Ice

amircp
amircp Posts: 132
edited December 2009 in Commuting chat
I fell off on black ice last week and have now completely lost my confidence on the morning commute. I wimped out today. Trouble is you cannot trust the LAs to grit the roads in time (I leave at 7am). Last year I was paranoid about cycle tracks being icy. Now its the main roads. At this rate I'll never meet my mileage target :(

Anyone else suffering? How do you get over it? Are mtb tyres better in icy conditions?
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Comments

  • Rich158
    Rich158 Posts: 2,348
    I wimped out today due to the fog, although I think the ice won't be far behind which will make me think twice about commuting. I haven't found that MTB tyres are any better in these conditions, when it's icy nothing really helps in my experience
    pain is temporary, the glory of beating your mates to the top of the hill lasts forever.....................

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  • singlespeedexplosif
    singlespeedexplosif Posts: 1,564
    just loosen up and ride. if you come off, you come off. just go with the slides and more times than not you'll be fine.
  • andy83
    andy83 Posts: 1,558
    my commute was doubled the other week due to the icy roads, also not happy not going to reach my mileage target unless can get some decent midday rides in.

    have to be sensible though, luckily if i go the short way i can walk to work in 1hr15mins, much better than getting public transport. obviously my commute is the long way and even longer in the summer :D
  • ballspondroad
    ballspondroad Posts: 181
    http://www.bikemagic.com/bike-reviews/s ... /4630.html
  • amircp
    amircp Posts: 132
    singlespeedexplosif wrote:
    just loosen up and ride. if you come off, you come off. just go with the slides and more times than not you'll be fine.

    You're obviously tougher than me. Have had a number of falls in the last year (it was v icy last winter), I am fed up with not be able to sleep on one side. More importantly perhaps is the chances of getting run over by drivers not making allowance for the conditions.
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  • amircp
    amircp Posts: 132
    ballspondroad wrote:
    http://www.bikemagic.com/bike-reviews/schwalbe-ice-spiker-tyres/4630.html

    Haha - it say they're noisy on tarmac so should be a good way of avoiding crashes with dozy peds.
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  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    I saw one guy the deck today.

    To be honest it was just a lack of common sense that caused his meeting with the floor. He was riding off the road onto a paved cycleway. The small slabs are slippery whenever whenever wet, so obviously it was going to deadly when the temp was hovering around 0c. I've seen him before in that area, being a student at Manchester (I guess), he should be at least slightly intelligent.
    I like bikes...

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  • Wallace1492
    Wallace1492 Posts: 3,707
    I am sure you will get all the "Man Up" comments from the southerners.
    To them a frost is when the thermometer just touches zero......

    Up here, as you know, it will get to -7 to -10, the tarmac will freeze!!
    Its just not the same as down south......
    "Encyclopaedia is a fetish for very small bicycles"
  • Matt.K
    Matt.K Posts: 105
    The ice got me this morning.
    On ungritted country lanes, at a T-junction turning right into the smaller road, going about 10-12mph, slower than usual because of the risk of ice. Next thing I knew I was sliding across the road a few inches away from my bike doing the same thing.

    Luckily it was a big sheet of ice so me and bike just slid to the verge and no damage was done except a bruised hip. Don't know how I managed to unclip, but I did and I was also very lucky that there were no cars around. It did scare me to think that if a car had come the other way and turned left in to the road I was now on it would probably have hit me cos there's hedges right up to the corner!

    Needless to say I took it very slowly and unclipped for the remaining 3 miles in and walked through the final little urban bit cos I didn't want to end up under a lorry.

    I think I'll be getting a lift with the wife when it's icy in future.
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    Ice is slippery, only Studded tires will bite, in proper iced up land. A more laid back bike will not twich as easly on a patch etc, but as above ice is slippery...
  • skins2
    skins2 Posts: 78
    I commuted in today for the first time on these and, although there wasn't loads of ice, when I did hit ice the bike was very stable even when front-braking. They're not expensive either at ~£70 delivered (arrived in 2 days from Germany).
  • squired
    squired Posts: 1,153
    My commute involves plenty of country lanes and although I'd like to carry on riding I think I will take my bike on the train on icy mornings. It isn't worth the risk of damage to my body or bike. Last year riding into the city on icy mornings was bad enough, but doing it on country lanes is just asking for trouble.
  • Seppy
    Seppy Posts: 3
    Very Icy here in Dundee this morning, had second thoughts about cycling, especially as one fo the guys I work with came off on black ice yesterday and broke his elbow, but decided to MTFU and got in without incident :)
  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    mtb are better on ice. generally more stable, drift better, and more control.
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  • always_tyred
    always_tyred Posts: 4,965
    See my latest "Rant".....
  • BiggerBoat
    BiggerBoat Posts: 168
    Very icy for me this morning but took it slow and steady, and I mean slow. Periodically locking the rear tyre to check how much slide there was. I'm on County 37's and they have decent grip. It's all a matter of practice????

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcUKLhEQ ... re=related
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  • sheepworryingbhoy
    sheepworryingbhoy Posts: 167
    I confess, ice forces me back in the car this time of year. It's completely pitch black up here until 8-8.30 ish & you've little or no chance of spotting black ice until your on it. Try & look for parts on your route that when after a day of rain water still runs smoothly over a cycle path or road. These are the spots to keep in mind when the tempeature plumits.
  • mitchell_inman
    mitchell_inman Posts: 101
    Frosty here this morning. Nearly fell 3 times, and that was just on the walk to the garage to get my bike :D

    Stuck to main roads which were fine. Visibility wasn't great in the fog, though...
    There's a future for you in the fire escape trade...
  • antlaff
    antlaff Posts: 583
    Had my first fall on ice yesterday and as such chickened out this morning. Was only 50yds from the house and had just clipped in so was paying attention to the conditions.Fortunately it was the first day using my Muvi - see below link.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvk6Hmb6Ee4

    Smashed the mounting for my B&M front light - does anybody know were i can get a new mounting or will i have to buy new unit?
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  • amircp
    amircp Posts: 132
    antlaff wrote:
    Had my first fall on ice yesterday and as such chickened out this morning. Was only 50yds from the house and had just clipped in so was paying attention to the conditions.Fortunately it was the first day using my Muvi - see below link.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvk6Hmb6Ee4

    Smashed the mounting for my B&M front light - does anybody know were i can get a new mounting or will i have to buy new unit?

    Nasty - good of the driver to stop. When I fell off (on the bridge over the A1 near Invesk), about 5 cars went past without even slowing down.

    If your light is an IQ, you should be able to get a mounting over the internet (where they sell the light).
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  • wgwarburton
    wgwarburton Posts: 1,863
    Wallace1492 wrote:
    I am sure you will get all the "Man Up" comments from the southerners.
    To them a frost is when the thermometer just touches zero......

    Up here, as you know, it will get to -7 to -10, the tarmac will freeze!!
    Its just not the same as down south......

    The long version:
    In my youth, a friend and I cycled up to the top of Glen Ogle in winter, to play with our bikes on the frozen lochan at the top. It was very useful experience.

    A couple of winters back I tried to use our local bike path in icy weather- it was as bad as the lochan- worse in places- the slightest imbalance and the bike went down. Nowadays I stick to the main road, it's much safer. I did consider getting studded snow tyres but decided the road was the better option.

    If the road is sheet ice, then cycling with normal tyres is impractical. That's rare, though, even in rural Scotland. Normally the risk is of slippery patches, where ice has formed in puddles or persisted in shade. You can generally see and avoid these- and you can usually ride straight across them without mishap, as long as you don't need to brake, turn or traverse a slope. It helps that puddles are usually level before they freeze!
    If you do get caught out, you should be ready for it. Just put a foot down (quickly!) and you can prevent a fall- I hit ice in the carpark last week when I was riding round a parking van: front wheel slides, foot down, slide to a stop and then stand up and move off again. Maybe this is harder if you have clipless pedals? I don't use them so I can't compare but whipping a foot out of a toeclip is certainly fast enough to catch a fall at low speeds. Note that if it's icy the foot you put down will also slide, so you don't need to worry about hopping along to keep your balance!
    This is hard on wheels, BTW, since you can end up propping yourself up on one leg and an almost horizontal bike. You won't be riding your fragile, low-spoke-count hoops in the ice, though, will you? :-)

    The short version (you know what's coming....):

    MTFU.

    Cheers,
    W.
  • amircp
    amircp Posts: 132
    Its difficult to spot ice on unlit road. I don't know why I din't declip - probably all too quick.

    Perhaps stabilisers would be good :oops:
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  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    amircp wrote:
    Its difficult to spot ice on unlit road. I don't know why I din't declip - probably all too quick.

    Perhaps stabilisers would be good :oops:

    need powerful lights and a lack of speed to be honest.
  • suzyb
    suzyb Posts: 3,449
    No problems for me today. I took it easy cycling along the few streets to the main road, didn't get up too much speed and followed the car tracks and the main road had been gritted.
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  • wgwarburton
    wgwarburton Posts: 1,863
    -null- wrote:
    No problems for me today. I took it easy cycling along the few streets to the main road, didn't get up too much speed and followed the car tracks and the main road had been gritted.

    Yeah, me too- but it was only down to -3 this morning (I think the fog kept the temperature up). It's when it gets cold that you need to be careful.

    Cheers,
    W.
  • LostInTheWoods
    LostInTheWoods Posts: 50
    This is quite an interesting read after living in Sweden for five years... do what the grannies here do.. buy some studded tires and wrap up warm.
    They work really well on hard packed snow too, it's only when it starts to melt does it get really interesting...
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    LostInTheWoods wrote:
    This is quite an interesting read after living in Sweden for five years... do what the grannies here do.. buy some studded tires and wrap up warm.
    They work really well on hard packed snow too, it's only when it starts to melt does it get really interesting...

    I suspect for quite a lot studded tires would be overkill, for my commute and the surrounding areas it is.
  • LostInTheWoods
    LostInTheWoods Posts: 50
    roger merriman wrote:
    LostInTheWoods wrote:
    This is quite an interesting read after living in Sweden for five years... do what the grannies here do.. buy some studded tires and wrap up warm.
    They work really well on hard packed snow too, it's only when it starts to melt does it get really interesting...

    I suspect for quite a lot studded tires would be overkill, for my commute and the surrounding areas it is.
    Probably is for me too now I have moved to slightly warmer climbs, but it does give you a feeling of security when the temperature dips below zero. Also, the extra resistance is great training... when you put your normal tires back on, you really fly.

    I would rather change to studded tires over the winter and not need them, than reach for the car keys...
  • UndercoverElephant
    UndercoverElephant Posts: 5,796
    Thick frost and lots of ice for me this morning... Also freezing fog, which again snuk up on me halfway in. Same rules apply as when your in a car, no sudden changes in speed or direction and most of the time you'll be fine. Anticipation is the name of the game, plan ahead for the road.
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  • fossyant
    fossyant Posts: 2,549
    Main roads weren't gritted in Manchester.... side roads were ICY though - very gingerly cycled to the main road - should have walked really (usually do)..... although you can control speed better on the fixed...felt the back go slightly...

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