Ice

resus1uk

First good frost this year with a bit of freezing fog on the Wolds.

Not yet ready to get the studded tyres on the bike, but they are good in snow. I have a pair of Schwalbe snow tyres which get used on several of the family bikes.

I used the trike today on untreated roads & cycle paths (only the A road had salt). Some of the dogwalkers I meet had diverted to less icy paths.

Trikes are good in ice & I enjoyed the quiet roads in the dark.

My utility Longstaff conversion is on an MTB frame & has 26 inch slick road tyres.

salsajake

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.

Thats a crazy attitude to take if you apply it to riding on roads. I came off twice, both due to a large crown in the road (not that the queen had dropped it, I mean that the road dropped off steeply from the centre to the outside). As soon as the bike starts to slide on the ice (which was totally invisible both times) and you try to straighten up, bang - dumped on road, carried on sliding - the second time there was a car coming behind which I was worried would skid and hit me (because I slid for a while, out into the road and couldn't do anything about it) - fortunately he wasn't close enough, but its like roulette. If it freezes overnight I take the car now, I'm a pretty good rider but no amount of skill is going to stop you coming off on ice.

UKScooby

Knee still hurting after my off last night.

I arrived at home - my bike went next door !

It wasn't that cold but the short stretch of our road outside our house suffers from ice when other roads are clear. Pleased I was on my old bike and not the new 'cycle to work' bike (awaiting another spoke replacement !!). Broke the damn bar end mirror - but my jacket etc were undamaged.

And thats why I plan to leave the SPD's at home in winter.

The bike was still better (at least ££ wise) than the spin on my scooter last year - a slow 360 degree pirouette - only reason I dropped the bike was its weight - over twice the weight of the 50cc that the 125cc replaced. Yesterdays push bike incident was so much quicker.

baronsouthside

Getting back to the OP, The timing of the gritting matters.

The grit has to be out before the frost comes down. (The grit prevents the frost from forming)

The grit will NOT defrost frost that has all ready formed.

So , say, if the frost comes down at midnight, it will not matter what time in the morning the gritters come out for your 7am cycle. The frost will still be there. A better sign is if you see the gritters out the evening before your commute and befor the frost forms.

Having said that tho, LA's try to guess the timing so the grit stays on the road so if there is a chance of rain as well as frost chances are the LA wont grit as the salt will just be washed away having been no use and will have been a large expense to the taxpayer.

-4 tonight in Glasgow. Time to MTFU

realALBERTAN

http://ridecalgary.blogspot.com/2009/12 ... 98877.html

I hiked through massive drifts this week... at -13 riding / hiking through Canada's largest natural urban was surreal in the dark... Nokian Extreme studded on the front... Innova studded on the rear (don't buy Innova, I don't want to waste cash replacing)...

www.bikecalgary.org

we are discussing winter riding... and other such topics... disc brakes work better in the cold...

:roll:

"Thawing the bike isn't
Submitted by pinkrobe on Sat, 2009-12-12 11:26.

Thawing the bike isn't really necessary in my experience. If you have an older rear hub, the grease might freeze and keep the pawls in the freehub from engaging. I haven't had this happen to me since the 90's though. I only bring the bike in when it needs maintenance, or when something is frozen solid on it and won't move. Even at -38C, I can just jump on and ride away. Bikes are so cool..." he's pretty hardcore...

realALBERTAN

baronsouthside wrote:

Getting back to the OP, The timing of the gritting matters.

The grit has to be out before the frost comes down. (The grit prevents the frost from forming)

The grit will NOT defrost frost that has all ready formed.

So , say, if the frost comes down at midnight, it will not matter what time in the morning the gritters come out for your 7am cycle. The frost will still be there. A better sign is if you see the gritters out the evening before your commute and befor the frost forms.

Having said that tho, LA's try to guess the timing so the grit stays on the road so if there is a chance of rain as well as frost chances are the LA wont grit as the salt will just be washed away having been no use and will have been a large expense to the taxpayer.

-4 tonight in Glasgow. Time to MTFU

the grit won't work below -12 either

realALBERTAN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diQp_xwm9E8

Back brake - good


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGRy_3tr ... re=related
Front brake - bad

disc brakes = better





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHTPqHZZ ... ature=fvwp

chuckcork

Obvious question, how much slower are the spiked tyres to ride with? They might be worth it as an investment (£70 cost of a pair is for me made up in 7.5 commutes work if I don't train it in), not that Surrey is exactly known for its Hard, Freezing winters...

salsajake

Presumably studded ice tyres will only be any use in thick ice from start to finish, which are conditions so rare in the UK that you would never make your money back

realALBERTAN

The depends on what type you want... schwalbe makes the marathon winter which is not as agressive as my Nokian / Innova combo. They are quite a bit slower. If you only buy 1 mount it on the front... yes they are a bit slower but its largely due to a more cautious riding style. Thanks to the city planner that put a fire/ems station on my route at the bottom of a very icy hill... if I ever crash at least I'll get help within seconds.

be mindful of your tire pressure... read the reviews on mec.ca the one guy who complains about the snow stud admits to putting 55 PSI in the tire... That's what made him crash ...


http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_deta ... 0754267492

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_deta ... 302693791&
bmUID=1260754267495

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_deta ... 0754267496

I checked the currency converter the cheaper ones are 37 pounds or so ($65 CAD)... they will last several winters if you use them only when needed... ie spare wheel or wheelset depending on if you go front only or both.

woodford2barbican

tbh i think in icey conditions unless you have studded tyres - don't ride. and I am a soft southerner

secretsam

I know your pain - had an off last winter, A&E X-ray and suspected fractured hip, know someone who ended up with spinal damage. MTFU comments are neanderthal, frankly. The solution is take it easy, be careful on turns and if in doubt - walk.

skins2

chuckcork wrote:

Obvious question, how much slower are the spiked tyres to ride with? They might be worth it as an investment (£70 cost of a pair is for me made up in 7.5 commutes work if I don't train it in), not that Surrey is exactly known for its Hard, Freezing winters...

If they're pumped up to max pressure then you'll only lose 1-2 minutes per 1/2 hour I reckon.

salsajake wrote:

Presumably studded ice tyres will only be any use in thick ice from start to finish, which are conditions so rare in the UK that you would never make your money back

You presume wrong. Have a read here::

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp