WHY exactly are you bothering??

downfader

Last night before I went to bed I had a look out the window. 11.30pm and ice everywhere. "Gonna be slippy tomorrow" I thought

Just got up and looked out the window and its icey as hell, not frosty but invisible sheet ice. Drivers are still trying to maintain 30 (and they are sliding around a fair bit for it) and I've seen a few pedestrians having real trouble on the pavements.

Its quite tempting to throw some boiling water over the pavement, but I know it will refreeze instantly and make it worse. I dont have access to a mass of salt either.

gtvlusso

Road not gritted at all in Brizzle - I had an awful drive in. Nearly slid into the back of another car, then slid across a round-a-bout and could not get any traction when accelerating.....Still coughing and fluey, hence in car!

downfader

..hmm... the gritter lorry just went down the road.. at speed.. seems to have passed us by. Some old dear will break her hip.

shouldbeinbed

gritting round here has been patchy and shabby at best. far worse and less comprehensive than recent years, even the major roads are twinkly and dangerous.

I love a quote from some American tourist diverted from Heathrow to Prestwick: I walked to our airport in 20 inches of snow and the plane took off fine, I get diverted to the other end of the country because you've got 2 inches.

I know they're more used to it but this still happens every year in this country and we're still taken by surprise every time.

fnegroni

I use autosocks http://www.autosock.co.uk/

I put them on last night to get my car on the steep drive fully covered in snow and ice.

And this morning I only took them off once I got on the main roads which were clear of snow and ice.

I am thinking about investing in a set of winter tyres.

Bicycle, on the other hand, that got me back home on time on Monday, ice does require handling skill so I went practicing at the weekend.

suzyb

It seems the gritters have given up on our street. Over the weekend they drove up at least once a day but there hasn't seemed to be one come up for the past two days now.

Fireblade96

My street hasn't been gritted at all. I live well off the main road so I guess that's normal. It's manageable but requires caution and can all be thwarted by numpties not taking account of the conditions.

I've got to get to Heathrow for 5am tomorrow in order to get back to Norn Iron for Christmas; I've no idea whether that'll be possible !

-7 last night...

downfader

fnegroni wrote:

I use autosocks http://www.autosock.co.uk/

I put them on last night to get my car on the steep drive fully covered in snow and ice.

And this morning I only took them off once I got on the main roads which were clear of snow and ice.

I am thinking about investing in a set of winter tyres.

Bicycle, on the other hand, that got me back home on time on Monday, ice does require handling skill so I went practicing at the weekend.

Thats a cool idea! :shock:

daniel_b

downfader wrote:

fnegroni wrote:

I use autosocks http://www.autosock.co.uk/

I put them on last night to get my car on the steep drive fully covered in snow and ice.

And this morning I only took them off once I got on the main roads which were clear of snow and ice.

I am thinking about investing in a set of winter tyres.

Bicycle, on the other hand, that got me back home on time on Monday, ice does require handling skill so I went practicing at the weekend.

Thats a cool idea! :shock:

I likes the looks of them puppies, how long have you had them - are they quite hard wearing??

Did you take them off because they might have been damaged otherwise?

Dan

bd12mz

must admit I chickened out this week so far.
Monday I just took the day off (finished Batman Arkham Asylum on PS3 so a day not entirely wasted :P).
but yesterday and today I have gotten lifts in and out of work.

I did try this morning thinking that the at least the main road would be ok.
so I walked the bike down and stepped onto the road only to find it's was like a skating rink.

'sod that' I thought and went back home to ring a colleague for a lift.

amaferanga

shouldbeinbed wrote:

....I know they're more used to it but this still happens every year in this country and we're still taken by surprise every time.

Some parts of the country (e.g. much of Scotland) are better at dealing with it than others (e.g. much of southern England).

I guess for many councils the question is whether or not its worth investing in a bigger fleet of gritters/snow ploughs to avoid a few days disruption each year.

The problems come with numpties who think they should be able to go out in their cars and drive at the speed limit like they normally do (!) regardless of the conditions.

downfader

amaferanga wrote:

shouldbeinbed wrote:

....I know they're more used to it but this still happens every year in this country and we're still taken by surprise every time.

Some parts of the country (e.g. much of Scotland) are better at dealing with it than others (e.g. much of southern England).

I guess for many councils the question is whether or not its worth investing in a bigger fleet of gritters/snow ploughs to avoid a few days disruption each year.

The problems come with numpties who think they should be able to go out in their cars and drive at the speed limit like they normally do (!) regardless of the conditions.

Yeah down in the south snow is almost a myth. Sadly its taking lives when people arent properly prepared:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel ... 965905.ece

iain_j

Yet again, not a speck of grit to be seen on my commute (mostly on major roads). Yesterday's slushy snow had of course frozen, my tyre tracks from last night were preserved perfectly.

Despite having no work at work I got myself in well early to avoid the traffic today - I'm confident in my own handling skills, and if I muck up, it's only me that gets injured. However there's too many imbeciles who think their cars will magically stick to the tarmac.

Well impressed with my handling on the ice this morning having only about 5 miles' practice in as many years

fnegroni

Daniel B wrote:

I likes the looks of them puppies, how long have you had them - are they quite hard wearing??

Did you take them off because they might have been damaged otherwise?

I took them off because apparently they should only be used on snow/ice and slush. Bare tarmac can rip the fabric especially if driving above 20mph. Occasional tarmac sections between snowy sections are not a problem, since apparently the TUV test includes a 30 mile section on dry tarmac at 30mph.

I have two pairs which I bought in 2004 and used a bunch of times: I needed two pairs cause my previous car was a powerful RWD sports car. The one I have now is not that powerful and it's FWD, so I would probably get away with just one pair. The first time I fitted them, it took me two minutes for a pair.

They work very well, especially in situations such as being stuck on an uphill with wheels spinning helplessly.
But they are not magic: in an emergency stop the ABS will still kick in.
On the other hand, hard acceleration is not a problem so quick getaways from junctions are a lot safer.

In terms of long term reliability, I can't really tell. I trust the TUV test.

amaferanga

downfader wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

shouldbeinbed wrote:

....I know they're more used to it but this still happens every year in this country and we're still taken by surprise every time.

Some parts of the country (e.g. much of Scotland) are better at dealing with it than others (e.g. much of southern England).

I guess for many councils the question is whether or not its worth investing in a bigger fleet of gritters/snow ploughs to avoid a few days disruption each year.

The problems come with numpties who think they should be able to go out in their cars and drive at the speed limit like they normally do (!) regardless of the conditions.

Yeah down in the south snow is almost a myth. Sadly its taking lives when people arent properly prepared:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel ... 965905.ece

When the general guidance if the roads are icey is only to travel if its essential, you have to question the wisdom of taking a bus-load of folk to see some xmas lights getting switched on on one of the coldest nights of the year :?

Reminds me of what one of my teachers always used to say: 'There's no such thing as common sense'

realALBERTAN

8)


-19 & fresh powder.

sampras38

downfader wrote:

Last night before I went to bed I had a look out the window. 11.30pm and ice everywhere. "Gonna be slippy tomorrow" I thought

Just got up and looked out the window and its icey as hell, not frosty but invisible sheet ice. Drivers are still trying to maintain 30 (and they are sliding around a fair bit for it) and I've seen a few pedestrians having real trouble on the pavements.

Its quite tempting to throw some boiling water over the pavement, but I know it will refreeze instantly and make it worse. I dont have access to a mass of salt either.

And also, if the temperature gets below a certain point it plays havoc with the salt and stops it's gritting effects anyway.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

The old timers at the Shirley Royal Mail depot were moaning about why we were all kept indoors until being told hand deliveries were cancelled at 1215.

But it was lethal out there, took 3 times longer to get the car ready to head off from Bitterne. Pedestrains were using the roads in town and Shirley to walk on instead of the pavements... and they were going faster than the traffic!

The work car park was closed due to safety issues and despite drivers being offered overtime to do the premium parcels at 1215, I doubt many took up the offer as the pavements were still lethal, even though the roads had got slightly better after the heavy rain.

Mystic Meg predicts we may have no post delivered again tomorrow morning from Bitterne or Shirley depots, ice sheets expected agin overnight

fnegroni

fnegroni wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

I likes the looks of them puppies, how long have you had them - are they quite hard wearing??

Did you take them off because they might have been damaged otherwise?

I took them off because apparently they should only be used on snow/ice and slush. Bare tarmac can rip the fabric especially if driving above 20mph. Occasional tarmac sections between snowy sections are not a problem, since apparently the TUV test includes a 30 mile section on dry tarmac at 30mph.

I have two pairs which I bought in 2004 and used a bunch of times: I needed two pairs cause my previous car was a powerful RWD sports car. The one I have now is not that powerful and it's FWD, so I would probably get away with just one pair. The first time I fitted them, it took me two minutes for a pair.

They work very well, especially in situations such as being stuck on an uphill with wheels spinning helplessly.
But they are not magic: in an emergency stop the ABS will still kick in.
On the other hand, hard acceleration is not a problem so quick getaways from junctions are a lot safer.

In terms of long term reliability, I can't really tell. I trust the TUV test.

Ok, used them this morning and ice was a non-issue! Plenty of grip where cars would literally slide sideways (I did too on a corner which then prompted to put the socks on, took same corner again, no trouble!)

Also handbrake start on slippery uphill: no problem.

Eau Rouge

To give you some idea of the headache the council's have....
Downfader and NitrousOxide report that Southampton is a lethal sheet of ice, while just a handfull of miles accross the M27 in Chandlers Ford the powdery snow makes everything looks beautiful again while the main roads I took to get to the country village I work in (all 2.5 miles of a journey) are completely clear. I don't see that there would be any problem getting to Winchester or Romsey though.
Work collegues from that part of the world are telling me the area around the General Hospital was fine, if a little busy this morning, and thats in town!

dav1

Roads in norwich are not too bad at the moment. A couple of very icy sections but there is usualy a rideable route through them.

hambones

Very frustrating around my way. The roads were totally clear last night meaning i could get out for a night ride on my road bike. Snow overnight meant it was back to the mtb for the commute in this morning....

cee

fnegroni wrote:

I use autosocks http://www.autosock.co.uk/

The other option of course is to buy winter tyres. a bit more expensive (£50 a corner), plus a spare set of steel wheels from the scrappy (£5 each? depends on how you haggle!)...., but fewer concerns about dry conditions (i would trust the TUV test, but would still probably take them off as soon as the worst of the snow had been driven over....)

then just swap them over at winter time...then back in summer. with the benefit that the grip is much better even in cold and wet conditions (like our normal winters). Then in snow..wow.

CyclingBantam

I stacked it this morning on some ice. a very short road I have to go down was absolutely covered in inch deep clear ice. Was only going about 2mph and could do nothing but fall. Rest of the roads were fine though.

How do people manage when they find them self on sheet ice. Any tips at all? I was clipped in on my fixed roadie. Error of judgement as I thought a lot of the snow and ice had gone this morning.

Back to the mountain bike after the trip home... if I make it that is!

fnegroni

cee wrote:

fnegroni wrote:

I use autosocks http://www.autosock.co.uk/

The other option of course is to buy winter tyres. a bit more expensive (£50 a corner), plus a spare set of steel wheels from the scrappy (£5 each? depends on how you haggle!)...., but fewer concerns about dry conditions (i would trust the TUV test, but would still probably take them off as soon as the worst of the snow had been driven over....)

then just swap them over at winter time...then back in summer. with the benefit that the grip is much better even in cold and wet conditions (like our normal winters). Then in snow..wow.

Have you tried winter tyres on sheet ice? How do they compare?

I had no trouble on ice today with the socks, I mean, the car's stability control didn't even make an appearance and it was like being on rails.

Wonder if winter tyres have the same feeling.

Also, the socks would be good for roadie tyres on bicycles too, and we could carry them with us in the pannier bag instead of fitting knobbly tyres for the whole Jan and Feb...

rolf_f

Look North was from my road last night - the gritter lorry had got stuck on the hill in the morning! I coasted down without being aware of what was going on higher up (crashes, cars abandoned etc - I rode up the hill after work and there were still a couple of cars abandoned up there). Interviews with locals complaining about the gritters but, ultimately, they did ok - it's only yesterday I think that there were any real problems. It was slippy and I was glad not to be in the cars crawling down - came in late today but there'd been a snowfall in the night and the conditions were fine.

I'm an Ice Road Cyclist

Specialized Needs

fnegroni wrote:

Also, the socks would be good for roadie tyres on bicycles too, and we could carry them with us in the pannier bag instead of fitting knobbly tyres for the whole Jan and Feb...

Disk brakes or fixie only, do you think? Market opportunity for bike specific socks? Interesting idea...

fnegroni

Specialized Needs wrote:

fnegroni wrote:

Also, the socks would be good for roadie tyres on bicycles too, and we could carry them with us in the pannier bag instead of fitting knobbly tyres for the whole Jan and Feb...

Disk brakes or fixie only, do you think? Market opportunity for bike specific socks? Interesting idea...

Well, considering the forces at play, a velcro strap could be enough: the sock would be like a single narrow pieve of fabric, velcro closure at the ends, and two elastic bands on the sides.
Once fitted, it would have to be cleared by V-brakes but would not require disc brakes not having any material on the actual rim.
Sure, it would have to be prototyped first but wouldn't be too difficult.
Now this is in the public domain, this idea can't be patented anymore! but that wouldn't stop someone make money out of selling it, if it works...