Is it just too cold to go out on a ride?

wordnumb

Air temperature doesn't bother me at all, the colder the better. The invisible ice was hard work today, first time ice or snow has worried me riding. Off road it's not a problem, but on concrete or tarmac - lethal. You can't tell where you're going to lose traction.

I didn't fall but used both feet as stabilisers more than once.

Turveyd38

I love winter snow riding, but I think I've fallen on my ass enough times for 1 season on patches of sheet ice or worse still sheet ice hidden under a thin but useless layer of snow!!

Hoping for some good snow to make falling off less painful and make it all rideable again, but so far no joy!!

Briggo

richg1979 wrote:

i would rather go out riding in -0 temps as everythings froze and you dont get dirty, much better than mud.

+1

Just make sure you got the right clothing, the missus was complaining she couldn't feel her feet last ride, turned out she only had a thin summer sock on!

Vegman

Me and the missus just got back from our first ride of 2010, a chllly but exhilarating hour and a bit only, but worth the effort .Frozen mud and puddles that aren't cracking when you ride over them any more, and I got to try out one of my xmas pressies, some Endura singletrack pants just the ticket thanks wifey.

Valy

JumperSimon14 wrote:

It's not very nice when you get out for the first time after recovering from glandula fever and 8 attacks of tonsillitus in the past year to get 100m away from my house and what looked like a dry road to then just slide off into the direction of an oncoming car! There was no grip what so ever and it was lucky that the car had been going slowly

Holy f*ck...

I;ve fallen off on the 30th - there was a path and it was all ice - you could barely stand on it. I hit my the back of my head and now I'm feeling "not 100%" - four bloody days later.

Some replies were a bit inconsiderate, but I dono why the OP is asking this question though.
If you wanna get up and do some exercise and whatnot - go - if the conditions allow it. As here in Newcastle the paths, at least, 4 days ago were pretty much pure ice. I did fall off twice by not concentrating for just a moment... and as far as the main roads go - the cycling lanes were covered in snow/slush yesterday. So, "wooo" :

scale20

A buff is the way ahead for riding in the freezing cold, I always thought they were a bit daft until I broke and bought one. Cover your head under your helmet, keeps your ears warm and stick it over your mouth to stop that cold throat thing.

fletch8928

I am doing 7pm-7am nightshifts this weekend, Once I defrosted my lock at work I headed home in the gear it was left in due to frozen cables! Brakes were frozen and the fork was making a strange ticking sound. The snow fell for most of last night and I was itching for the ride home coz its always fun.

I got up early just so I could get out for a fun snowy ride, 1 t shirt and a fleece was all i wore and was toasty warm. Obviously i wore trousers and gloves ect but once riding up hill in the deepish snow you soon get warm.

The roads were quiet and the corners were taken slow and upright but once i got off road it was happy smiley face time.

Some of the lads at work think I am craazy, but one admitted he wished he could join me.

Andy

No

stubs

No

Was riding on the Pennine Bridleway this morning -6c in the car park before we started fell off lots of times on the ice but had a fantastic ride in the sun

-2c when we got back to car but apart from my mates toes going numb (forgot his wooly socks) and me banging my knee on a gatepost when the bike went sideways we survived intact.

Get out there it probably wont kill you

capoz77

Went out for a one hour whip around local circuit in the end, treacherous ice in some places but apart from that was all good.

A few people asked why I made the post?

Why not! needed a bit of motivation to get out there

If you applied the logic of "decide for yourself etc etc" then 50% of posts on any forum could be questioned :roll:

Valy

capoz77 wrote:

Went out for a one hour whip around local circuit in the end, treacherous ice in some places but apart from that was all good.

A few people asked why I made the post?

Why not! needed a bit of motivation to get out there

If you applied the logic of "decide for yourself etc etc" then 50% of posts on any forum could be questioned :roll:

Well, you just said you are feeling quite comfortable sitting around the house and then saying "oh should i go out cycling?" So motivation I guess...

It's not like we have experience with your mind...

dombo6

JamesBwmb wrote:

I think it all depends more on the ground / road state---if icy don`t go, frozen snow don`t go.

I was out yesterday (on road) kept nice and warm and roads generally OK; previous day MTBing on hills (Welsh border area) , waste of time , either iced up tracks or snow with frozen breakable surface

NO SUCH THING AS BAD WEATHER, JUST POOR CLOTHING. Ammundsen??

Dress warm, beanie hat under your helmet and go out. Your fingers will feel like lumps of wood for the first half hour or so but you'll soon warm up. Oh, and ride gentle with a lower gear so you spin the pedals easier.
As a last resort get studded tyres:
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/article2340.html
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=30226

Surf-Matt

Never get too cold - just hate cycling in ice - utterly lethal on any road surface.

monkeyboy85

Hi All,

I really want to get out there and ride, I get terrible withdrawal symptoms if I dont ride for more than a week and its been 3! tried going for one a few weeks back but the ice was so bad I would of been injured but now we have thick snow my theory is if I do crash it'll be cushioned by it and also provide more traction than ice. I road all through the winter on sheet ice last year on my basic trek 4300 but now I'm on a fuel ex 8 2010 I feel scared, probably because im clipped in. can't afford spiked tyres either

Northwind

Ah, clipless. At the end of this week I think we should have yet another "what's better, SPDs or flats" thread and see if anyone's changed their mind after all this snow

Valy

monkeyboy85 - well snow gives you a lot more traction that just naked ice. The only thing is it slows you down a bit, but on a full suspension bike it should not be too rough at least! :P

Northwind - what's SPD?

cat_with_no_tail

I was out using my SPDs today. As much as I like clipless, I do wish I'd put the flats on. Hard packed snow blocking the cleats was not much fun. But then again, I do feel more 'secure' when clipped in.
Might have to go out again tomorrow just to compare

Valy

Cat With No Tail wrote:

I was out using my SPDs today. As much as I like clipless, I do wish I'd put the flats on. Hard packed snow blocking the cleats was not much fun. But then again, I do feel more 'secure' when clipped in.
Might have to go out again tomorrow just to compare

But what re SPDs?

Northwind

SPDs = shimano's name for clipless pedals, used interchangably for all clipless. (mainly because clipless is such a ridiculous name- you clip onto clipless pedals...)

Valy

So... clip less pedals are actually the ones you clip onto? Dude...

juankerr

I was at Delamere a couple of days ago. Cos you're in the woods it's a few degrees warmer and the ground isn't completely frozen. I should imagine Llandegla is a death trap right now though.

Northwind

Valy wrote:

So... clip less pedals are actually the ones you clip onto? Dude...

And flat pedals are quite bumpy

Valy

Northwind wrote:

Valy wrote:

So... clip less pedals are actually the ones you clip onto? Dude...

And flat pedals are quite bumpy

How? The actually surface, or do the clip in mechanisms actually absorb some of the shocks?

Northwind

The surface, it's all covered in holes and jaggy bits, not flat at all. I demand my money back!

Valy

Northwind wrote:

The surface, it's all covered in holes and jaggy bits, not flat at all. I demand my money back!

Well, is not that for grip? :? :P