Finland? Huh.

Metal. \m/

Cool. Thx guys. Ima check out those studded tires

what in the hell?

Get studs. They're slower, but mother **** are they worth it. Stick to the ground like glue.

Studs front and back, NOkian 38 in the front, and a continental 42 in teh rear is my setup on an uber old 27" frame.
fenders,
front brake, fixed on the back. Skidding is easy on snow.

And get some light gearing to plow through that snow, I'm running 46-22.

Winnipeg Manitoba 43.5 inches

Studded tires might be great for the snow, or hard packed ice - but how well are they going to be against black ice? OP said he would be night riding, which is when that **** is most prevalent. I have no experience with studded tires but do have to contend with black ice each year. I'm thinking the studs would slip just as easily, no?

I just use 32 studded tries on my surly steamroller in the winter. I never had a problem, besides 1 time slipping and busting my ass on black ice.

Vancouver BC 15 inches

We don't get a lot of actual accumilation. What we do get is a lot of precipitation as rain or mist, and our temperatures will hover at about +/- 5 deg celcius most mornings. So this combination of wet, clear streets at freezing temperatures is what gives us so much black ice. If we only had a healthy layer of snow on it, things would be easier! (jk)

Ice is a much bigger issue for winter riding in Buffalo as well. The snowfall accumulations are just there because I was curious. I don't think they are all that relevant, unless you are riding a snowblower on your commute.

Its at 7000ft elevation so it gets a good chunk of snow, never enough to really get a good base for the mountain though.

I wish we got snow here in Portland, it just hovers around 35 degrees and rains which is far worse.

Over 10 months, I win.

Studs are made for ice. Snow is easy, snow isn't a problem. Ice is the problem.

I don't care much about winning, but with black ice, there is nothing for the stud to 'bite into'. it's just a frozen layer of wetness that is super slippy. On normal ice (like riding on a frozen lake) studs make sense to me - the metal is harder than the ice, so it is able to deform the ice surface and get grip despite the slipperiness. This is why I was asking about how they perform on black ice, as I suspect that conditions would still be slippery even with the studs.