dfritschle

Site seems to be down. New link?

bluegoatwoods

Thanks, Sixty-Fiver.

You're to be commended for your effort to spread good info to those who are willing to learn.

I've been a (proud, admittedly) ice-biker for a few decades now. Though there are conditions that even I won't ride in. But they're pretty extreme.

It's now the end of October, 2012. Winter has not set in yet, of course. But I'm looking forward to it and it's fun to be involved with those who are also looking forward to it.

I might even prefer ice-biking to summer biking, which is soooo hooooot....

I definitely prefer winter biking on clear roads.

It'll be nice.

lopek77

WD40 is a great chain and parts cleaner. After cleaning my chain with WD40 or gasoline (once a year), I'm using one of my favorite chain lubes - Prolink or T9. I also tried WD40 to clean my frame before winter. Frame stays cleaner longer and its easier to clean overall.
I don't recommend to use WD40 as a lube, but it makes a good "emergency" lube when there is nothing else to choose.

SavvyOne

This is absolutely wonderful and informative. Thank you.

Icecyclist.com

TriFlow is the best lubricant that I have found to keep the chain, derailleurs, and gears working in below freezing conditions. It displaces water and will not freeze until temperatures drop to 60 below 0 Fahrenheit.

This and other tips are on my website. Icecyclist.

Sixty Fiver

Tri-flow is one of the poorest lubes I have used here... it is ill suited for a dry and dusty environment in the warmer months and have been using homebrewed lube which has a base of synthetic oil and WD40 or mineral spirits as the solvent / carrier.

It makes for a much cleaner running chain than Tri-flow and does not act as a dust / dirt magnet.

I don't know too many people who ride at 60 below... I have come close and not had any chain issues.

Pic from today... we have been getting some pretty balmy weather and have been warmer than many places in the southeast and central U.S.

Icecyclist.com

Thank you for the tip. The upside of WD40 is that it is less expensive than Triflow. The downside is that its lowest operating temperature is -10 degrees Fahrenheit. About a dozen times a year I complete 30 mile rides in temperatures between 5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit. So, WD40 with a synthetic oil additive will not work for me as its operating temperature lower limit is too close to the temperatures I ride in.

In temperatures above freezing I use Maxima Chainwax as it keeps my chain nice and lubed for my longer 150 mile road rides. I hate having a squeaky chain after mile 100 with other bicycle lubes.

Sixty Fiver

I have ridden at -52F with homebrewed lube and had no issues... the solvent / carrier evaporates and it is the synthetic oil that provides the lubrication at these cold temperatures. I also run this in my internal 3 speed hubs to keep them running at extremes and they spin just as well at -40 C/F as they do on warm summer days.

In nice weather I might refresh the chain lube every 300-500km depending on the conditions.

Icecyclist.com

I may give this option a try as it will save me lots of $$. A gallon of WD-40 is $17 versus a gallon of TriFlow at a whopping $71. My major concern is the chain freezing and bunching up 15 miles from home in a very rural environment. To get an idea of what that looks like, try washing your bike chain with water in 20 degree Fahrenheit temperatures. It will freeze in the most unusual ways within a few minutes.

Maybe I will do a test of the "home brew" option on a very cold day close to home and see how it performs.

pyratenomad

Lots of useful info here. I had a few questions as the winters here in Idaho can be formidable at times. The link to creating your own studded tires is extremely useful. Thank you!

Sixty Fiver

We got our first snow today... the season is upon us methinks.

Even though the snow will vanish the streets are going to be wet and the night time temps are going to be dropping below freezing which is my least favourite time of year... I am much happier when it stays below freezing and then we can settle in to winter nicely.

BigC_82

Wd-40 does make bike product line Products*|*WD-40 Bike

Hypno Toad

Here's a great blog post from Surly about winter bikes:


Redundant Systems (What a country!)[FONT=courier new]

Great information for the winter rider in harsh winter conditions.

baraadnan1

I'm a penetration tester, I can help you securing it for free

Sixty Fiver

I picked up another Pugsley which is the same year (1st year model) as my old one... will be putting a White industries freewheel up front to provide some of that redundancy.

Sixty Fiver

Because I had a roll of 3M Scotchlite and a sewing machine I upgraded my shell gloves to improve their visibility...

Staypuft1652

Sixty Fiver

Just wanted to thank you for your work.

Sixty Fiver

No problem.

The 2017 season is upon us, looking forward to more adventures here.

To that end I picked up a new stove so I can make a hot beverage or soup on the trail, it is a 1966 Coleman M1950 military stove. It has a pre-heating wick so should be great when it gets harder to light other stoves without preheating paste.

m1950 (1).jpg

Sixty Fiver

teatime (5).jpg

Rider51

Love the site. Thanks for sharing.

One of my favorite adages came from a friend with Danish heritage. He said this phrase originated there, though he wasn't sure:

"Ride into the winter, and you can ride through the winter".

The idea being if you ride every couple days, just a little, you will get used to it. Both your body used to the cold, wind, etc. but your riding will adjust as well to the road conditions.

Bryanmaloney

Too bad it's a dead link.

timebomb

Is the info that was on that site available elsewhere? I'd love some tips on winter biking as this will be my first season doing so and midwest winters are pretty harsh.