Solving Winter Riding
 

Couldn’t think of an appropriate title, but this is went I went with. Not 100% solved but huge progress recently.

The Bike
I added studded tires. I have a Salsa Fargo and a lbs has Schwable Ice Spiker Pro 29x2.25 in stock. Mounted them yesterday and bedded the studs in on a 40k road ride. My local gravel trails are great when no freeze-thaw or deep snow. A 15 minute drive from home there are lots of gravel roads and they are perfect. Just enough cars to tamp down the snow. Been on them last two days and this is perfect, virtually no traffic, quiet country scenery, and the tires (and bike) are so good on these roads. Change of scenery from my warm weather rides when I don’t often ride these roads. I also added flat pedals (more on that below).

The Clothes
Ditching the SPD means I can wear warmer boots that allow for two socks and chemical toe warmers. Was -11C this morning and my feet were warm the whole time. On my hands I added thin blue nitril gloves under a thin glove, under warm lobster mitts. Hands were warm the hole time. Rest of my clothes were same as coldest rides I did before and that was all good.

So now I can ride more, which was always my problem during winter.

Good job on figuring out how to keep riding in the middle of the winter!

&....any chance you could share a link to where to buy studded tires (that fit 700c rims)?

Good to see you are making progress. Here in Central Texas 40°F is cold. So most of the modifications made for ridding is in the clothing. Unlike youse guys from cold country finding suitable cloths for riding can be hard. They simply are not available around here.

With my Pre-Existing medical conditions I have to be very careful when riding in the cold. So I keep a log of what is working and what is not. Its a real process. I have found it best to do my pre-flight check list on the bike before getting all geared up in clothing. My biggest addition to my clothing this winter has been a Nylon Reflective Vest Wind Breaker. It keeps the cold off my chest and still allows for ventilation.

Ha... Its kinda embarrassing when I see someone passing me up just wearing long sleeves at 45°F and I am wearing damn near snow gear. But I am riding, not far, but riding still...

It’s a small shop in Ontario Canada and I got the last pair, sorry. I’ve heard that prices are lower from Bike24 and Bikeinn in Europe though

fwiw - last year I discovered replacement studs for those. pretty handy. 24 miles on bare roads on those tires? brutal. I like these tires but they're best w/ a layer of compacted snow & ice. they are great on ice. I'd spare them the torture on dry gravel or even lots of dry pavement if it can be avoided

good choice in tires :thumb:
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...323315582e.jpg

1. SPDs, warm boots, etc. Eventually I invested in a pair of warm cycling boots (mine are Bontrager Old Man Winters - love them), but for years I went the route of warm hiking boots. When I did, I used Power Grip straps - they give you the experience of a cleated tight fit but you can use them with hiking boots. Make sure to buy the "extra long" version to fit with your boots.
https://www.performancebike.com/powe...-xlong/p326429
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0f0035fa05.png



2. For warm hands, nothing beats bar mitts. Available for drop bars and flat bars.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...36e77c1400.png

I can ride down to maybe -25 °C with these, glove liners, lobster claws, and Hot Hands hand warmers, and not feel the slightest cold in my fingertips.

These tires have been a dream on my local multi-use trails. Better traction than in summer with gravel tires. Plus I added a Redshift seatpost. Smoothes out the choppiness of the trails.


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a418b8c4e.jpeg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...42e5c04ac.jpeg

sweet! is that a 2nd water bottle on the downtube, just above the bottom bracket? it must get kinda dirty there, no? maybe it's a wireless speaker?

It’s a storage bottle for tools. And yes it get messy!

Move to a warmer climate when winter arrives. That's what I do.

I envy the conditions. I found that the more I rode in winter conditions, the less I needed to rely on studded tires. As for clothing, normal, loose-fitting clothing suitable for walking has worked great for me in riding. For walking, I might need to zip up, but for riding, I might need to open up.

Agreed. In many cases, wider tires at lower pressure are good for lots of winter surfaces, including hard packed snow. Studs are needed for icy conditions, but unless I'm riding on glare ice (for example, a bare frozen lake), I generally only want studs on the front tire. This is counter-intuitive for some, but it's slippage of the front tire that is far more likely to make you go down. A little slipping on the rear tire and you stay up anyway.

Actually, I can ride SPDs in pretty much any condition. I set the pedals very loose, and I can get out very quickly. But I prefer hiking boots in the winter, and I use those commuter pedals that have the SPD mechanism on only one side.

The more I read about it, the more I think we all have our own journey to find out what works for us in cold weather. I'm finding I have a higher cold tolerance than any rider I know who isn't obese.

The other day, it was 23 °F, felt like 16, pretty calm. I wore:

• Lined pants, gathered at the cuffs. Regular underwear.
• T-shirt
• midweight fleece sweatshirt
• Vented fleece riding jacket
• Ski helmet
• Wynd glasses
• Heavy mittens
• Snow boots

Toes were a bit cold, I need to add heat packs in the boots, I guess. Hands were sweaty, I could've gotten away with ski gloves. The heated socks inside hiking boots works better, but I only have one pair of heated socks and since I suppose they're only good for so many washings, I don't use them every time out.

I was riding the eFatty, mostly unpowered. That 80 lb. bike is a LOT of work to ride unpowered. Tires were set at 15 psi at garage temp, so maybe 12 psi when I got out there. I was glad to have the warp drive at the ready for a few short climbs.

big fan here

adhesive toe warmers over sock liners, then a winter sock over it all
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4cd65b0cd5.png
hand warmers have no adhesive but are warmer & last longer. a little masking tape is easy to remove
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...009cb2d6f2.png
sometimes it's just a heat pack over a sock
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9e2adf6d73.png
sometimes it's in addition to the sock liner & winter sock but on top
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c480728343.png

rumrunn6 I'm not sure I have room in my boots for all that! Very doubtful for the hiking boots. Possibly in the snow boots. I'll have to look into where to get them.

yeah mine are definitely upsized!

They make boots for winter that allow to clip in and skip toe warmers etc...

45nrth is having a sale right now.

https://www.45nrth.com/collections/s...r.v.price.lte=

Are HotHands the best ones?

How did you decide on top of toes vs. bottom?

oh I don't know the best brand. hot hands are certainly common. I have found that some older units go bad, so it's good not to overbuy & buy fresh units each winter. but that doesn't mean older units don't work. used some yesterday from last year, worked perfectly. when I was commuting, I learned that if you ride in to work, removed them & bag them in a plastic sandwich bags w/ no air, they will stop the chemical process, then you can use them on your return ride back home, later in the day

dunno about why I started using them on top. some ideas, seemed logical. up there they won't get scrunched up from the toe/foot movement. the top is the coldest area due to wind & precipitation. the top has room for an air pocket in the socks

it helps to loosen the shoelaces up front in the toe box area. once your foot is in you can snug up the laces. the "toe" warmers are very thin. they get activated w/ exposure to air, so I open the pkg & throw them into the shoes for a few minutes to get them started. this also warms the shoes. also good to put your socks in a clothes dryer, so you start w/ warm socks. then put everything together & insert feet into the shoes

they are also good for long exposure for other purposes such as hiking, snow shoveling, roof raking, etc

I came up with/ the idea about taping hand warmers onto the socks, dunno if anyone else does that

I've tried full foot insole type warmers but wasn't impressed w/ their effectiveness

it is possible to have too much heat so I caution against using hand warmers on top of toes, against the skin, or over thin sock liners. the hand warmers are best over the top of thick socks

there are different types, meaning some last 4 hrs & some last longer

there's also a new type of toe warmer, I think it's called super toe warmer, so they are larger & last longer

I have been disappointed with/ some toe warmers that stopped heating before I needed them to. it's always a judgement call which type to use for which activity depending on conditions. meaning on one end of the scale, if it's not very cold & I won't be out more than an hour then toe warmers are fine. at the other end of the scale, if I'll be out for 3 hours snow shoveling & roof raking w/ uninsulated rubber boots, then definitely hand warmers

a bit of trial & error will give you a sense of what works for you, in various conditions

yesterday, 30 degrees, had to do my winter wheel swap on my car. expected to be out there for an hour or so, 1 pair socks & toe warmers was perfect

“Grabber” is another common brand that works well