hard frozen dirt vs. softer wetter dirt
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,389
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 110 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5180 Post(s)
Liked 3,478 Times
in
2,285 Posts
hard frozen dirt vs. softer wetter dirt
def. prefer the frozen hard stuff
mounted up the studs last week & I'm looking for stuff to ride on
mounted up the studs last week & I'm looking for stuff to ride on
#2
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,389
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 110 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5180 Post(s)
Liked 3,478 Times
in
2,285 Posts
9 degrees at sunrise. the dirt out back looks perfect. nice & hard w/ a dusting of snow. just enough to add ambiance. too bad there's too much to do today

Likes For rumrunn6:
#3
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,389
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 110 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5180 Post(s)
Liked 3,478 Times
in
2,285 Posts
the dirt was good riding today. nothing like flypaper or quicksand


cpl ice puddles to justify the studs, hehe


cpl ice puddles to justify the studs, hehe

Last edited by rumrunn6; 12-24-22 at 08:25 PM.
Likes For rumrunn6:
#4
Life Is Good
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Central Massachusetts
Posts: 1,685
Bikes: Zipp2001 Carbon Belt Drive SS, Kestrel RT900SL, Kestrel KM40 Airfoil 1x10, Orbea Occam H30, Trek Stache 5 29 Plus, Giant Yukon 2 Fat Bike
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 277 Post(s)
Liked 853 Times
in
435 Posts
Need the ground to freeze and stay frozen and a nice little crunch to the snow.
Likes For ZIPP2001:
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,389
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 110 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5180 Post(s)
Liked 3,478 Times
in
2,285 Posts
today, was a day of, wet, sticky, flypaper dirt

#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Mississauga/Toronto, Ontario canada
Posts: 8,617
Bikes: I have 3 singlespeed/fixed gear bikes
Mentioned: 28 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4085 Post(s)
Liked 2,366 Times
in
1,236 Posts
Our off road trails are a soft muddy mess right now due to warmer than average temps and lots of rain. I just ride pavement right now until everything freezes again... hopefully cold temps will come soon and freeze everything solid.
Likes For wolfchild:
#7
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,389
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 110 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5180 Post(s)
Liked 3,478 Times
in
2,285 Posts
getting there. a few degrees colder please, to make it crispy & provide more traction. wet leaves &/or leaves w/ a little wet snow, makes things interesting on a gloomy day. no hard, fast turns



#8
cowboy, steel horse, etc
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: The hot spot.
Posts: 43,456
Bikes: everywhere
Mentioned: 71 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 11696 Post(s)
Liked 6,624 Times
in
3,489 Posts
Likes For LesterOfPuppets:
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 4,654
Bikes: iele Latina, Miele Suprema, Miele Uno LS, Miele Miele Beta, MMTB, Bianchi Model Unknown, Fiori Venezia, Fiori Napoli, VeloSport Adamas AX
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1324 Post(s)
Liked 927 Times
in
640 Posts
I f ar prefer frozen to wet if there's soft ground when wet. It's much easier to ride on a hard frozen surface. The only time I don't like a hard frozen surface is on t he unpaved trails around here that are rail-trails and have a lot of foot traffic. Those deep footprints in the frozen snow or trail surface are like riding constantly over potholes. I think that's another surface perhaps better suited to a fatbike or a full suspension bike.
Btw, i don't use studded tires. I do lower the air pressure sometimes though to cushion the ride a bit and then pump the tires back up when I get to the paved roads I use to get home on.
Cheers
Btw, i don't use studded tires. I do lower the air pressure sometimes though to cushion the ride a bit and then pump the tires back up when I get to the paved roads I use to get home on.
Cheers
Likes For Miele Man:
#10
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,389
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 110 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5180 Post(s)
Liked 3,478 Times
in
2,285 Posts
The only time I don't like a hard frozen surface is on t he unpaved trails around here that are rail-trails and have a lot of foot traffic. Those deep footprints in the frozen snow or trail surface are like riding constantly over potholes. I think that's another surface perhaps better suited to a fatbike or a full suspension bike.Btw, i don't use studded tires. I do lower the air pressure sometimes though to cushion the ride a bit and then pump the tires back up when I get to the paved roads I use to get home on.
last winter I had a wonderful ride on a snow covered paved rail-trail. it was glorious. recently plowed, thin layer of compacted snow. super cold, crispy cold. bike tracks & footprints didn't matter due to the unique set of conditions. I do use studded tires, but on this day they weren't required. good solid traction
this may look slippery, but it wasn't. crusty & granular, no slick ice



#11
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 4,654
Bikes: iele Latina, Miele Suprema, Miele Uno LS, Miele Miele Beta, MMTB, Bianchi Model Unknown, Fiori Venezia, Fiori Napoli, VeloSport Adamas AX
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1324 Post(s)
Liked 927 Times
in
640 Posts
yeah I hear ya. been there, done that, don't like it. if it's thin melted slush over pavement, OK, cuz then I can get down to the pavement. hard frozen footprints, even shallow ones are no fun
last winter I had a wonderful ride on a snow covered paved rail-trail. it was glorious. recently plowed, thin layer of compacted snow. super cold, crispy cold. bike tracks & footprints didn't matter due to the unique set of conditions. I do use studded tires, but on this day they weren't required. good solid traction
this may look slippery, but it wasn't. crusty & granular, no slick ice



last winter I had a wonderful ride on a snow covered paved rail-trail. it was glorious. recently plowed, thin layer of compacted snow. super cold, crispy cold. bike tracks & footprints didn't matter due to the unique set of conditions. I do use studded tires, but on this day they weren't required. good solid traction
this may look slippery, but it wasn't. crusty & granular, no slick ice



Here are a couple of image from a few years ago. I took them for fun. It's a rail-trail that runs about 75kms. This day the snow was fairly soft and hadn't frozen yet and therefore the footprints in the snow weren't too bad. A different story once those footprints along with many others froze.

The above image cropped.

A side view of the bike.

Cheers
Likes For Miele Man:
#12
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,389
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 110 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5180 Post(s)
Liked 3,478 Times
in
2,285 Posts
got lucky w/ exceptional hard pack last night. but it wasn't dirt

Likes For rumrunn6:
#13
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,389
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 110 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5180 Post(s)
Liked 3,478 Times
in
2,285 Posts
for my own reference, planted the tulips! the ground is hardening up
#14
Senior Member
It has been staying very mild lately. Combined with 2 large snowfalls earlier in the month the ground is wet, and won't dry out. So early morning cold means firm dirt, and afternoon warmth means mud. Looks like the warmth is going to continue into December. Messy but at least I don't need a balaclava yet. There have been a few El Ninos where this pattern stuck around all winter giving us a break from the typical arctic winters. Downside is if that happens it will be cloudy most of the winter with frequent fog.
About 6 years ago I remember one ride where it was so foggy I couldn't see light in any direction just outside the city. Just the glow of my own headlight illuminating the fog. Triggered a sensation of claustrophobia.
About 6 years ago I remember one ride where it was so foggy I couldn't see light in any direction just outside the city. Just the glow of my own headlight illuminating the fog. Triggered a sensation of claustrophobia.
Last edited by gecho; 11-21-23 at 07:36 PM.
Likes For gecho: