first snow expected tomorrow!
 

Looking at the weather reports, looks like the first real snow is supposed to come to Philadelphia tomorrow/tomorrow night into sunday! I can't wait!

Checked out my studded tires, there's some slight cracking (they're 4 years old) but other than that, and 2 or 3 studs missing, they seem in pretty good shape. I use the Nokian Hakkapellita 294. this'll be the 1st time this year using them.... so excited!

jealous. be safe. looking forward to the snow up here in the interior of Mass. my 1st set of studs are on their way - hate the wait. comeback with pics!

I'm NOT psyched on the snow that's coming. My Hakka 106's don't cut it too well in the white stuff.

really, I hear nothing but good things about the Nokian H 106? Got mine, no snow yet to try it out myself...

For the most part they're fine in the snow but it all depends on how much you're talking about and the type. IME many tires including the 106s get squirmy in snow that's been pushed around by traffic.

Here's a link on technique some folks may find helpful that also describes the different types of snow. It's from Ice Bike

Yup, there isn't much you can do on snow that has been compressed by traffic like that, almost anything slides around because when the snow is compacted under such force something changes in the structure of the snowflakes... ask a physicist. It can be worse near intersections where braking and spinning tires can produce ice underneath this slippery snow.

dang! maybe my plans to commute regardless of the weather are a bit ambitious. I find it frustrating trying to figure out the conditions from inside my home. wet; wetter; dry; cold; colder - all that I've been able to keep up with but all these variables with mixed precip is gonna screw with my workout routines. I'm an animal of habit so if I want to swim 1 day and weight on 2 other days I have to spread them out and cycling gets it's own slots. If the cycling day is sh*t then I do nothing or I do something on the wrong day and once my routine is screwed up I lose motivation. Anyone else like that?

I for one will be researching the various forms of whiteness. I'll have 2 bikes at least - one with narrower studded tires to dig down to pavement and ice, and the other with wider floaters. However it does sound like there will be days where it would be best to suffer in a car rather than a bike.

Thanks for the link to riding technique!!!!

A question for you experienced snow/sleet/ice riders.Any quick tips on deciding to ride or not? Meaning 1-3" is OK Fresh snow is OK? 5"+ is not good especially with traffic compressing it for a few hours.

To complicate things I'll have to forecast the conditions for the ride home after who-knows-what happens to the conditions with plows; sanders and cars using the roads all day.

6" - 12" inches are expected in my area by Sunday night.... Off to work now, with about 2 - 3 " on the ground now. Hardly any traffic. See how it goes....

good luck especially coming home - don't forget to give us your ride reports! ;-)

don't take any un necessary risks

(This will be my 3rd winter on my 106's.) It's the trafficked snow that my 106's have trouble with. They just aren't wide enough, with enough of an aggressive tread (esp near the sides) to deal with all the ruts that car tire tracks going every-which-way leave. I have found out that lowering my tire pressure down to almost 25psi helps, but making it around messy corners with lots of slop (which most corners have in the winter where i live) is a real squirrely endevour. Also, shift as much of you body weigh as you can back and onto the saddle. Keep your arm pressure very light.

pretty bad going into work - in the middle of the blizzard - Doesn't seem to like slush too much - the deeper the slush, the worse it got....the rear "fish-tailed" on me a number of times. When I could find packed snow, it handled pretty good... Also saw firsthand two car accidents on the way in...one guy right into a guard rail, and a few blocks later smash one car into another who was turning into traffic... Glad I was on the bike! If I were driving a car, don't think i would've made it in. Of course, all my co-workers all think I'm completely nuts now. What is normally a 40-minute ride in took 1 hr 45 min. The ride back was better, most of the stuff was packed in by then, and some roads were actually <almost> clear. Didn't get many pics, I'll see if I can't upload them...

TuckertonRR - BRAVO! and thanks for coming back to report! glad you didn't fall and sprain something like a few other posters!

btw, about those coworkers, wouldn't you like to tell them they're crazy for sitting on their fat butts all day and getting fatter?