How to commute safely in the snow?

Paulie W

jedster wrote:

Heres hoping the £500 investment is worth it

How many times do you reckon you'll use it?

Well he is called Aberdeen lune...

aberdeen_lune

How many times do you reckon you'll use it?

Probably wont be any lying snow this winter knowing my luck. Last winter I could have had tons of use out of it. I remember two weekends of snow last year and quite a few dodgy commuting days. So for return on investment I'd guess 4 weekend rides and a dozen commutes. Spread that over three years (thats how long the tyres are supposed to last) then its only £10 per use. The main idea is to stop me from resorting to the turbo trainer I cant handle that instrument of torture.

iain_j

iPete wrote:

Who wants to lead with this?

Surely it should be in front of the bike? :?

DonDaddyD

Depending on the degree of snow i.e. Snow on the main roads, I'll leave the bike at home.

itboffin

It's just been pointed out how similar to Capt Kirk I currently look, must be the jumper :shock:

shouldbeinbed

It's ice and other people thats the real problem. once a car starts to slip it may not stop until it hits something solid and if it's collected you in the meantime you're the squidgy bit in the middle of the sandwich, even if it just hits the kerb, it's your rims in the middle.

A patch of black ice will have you down before you've had a chance to realise you're going.

tailwindhome

Take care out there!!

beegee

I've found that having to drive round a cyclist who could fall over at any moment makes it a lot more difficult to drive. Basically you have to do a very odd slow speed manaoeuvre to go right to the other side of the road and back again. It doesn't make driving in the snow any easier. In fact the manoeuvre can be the cause of the loss of control. I know people shouldn't be driving the car if they can't stop it on a sixpence but that's not the way things happen.

So, for three reasons, I don't cycle in the snow : To avoid being squished by an out-of-control vehicle; to help cars, lorries, vans ; and because I'm rubbish at riding in the snow

MonkeyMonster

Blimey charlie! Ladies and gents having looked at the next weeks weather - take care out there! Unless your deliberately setting up some awesome skids and slides and youtube em

Clever Pun

DonDaddyD wrote:

whyamihere wrote:

Neither of your road bikes will take CX tyres, therefore the only thing you can do other than just riding them is to leave them at home.

So all the SCR bunch:

Prince
Bass
Jonginge
MonsterMonkey
Clever Pun
LiTs
G66
GregT

etc will be catching public transport come when it snows and settles?

off roading the brompton for me, it's fu<king amazing fun... wrecked the chain last time I did it though

I really can't justify a snow bike

MonkeyMonster

I might put the knobblies back on if it looks bad for long enough

cjcp

I put cross tyres in my backpack this morning. Just in case. I'm a bit too sad for my own liking.

amaferanga

iain_j wrote:

iPete wrote:

Who wants to lead with this?

Surely it should be in front of the bike? :?

Looks like its for clearing the road for other cyclists. In reality though I doubt it'd actually clear the snow from a road....

theblender

Winter is great, I love watching the roadies gingerly cornering on wet leaves, slip-sliding along in their disco slippers on ice and frost, limping along with bent mech hangers, scuffed bar tape and wrecked STI units. It's revenge for all the roadies on 17lb bikes who draft me on my 32lb MTB in the summer instead of just passing me and dropping me like they should do. :twisted:

greg66_tri_v2.0

cjcp wrote:

I put cross tyres in my backpack this morning. Just in case. I'm a bit too sad for my own liking.

Nah. The tyres probably enjoyed a change of scenery.

iPete

oooo, the 'light snow' in London looks pretty heavy to me, going to put my Conti Ultra Dura skins to the test tonight

Any recommendations for keeping my toes warm in my M076 shoes, spent enough money on wiggle to date and don't want to order overshoes quite yet in case Santa has got me some. Already in two layers of socks!

Bassjunkieuk

IP, I have just got home (1/2 day) after cycling through some light sleet/wetness and my feet where fine in 2 socks. In fact I think I was colder this morning or at least my hands certainly where as some of the fingers on my left hand hurt like hell this morning! Going to broach the OH with the idea of some new gloves on safety grounds as I can't brake effectively with cold/wet hands........if green lighted Evans will be getting about 25 notes off me tomorrow :-)

Nothing had settled and it was just like riding in the rain, except with snow falling around you - rather nice actually :-D

vorsprung

Normal snow that is fresh, not too deep and hasn't been compacted by cars into sheets of ice is no problem for 28mm Marathon plusses. They don't have much tred but there is some

will3

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/soci ... 912162316/

cjcp

will3

So how did it go DDD did you die?

lae

I posted this in the road section, just thought I'd copy and paste it here too.

Last winter I made an ice bike from an old (very old actually, it was my dads!) Raleigh 'anteater' (or was it aardvark?) MTB with no suspension, converted it to fixed gear, 'new' (secondhand) cheap disc braked wheel on the front. Then I made my own studded tyres from some secondhand 2.2 Halo Twinrails (in a very disgusting purple to match the frame), made a load of holes in them with a bradawl, then a couple of little washers either side of the hole and popped a small rivet into each one with the long end sticking out. Then I wrapped the inside of the tyre with about a million layers of electrical tape to stop the rivets from popping the tube.

Worked surprisingly well and I definitely had a lot more traction in slush and ice and frozen earth than with normal MTB tyres. Although I lost a couple of rivets they were easy to replace. I donated the bike to my friend who stayed in York to do a masters degree, although it has slicks on it for most of the year.

oliverb

I always have a spare bike setup just for snow even though we only get a few weeks of it most years here on the North Downs in Surrey. If you take your car in when it snows the side roads and hills are impassable and the main roads just get blocked with traffic.

This year I got a new set of wheels and fitted them with spiked tyres. I find it is not the snow that is the problem but the ice the following day. The spikes are designed for riding on ice so if I wake up and it's snowing or there is black ice I leave my touring bike at home and take my spike equipped mountain bike.
On the way to work on Friday I tried them out on a very steep hill that had not been gritted and they worked fine. On my tourer I tend to stay away from compacted snow but the spikes on these tyres grip perfectly well.

Have a look at this video from YouTube showing a chap riding a frozen trail on Ice Spiker tyres. I like the bit at the end when he gets off his bike.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5VYDZAR6iM

roger_merriman

To quote dads army "don't panic"




Really honestly since most of the posters are in or around london ie SE england yes it's had some snow but it's just a dusting, yes bikes get very iffy once serious amounts of ice build up.

But there are other ways either studded tires, or simply drive as long as you don't have a car with wide tires, will get though reasonable amounts of snow, the limit is when the car starts pushing into snow rather when driving over. see the photos and the tire tracks...

You can drive on ice sheets that one struggles to stand on.

but the blunt point is snow even in hilly areas is

A) not common proper snow a few days a year if that.

not rocket science to drive though.

ie don't panic...

though very lovely at the mo it's really shouldn't be a issue.

lae

^ I used to have an MG Midget that would go through snow that stopped my neighbour's Honda 4x4.

oliverb

I know we only get a couple of weeks of snow a year but there is something special about a snow ride. It just brings a big smile to my face same as when I was a kid.

prj45

I rode in last year when it snowed on slick 28mm tyres.

I was f*****g mad.

I made it without falling off, but I travelled at about 4mph all the way in.

I remember sliding down Clerkenwell road on solid packed ice with my feet out, unable to stop, ready to throw myself off if anything cross my path.

I got the tube home.

suzyb

It's not rocket science to drive through but it is damn slow, as every main road ends up with a slow moving never ending convoy of vehicles

ofc I suppose that's normal traffic for London

Fireblade96

Pah, you London softies are having it easy.
Taxis are now retusing to take me home - I have to walk the last 1/2 mile - since it's too slippery for them to get down my road.

Today I may be snowboarding on it. Not ideal on ice, but I feel I've got to give it a go :shock:

I may be gone for some time.....

Northwind

WheezyMcChubby wrote:

The problem with snow isn't you, your bike or your riding it's what every other half- wit is doing.

This. Quote from a woman at my work which I love:
"The wheels all started sliding, and no matter how hard I pushed the pedal it wouldn't stop sliding".
It's not just that people are idiots, though lots are, some people just have no clue at all what to do in the snow, it's a skillset they've never learned. It's not like we get that much snow so drivers can go years without ever having to drive in it. So, no wonder there are so many rolling disasters out there. Doesn't matter how safe you ride really.

I've been commuting on my mountain bike, it's a bit like commuting in a tractor but I know I'll get there and I know I'll get home again, largely by not sharing any slidy looking road with any slidy looking cars.