Riding on ice

Surf-Matt

Seems a fair few of you still venture out in ice.

Fine if 100% off road but surely you must have some tarmac to cycle on at some stage?

I find ice covered tarmac totally unrideable so the bike is currently "resting" and doing more running (even this is pretty sketchy in ice!). A bit of a pain.

Seem some horrible ice/bike crashes and lost control a few times myself - ice + bike + any downhill gradient = pain

Wooliferkins

These are selling faster than we can get hold of them. Which may be an answer to the problem. At some stage I may have a spare set to put on the commuter so I can unrest the bike.

.blitz

Surf-Matt wrote:

Fine if 100% off road but surely you must have some tarmac to cycle on at some stage?

I have to cycle about a mile along a country lane which is err...tricky in places. Some of it is crunchy but where it's solid ice, I get off and push.

Some of the fireroads on the Chase are covered in swathes of ice so it's not like I can relax when I'm off-road.

MacAndCheese

Wooliferkins wrote:

These are selling faster than we can get hold of them. Which may be an answer to the problem. At some stage I may have a spare set to put on the commuter so I can unrest the bike.

I thought of these, but figured because there's alot of salted road with no ice on my commute they'll just get ruined by the tarmac?

Wooliferkins

They are designed to go on the road. Lower the pressure for full ice raise it for mixed/none.

Kiblams

I am still riding on untreated roads /cylepaths to work everyday on 26x1.5 slicks, it really wakes you up in the morning when you have to concentrate on very subtle shifts of weight and very shallow cornering. I am loving it though, adds to the commute and some areas are complete sheet ice (down by the river) but with a little care and quite alot of speed it can be intense and fun

Belv

Most of my commute is on un-gritted cycle paths. In the ice before Christmas, i ran knobbly tyres at LOW pressures (about 25 PSI and yes i got a couple of pinch-flats). As long as you don't lean over to corner, brake quickly (and use the back brake if/when you brake at all) or encounter many hills, it is fine! My journey was taking 2-3 times as long as normal. I actually found it easier to cycle on the ice than to walk on it because momentum of the bike keeps the movement smooth rather than needing grip each time you step.

Kiblams

Belv wrote:

I actually found it easier to cycle on the ice than to walk on it because momentum of the bike keeps the movement smooth rather than needing grip each time you step.

I have always sworn by this and take the time to explain it everytime someone calls me mad for cycling on ice

Graydawg

Kiblams wrote:

Belv wrote:

I actually found it easier to cycle on the ice than to walk on it because momentum of the bike keeps the movement smooth rather than needing grip each time you step.

I have always sworn by this and take the time to explain it everytime someone calls me mad for cycling on ice

Yup - everyone in the office thinks im nuts for cycling into work but I'm faster on the bike than I would be taking the car!

Surf-Matt

That's confirmed then - I'm being a gayer!

andyxm

I still commute, using the spiked tyres that dotbike sell. They really are very good, before Christmas my route had about 3 miles of packed down snow/ice that they handled fine, I've read about too many broken arms/collar bones to risk going out. Everyone at work thinks I am a loony, and I reckon a good few have come to the conclusion that I must be banned from driving!

Graydawg

Surf-Matt wrote:

That's confirmed then - I'm being a gayer!

You said it!

hearndenemma

went out on ladies nite mtb ride yestarday stuck to old railway paths due to ice weren't too bad untreated road sections were tricky but doable with care :?

Agree that felt more stable on ice on bike than on foot but had a few comments about being mad ! but hey whats one more bruise for collection :oops:

definitely not resting the bike and starting running matt !

CycloRos

I've wussed out of the 9 mile commute so far this week mainly cos I can get a lift instead.

I did most of last winter with maybe half a dozen offs but I don't care what anyone says commuting on icey tarmac is no fun! It comes down to this one point, I'm simply not prepared to risk breaking myself and being unable to ride the good stuff at the weekends.

singlespeedexplosif

with a little care and quite alot of speed it can be intense and fun
absobloodyexactly. Great fun and a fabulous workout.

joshtp

stop moaning!
man up and have fun! i supose ice sucks if you have to get places, but i ride my bike for fun... and the ice only ads to that, drop your seat, drop your tyre pressure, and go mess about, its great for skils, and is a right laugh too!

Surf-Matt

I find broken bones hamper fun a little...

Off for a run...

joshtp

i dont mean this in a bad way matt, but, how old are you?
im gonna go for 30+ my exact guess is 32,
this means that you are starting the decline into decrepidness, soon you will be a dribbling old man in a chair with the mail on your knee...
this means that your sence of danger, and overall feelings of weakness are incresing, Hencem you no longer look at ice with a sence of fun as im sure you used to, but you know view it with a sence of trepidation, you are scared... dont worry, it happens to everyone, one day, even steve peat will feel this....
its especialy clear this is what is happening, as i notice you have recently aquired a road bike, this means you are now eat bran flakes, yet more proof of your decline into middle age..
i have some more questions....
did you recently buy a expensive and extremely nice custom board, with your name hidden somewhere in its design? i thought so...
have you at any point in recent times looked at a porche and thought "yes, id like one of them" (it could also have been a BMW)
you see, you are now middle aged..... its not wrong for you to have a mid life crisis, its natural, but you need to realise it is the reason for your inability to ride your bike on ice...


anyway, im 14, so idont want a Porche, and i dont want a custom surf board (well....., maybe i do, but....)
this is why i still enjoy riding my bike on ice, and why i have no plans to start being sensible...
right, now where did i put my v-brake semi slick 1.5 tyre'd commmuter... i fancy a snow ride...

The Northern Monkey

:?:

joshtp

lol, sorry, bit of a rant...

The Northern Monkey

makes no sense though....

The reason i'm not riding to work is because its dark. If it was a bit lighter i'd be happier I think.

For me its not just a case of "oh I might get hurt".... its "oh I might not get paid".

joshtp

bigbenj_08 wrote:

makes no sense though....

The reason i'm not riding to work is because its dark. If it was a bit lighter i'd be happier I think.

For me its not just a case of "oh I might get hurt".... its "oh I might not get paid".

thats fair, but if your only not riding cuz ur scared, thats lame...

Paul 8v

I found on the really icy sections sitting on the top tube and putting both of my feet on the floor worked well! It was really icy though, once I got off road it was fine

Kiblams

TBH I do go slower on the ride home from work (is light on the way in) on ice due to the darkness, you have to concentrate a lot more to catch a glimpse of shiney ice on tarmac/pavements. Even though I am slower, I still enjoy it though

Oh and joshtp/mbukman, I am soon to be 26 with a full-time career. Oh and semi slicks... PAH! get out on some 1.5 full slicks!

Daz555

I'm still cycling to work in the ice simply because I can't be bothered to walk. Besides, on some paths it is easier to cycle slowly than it is to walk anyway.

I just make sure I keep the bike as close to vertical as possible in the turns and go easy on the brakes. The cold and my reduced pace meant I breezed into work this morning without working up even a slight sweat.

Northwind

Unrideable just means "I don't know how to ride it" Never yet found any ice that's unrideable myself. (but don't worry, I've found loads of rocks and chutes and stuff that are definately impossible to ride, even when someone else is riding down them )

Planning is the key, if you try and ride like normal you'll be toast. You need to slow down, look further ahead, plan out gentler lines, long braking zones... And also avoid the worst of the ice, which generally means avoiding the bits that cars don't drive on. How you ride helps too, you want to keep as loose and relaxed as possible (not easy, mostly ice makes me tense up) just like you would on any other slippy surface. That helps your subconsious/reflex balancing actions do their job. If you're deathgrippde and bolted to the saddle, when the bike slides you're down before your brain knows what's happening.

But just avoiding it is better if you can. Might get some spikes myself.

Surf-Matt

I'm sticking to the running until it thaws.

projectsome

Graydawg wrote:

Kiblams wrote:

Belv wrote:

I actually found it easier to cycle on the ice than to walk on it because momentum of the bike keeps the movement smooth rather than needing grip each time you step.

I have always sworn by this and take the time to explain it everytime someone calls me mad for cycling on ice

Yup - everyone in the office thinks im nuts for cycling into work but I'm faster on the bike than I would be taking the car!

+1

my bike isn't the lightest either!

last time i walked the first time, almost fell over every 10 metres, next day took the train, was late, so took the bike and lowered pressure to just under 30 psi

mojojojo

studded tires will help

MrChuck

Daz555 wrote:

I just make sure I keep the bike as close to vertical as possible in the turns and go easy on the brakes.

+1
Of course how well you can do this depends on what other people on the roads are doing. So I'm a lot more cautious on the roads and am happy to walk to the nearest clear road or traffic-free bit rather than fall in front of/because of a car.

A few years back I used to pride myself on riding whatever the conditions but I'm not quite so militant now- I don't stop riding but am quicker to get off and walk where necessary.

Graydawg

joshtp/mbukman wrote:

i dont mean this in a bad way matt, but, how old are you?
im gonna go for 30+ my exact guess is 32,
this means that you are starting the decline into decrepidness, soon you will be a dribbling old man in a chair with the mail on your knee...
this means that your sence of danger, and overall feelings of weakness are incresing, Hencem you no longer look at ice with a sence of fun as im sure you used to, but you know view it with a sence of trepidation, you are scared... dont worry, it happens to everyone, one day, even steve peat will feel this....
its especialy clear this is what is happening, as i notice you have recently aquired a road bike, this means you are now eat bran flakes, yet more proof of your decline into middle age..
i have some more questions....
did you recently buy a expensive and extremely nice custom board, with your name hidden somewhere in its design? i thought so...
have you at any point in recent times looked at a porche and thought "yes, id like one of them" (it could also have been a BMW)
you see, you are now middle aged..... its not wrong for you to have a mid life crisis, its natural, but you need to realise it is the reason for your inability to ride your bike on ice...


anyway, im 14, so idont want a Porche, and i dont want a custom surf board (well....., maybe i do, but....)
this is why i still enjoy riding my bike on ice, and why i have no plans to start being sensible...
right, now where did i put my v-brake semi slick 1.5 tyre'd commmuter... i fancy a snow ride...

HEY! I like bran flakes, and BMW's.......... and road bikes too.............
I'm 28 this year! :shock: :shock: :shock: