Turned around and gave up!

paulus69

Today I had to admit defeat on my commute in and turn around and go home then drive.

I came off twice because of the frost/ice on the ground and decided it was just too risky, any tips on winter riding. I don't want to pack my bike away till spring!

bobbygloss

It was bad here too. 4 people from my office came off this morning, one of them twice. Sounds like studded tyres are required, or at least confidence inspiring.

will3

paulus69 wrote:

Today I had to admit defeat on my commute in and turn around and go home then drive.

I came off twice because of the frost/ice on the ground and decided it was just too risky, any tips on winter riding. I don't want to pack my bike away till spring!

1)Concentrate.
2) the rough part of the road is your friend. If it's an icy stretch, don't ride where the cars have polished the tarmac smooth.
3) Slow down
4) but don't brake hard
5) ride in a low gear
6)concentrate
7)slow down before the corner
8) don't try and ride on sheet ice, it generally doesn't work
9) stay seated for climbs. Standing puts lateral loads through the wheels which makes you more reliant on grip you don't have. Pick a low gear and wind up.
10) go down hills slowly. If you find you need to brake becasue you're goiing too fast and there's ice, you may not be able to.
10) concentrate

Mr Plum

Was frosty around here but I was fine. I just took it easy on the sharp corners. The only bits that are dodgy for me is when I get on-site and there's been no traffic defrosting the path :P I definitely wasn't so eager to find buses to draft behind today though...

paulus69

Concentration is the name of the game then!

Pep

Frosty around here too but just ok doable.

Don't ride if not confident.

fossyant

Bad in Manchester yesterday, OK today. I had a botty clenching moment on a busy dual carriageway yesterday.... back end started snaking on an incline as I was putting in some effort.....

My MTB with tungsten carbide studded tyres sits waiting patiently in the garage for some off road route fun to work when the weather get's real icy.

pst88

I drove in today cos I'm lazy. Whilst driving in some bloke turned across my path in front of me and the bike just slipped out from under him. Stopped to see if he was alright but he was already back on his bike and riding off so I guess no damage done. I'm always the same when I fall off, get back on and try to leave the scene as quickly as possible in case anyone has seen!

paulus69

fossyant wrote:

My MTB with tungsten carbide studded tyres sits waiting patiently in the garage for some off road route fun to work when the weather get's real icy.

If there was proper ice I would get some too, I think it just knocked my confidence a bit this morning. Might go on a mid-day ride on the weekend as I really want to get back out on the bike.

iPete

Ouch, if its that bad in Mid November I'd be ordering some stuffed tyres personally.

itboffin

iPete wrote:

Ouch, if its that bad in Mid November I'd be ordering some stuffed tyres personally.

That's if you can find any one with stock.

After the last two days i'm switching to the CX, knobby tyres with lower pressure and basically take to roughest line you can, smooth tarmac if such a thing exists is NOT you friend.

When it really goes bad I have the conti spikes waiting 8)

Hot Orange

I generally took it a little easier where necessary this morning. It was light enough to see the ice patches, so I avoided those. The frost made a beautiful soft crunching noise under the tyres, so I didn't avoid that.

bennj

lost grip/slid both wheels of my motorbike on the way home last night, proper 5p 50p moment both feet on the floor!!

Ice?

Nope, half a field of sh!te left by the very kind farmer palmer, Lesson learnt, cycle into work! which today I have!

wgwarburton

Hi,
Try to stick to gritted roads.
Top-tip: Councils generally have school bus routes as their highest priority, so if you can identify any roads that are used to bus kids to school then chances are they'll be the first ones gritted on a frosty morning.
If you don't have any schools close to your commute, then this isn't much help...sorry... Trunk roads are also high priority (usually not council managed, though). Cycling on a trunk road can be unpleasant, though...

Cheers,
W.

sketchley

will3 wrote:

paulus69 wrote:

Today I had to admit defeat on my commute in and turn around and go home then drive.

I came off twice because of the frost/ice on the ground and decided it was just too risky, any tips on winter riding. I don't want to pack my bike away till spring!

1)Concentrate.
2) the rough part of the road is your friend. If it's an icy stretch, don't ride where the cars have polished the tarmac smooth.
3) Slow down
4) but don't brake hard
5) ride in a low gear
6)concentrate
7)slow down before the corner
8) don't try and ride on sheet ice, it generally doesn't work
9) stay seated for climbs. Standing puts lateral loads through the wheels which makes you more reliant on grip you don't have. Pick a low gear and wind up.
10) go down hills slowly. If you find you need to brake becasue you're goiing too fast and there's ice, you may not be able to.
10) concentrate

You forgot 11) Concentrate

paulus69

What? I wasn't paying attention

Jay dubbleU

Running on Schwalbe Racing Ralphs at 60psi today - no major issues but concentration no sudden movements and gentle braking is the name of the game

Jay dubbleU

Running on Schwalbe Racing Ralphs at 60psi today - no major issues but concentration no sudden movements and gentle braking is the name of the game

vorsprung

itboffin wrote:

iPete wrote:

Ouch, if its that bad in Mid November I'd be ordering some stuffed tyres personally.

That's if you can find any one with stock.

http://www.starbike.com/php/product_inf ... n&pid=9800

pst88

bennj wrote:

lost grip/slid both wheels of my motorbike on the way home last night, proper 5p 50p moment both feet on the floor!!

Never heard that phrase before, what does it mean?

hatbeard

pst88 wrote:

bennj wrote:

lost grip/slid both wheels of my motorbike on the way home last night, proper 5p 50p moment both feet on the floor!!

Never heard that phrase before, what does it mean?

it's a reference to the contractions of your sphincter during a potentially bowel loosening scare.

ride_whenever

It's when your bumhole flutters like you're passing 5p then a 50p over and over again...

unixnerd

It'll be better when they start putting grit down on the roads. I pranged my winter car on black ice last week. I knew the road wasn't gritted and drove accordingly but that and my snow tyres didn't help much :-( If you think you're on black ice and going down a hill I'd get off and walk.

ride_whenever

I've ordered studded tyres for when it gets really bad... Very very excited about this!

camerone

ride_whenever wrote:

I've ordered studded tyres for when it gets really bad... Very very excited about this!

i assume studded tyres are for off-road use only? surely on tarmac they are only any good if entirely snowy/icy as they will skid immediately on clean tarmac?

hatbeard

ride_whenever wrote:

I've ordered studded tyres for when it gets really bad... Very very excited about this!

I'd love to have a crack on studded tyres when the weather gets bad but I fear my centre of gravity/general balance is terrible at the best of times so I'd likely end up sliding under a bus or something studs or no studs.

jeremyrundle

Bobbygloss wrote:

It was bad here too. 4 people from my office came off this morning, one of them twice. Sounds like studded tyres are required, or at least confidence inspiring.

I would like to ask if studded tyres are ok on ice, or better for snow.

What worrys me is like snow shoes eg postman, you are advised not to use them except on ice and snow as if you go from ice/snow to tarmac they wear out almost immediately.

bluehelmet

will3 wrote:

...5) ride in a low gear...

Depends what you mean by this.

If you mean get in a gear that is hard to pedal in for the speed you’re doing then you’re correct. This reduces the torque going through the rear wheel and means you’re less likely to wheelspin – a technique I use lots in the mud on my MTB – it’s also true in cars with no traction control: high gear, low revs for maximum grip in icey conditions. Obviously doesn't help when going downhill... :roll:

Gentle movements, prepare early for everything, read the conditions, take it easy and pray you don’t hit black ice :evil:

ride_whenever

They're proper off-road ones, only weighing 610g each, so not too bad for mtb tyres. 360 odd tungsten carbide aluminium shrouded spikes :twisted: Good on ice or snow but okay for short blasts on bare tarmac as you still get plenty of grip from the rubber.

I will give a full report once we have:

a) enough snow/ice to justify them
b) they arrive

There are however marathon pluses with studs IIRC which have the centre fairly bare so you can pump them up and ride normally but let them down for studdage in the even of inclement conditions!

ride_whenever

I'm also hoping for sparks on tarmac with them... that would be beyond awesome!!!!!

will3

bluehelmet wrote:

will3 wrote:

...5) ride in a low gear...

Depends what you mean by this.

If you mean get in a gear that is hard to pedal in for the speed you’re doing then you’re correct. This reduces the torque going through the rear wheel and means you’re less likely to wheelspin – a technique I use lots in the mud on my MTB – it’s also true in cars with no traction control: high gear, low revs for maximum grip in icey conditions. Obviously doesn't help when going downhill... :roll:

Gentle movements, prepare early for everything, read the conditions, take it easy and pray you don’t hit black ice :evil:

No i mean quite the opposite. Riding in mud is not the same at all as riding on ice.

To cycle successfully you need latteral (that is sideways) friction. Wheels are generally good at providing this, even, though less so, on mud. On ice you have none or close to none.

Now if you're in a high torque mashy low cadence gear, you're also generally having to heave on the bars to provide the same amount of power. This means you're twisting the whole bike left and right as you pedal. Usually the lateral friction easily resists this, but on ice you have none so it's pretty easy to go over. Added to which you'll be more off balance yourself so less able to cope. Better to leave it in a low gear, pedal gently etc.

Wheelspining is not normally a problem for a bike on ice (or if it is you'll also have problems staying upright). I've only had it going up hill. In this case, the best thing you can do is be sat on the saddle with your weight over the rear wheel, not stood up and mashing!