Hypno Toad

-15F, 30 miles, went great but toes got cold in the Wölvhammers - something I already knew, but haven't invested in the boots for the Polar Vortex rides.

Noonievut

That's hardcore! I did a polar vortex ride years ago, used ski goggles and it was interesting being out when it's below -20C.

I'm going out this afternoon (only -10C with windchill), but I'm most excited about trying this new garden spray bottle/wand thing I picked up (for chemicals on the lawn)...as I'm sure the bike is going to get dirty. When I was primarily road biking, conditions were usually good, maybe wet, but I didn't ride with snow/slush/crap very often, so it never got washed much (just wiped down). If this spray thing works, and if I time it so when I'm done my ride there is still some sunshine to enjoy when cleaning down the bike after...one less hurdle to riding outside more often.

KPREN

Yes I ride. Do not try a bunny hop with a big fat azz e bike in deep snow. The result is hilarious. Just a big poof down into the snow when I loaded the bike.

A few more from a few weeks ago.



More snow rides

xyz

Went out for my ride today with only once shoe cover. Foot was pretty cold by the time I finished. See if I get sick from this. Opps. So many clothes to put on. Yesterday I put on my normal street coat that doesn't fit so well, miserable ride. Now I know why a riding coat is a good investment.

chaadster

Ooh, that Infinity saddle must let your nuggies get cold, KPREN !

xyz

I didn't think about that, butt (hehe) it must make it a bit chilly.

KPREN

With a chamois and good riding pants I don't get cold and that Infinity saddle is heaven no matter what the weather is. Expensive but oh boy I would not ride far without it. No sense having an e fat bike with over 200 miles of range if your toosh is not comfortable. Well, I should not say that. This last ride was pushing 30 watt hours per mile breaking trail and that would only give me about 80 miles.

xyz

Good lord, $300 for that! Is it really that good?

KPREN

I have to laugh because I cannot defend the price of the Infinity Saddle. They occasionally run a sale with as much as $50 off but that is still outrageous. What are you gonna do, they know what they have to sell.
When you finally get it adjusted right it gets more comfortable the longer you sit on it. Drop the set post, put your feet on the ground to take a break and don't bother getting off the bike. That is comfort.

I hate the fact that everyone I encounter has the same reaction as you when comparing looks to the price. There is just no defense worth a damned against it. Trying to defend that saddle and the price is like a pedophile defending his right to be in the neighborhood. The argument falls on deaf ears and weird looks.

The best saddle that I had before the Infinity was a WTB Pure V and that was only a 35 mile saddle. I can push up over the 150 mile per day mark on my e fat bike on gravel/pavement with the Infinity saddle.

xyz

Oh, I would pay that much if it was worth it, I mean, can you really put a price on your junk?. Just a little shocking.

KPREN

There are three of us now in an old guys biking group that have this saddle now. Same result for everyone. Bit tough to get the adjustments exact but when you hit the mark, you know it. Same consensus, If it broke tomorrow we would bltch complain about the overprice and quality in public and then quietly order a new one so we didn't feel stupid.

billnuke1 

Heading out!

Layered up! Warmed up to 25*!

Takin’ the Fuji...

billnuke1 

A real quicky, quickly! 1.5+ miles! 12 minutes...start to finish...includes pushing it in and out! Just enough of a ride to work out my back kink! And whet my appetite for a road bike ride!
Tomorrah!

Noonievut

Going on my first fat bike ride today! Rented one and I'm meeting at the local trails that are popular for MTB and fat biking. Hoping for a fun experience and a nice workout. Weather is perfect -6C, sunny and no wind.

xyz

Any snow, deeper snow I mean? i am finding that my studded 27.5 tiers are pretty worthless if there is any snow. Powdery stuff is OK, but the wet stuff makes it un-ridable, Even a light layer on the roads that has been packed down by cars (ice/hard packed base with loosley packed on top) pushes me all over the road. Or a few inches on the path of wet snow that has had moderate foot traffic does the same. In the city I don't get to ride in virgin snow.

Does those fat tires really float over that?

Noonievut

It snowed last night, I went out at 2pm and the trails were perfect. I bumped into one of the trail maintenance folks who said they were out at 6am riding them essentially to groom them. But I get what you're saying about deeper snow, I found that here and there and the front tire would squirm around.

'02 nrs 

fresh air never hurt anyone,

KPREN

With my fat tires: Terrene Wazia 4.6" fully studded tires running tubeless with the front tire at 3 PSI and the rear tire at 4 PSI, I can pretty much roll through anything up to the bottom bracket. If the back tire spins it can dig down deep and stop me. Deep slush can be trickier. but rolling slow does the trick.

xyz

How about more heavily traveled areas? When I am on ice/hard packed snow, but with another batch of fresh snow on top of that (semi packed but still loose), it pushes my front wheel around enough that crashing is a danger. Sort of breaks up as I am riding over it, would think that would be less of an issue with the giant tires. Guess I'd need to ride one of the fat bikes to see hoe it handles.

KPREN

That depends strongly on how much tire pressure I am running in the tires. The Terrene Wazia's do not have much of a tendency to self steer at very low tire pressures. I also find that having some weight over the front tire actually helps with control. I have a battery on each side of the front fork that weigh 8 lb each for a total of 16 lbs.

xyz

I see, I am using 40 psi, so if it cut it down to 20 it would be more stable? But only the first 2 miles of my ride has these issues, after that it is mostly bare pavement. Different government entities doing the maintenance, as well as part being on sidewalks and lightly used city streets.

KPREN

To check the tire pressure I squeeze the tires. If I can squeeze a third of the way through the tire it has about 3 lbs. I want a bit harder in back. When rolling the tires have a few wrinkles in the side walls. I don't run over 15 mph that way.

Hypno Toad

Does this count as winter cycling?

chaadster

Wow, that’s a lot of “McGizmo” action. There are cables, ties, brackets, bungees and boxes everywhere!

I salute your determination.

KPREN

The bungies are holding chemical warmer packs on the batteries. Most of the time there is no bungies. I am not satisfied with the Home Depot EMT brackets. They are functional to try the batteries in that location. Now that I like the location its time to buy an Old Man Mountain rack setup and use that to carry bags and batteries. I will go back to an electric wrap/bag setup for keeping the batteries warm. The boxes you see are actually batteries. There is a ridiculous of range on this bike as you see it in the pictures. I would normally not ride with that much power but I am getting ready to ride that fat bike from Tucson to Ohio via back country/ dirt all the way.