Chain Control Areas - Are Bikes Allowed?
 

In the mountains of California (and other western states), there are chain control areas where the highway patrol will only allow access to vehicles with tire chains. Has anyone had experience with either being allowed or denied access by bike?

nope
:D

Watching this topic with interest... as in to see if anyone actually tried. Remember to state whether or not your bike had chains...

If I remember right, they're mainly on passes over the cascades (? whatever the range there is - the tall ones that you have to cross to leave cali). Think - warm, moist air from the ocean climbs several thousand feet, condenses... They get really deep, even though it's a southern state. There's a reason the Donner Party didn't make it through those hills :D

I think you'd have to be on a Pugsley and intent on crossing the mountains to even WANT to try it... But there are some crazy people on here...

Oh, and - great avatar BTW...

The roads in around Tahoe get chain controls on them as soon as one flake falls from the sky. Never saw any cyclists out then, but I was more preoccupied trying to explain to the CHP that the snow tires I had on the car would be just fine on snowy roads. My feeling was the chain restrictions in the northern Sierras were more just to force drivers from the Bay Area to slow down than it was for traction.

I know when I lived in Big Bear the controls were specific in allowing 4 wheel drive with snow tires to run without chains, so if you had a fix with studded maybe you could convince the CHiPies to let you slide ...

(and the slide joke was 100% unintentional)

Heh. My folks live in Tahoe City and my dad just loves watching the big ol' Suburbans and Escalades from the Bay Area sliding around while the locals put-put by in their ancient Subarus and Audis.

Boy, it'd be a hoot to put some studded tires on the bike and crank up the Brockway Grade while the tourists sit and spin....

LOL. I used to live in Reno and we were constantly amazed at the amount of SUV's with Bay Area plates in the ditch on our daily run up to Sugarbowl. There'd invariably a couple of dudes standing outside their vehicle scratching their heads thinking "but its an SUV and I had it in 4wd, this isn't supposed to happen!" We'd be driving by in our little VW with just a good set of winter tires and never once felt threatened by the conditions and old highway 40 could be nasty.

Studs don't do jack in deep snow. You'd be better off with big lugged BIG downhill tires.