Is anyone else looking forward to the cold snap?

hfidgen

Hell yes - gimme cold over sun any day! I typically sweat buckets by the time my commute is over, so not having to spend 10 minutes hair-drying my helmet, top and rucksack in the gym in the morning is awesome!

My bike is already in a winter setup with some thin nobblies on, so should hopefully be fine for whatever comes our way. Still not a fan of ice though.

The only downside to cold is that I tend to get a very runny nose and tear-y eyes, which can make things a bit interesting :P

unixnerd

I have heard that winter tyres can make big difference even to rear wheel drive. Is this true? Or would the only difference I notice be in my bank account ?

I run a BMW 328i touring as my winter car, it has a rare limited slip differential option which helps. I'm on snow tyres 5-6 months of the year up in Aviemore and snow tyres make a huge difference. Not just in snow, but on really wet roads there's much more traction and you can drive with increased confidence. Stopping distances in cold weather are far better, you only have to avoid one small prang to justify the investment.

And it's not just for rear wheel drive. Cars often have a 50/50 weight distribution these days and front wheel drive will get stuck almost as easily. Even with four wheel drive you'll stop much faster on snow tyres. I've had to push many a holiday makers Mondeo while it's wheels (even with traction control) spin away like mad on normal tyres.

What makes summer tyres useless in snow is that many of them have a solid band around the middle, so they never dig in. They're also made of a rubber that's not pliable in cold temperatures. Snow tyres have a softer rubber, if you run them in summer they'll wear out much faster. But there is a down side, your car will handle a bit more sluggishly with snows on.

But they're not much use on black ice, over the last few years I've had a few unpleasant runs ins with that stuff on ungritted roads. Snow tyres work well on gritted roads, on snow covered roads or on really wet / flooded roads. On ice you need studs, which are illegal in the UK I think.

If you get some buy a set of used wheels on ebay fit them on those. That way you can change them over yourself every year. Expect 2 - 3 winters on a set and don't forget you're saving wear on your summer tyres. It's also a good idea to run them a bit narrower to increase road pressure. I run 225/50/16 in summer and 205/55/16 in winter.

SamWise72

If it snows I might get the Mountain BSO down from the roof of the garage, and hope it won't take much to recommission it.

Stevo_666

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Am I the only one looking forward to the ride in when it's guaranteed to be lung shatteringly cold?

Nah, despite living in the soft shandy drinking South East I'm still a Northerner at heart and quite like to MTFU and cycle in the freezing cold. Getting disbelieving comments in the office is quite good fun

itboffin

Ice no thanks

fnegroni

unixnerd wrote:

But they're not much use on black ice, over the last few years I've had a few unpleasant runs ins with that stuff on ungritted roads. Snow tyres work well on gritted roads, on snow covered roads or on really wet / flooded roads. On ice you need studs, which are illegal in the UK I think.

For the last few winters I have used AutoSocks. Recommended them before and will again.
They work like magic on ice and snow, whether hard pack or soft slush.

http://www.autosock.co.uk/

I firtst used them on an RX-8 about 6 years ago, now use them on a mazda6.

One word of caution is that only fitting AutoSocks at the front on a FWD car will not prevent the car from sliding back to front on a tight corner, since the front has much more grip and the rear none (already tested this myself, please don't!)
Same for a RWD car, only fitting at the rear will not prevent the car from plowing straight on in a bend.
You need them on all wheels to work.

Also, the same size sock will fit a range of size tyres combo. For example the RX-8 had 225/45R18 tyres, and the same socks now fit the mazda6 with 205/55R16

hatbeard

to be honest the thought of commuting in the snow fills me with more fear than I had when I got my bike and had to first start riding on the road but I'm going to give it a try. will probably have to alter my route a little bit to avoid any side streets as last year they were just giant slabs of ice around my way.

I'm running 700x32c borough cx tyres on my tricross sport. do the winter warriors among you think that these will be ok if the weather does turn? should I run them at lower pressure if so what sort of psi should I be aiming for?

BDFun

I cycle along a busy main road so when it gets icy or snows I will stop and either work from home or get a train in

Strith

Love it. Nothing better than a crisp ride in the morning,. Unfortunatly my MTB is back home in wales, used to love hitting snowy trails.
I prefer my ice at the bottom of a G'n'T though.

roger_merriman

This year I'll have a SS/FG bike rather than a fat tyred hybrid, so ice sheets will be much more of problem, this said I do have a MTB with full on mud spikes that is very very soft rubber that makes short work of wet roots and rocks. so should be better than the old tyres on ice, have to wait and see really.

It also never got bad enough one couldn't drive around london, the one in this case being rather used to snow driving.

Kieran_Burns

hatbeard wrote:

to be honest the thought of commuting in the snow fills me with more fear than I had when I got my bike and had to first start riding on the road but I'm going to give it a try. will probably have to alter my route a little bit to avoid any side streets as last year they were just giant slabs of ice around my way.

I'm running 700x32c borough cx tyres on my tricross sport. do the winter warriors among you think that these will be ok if the weather does turn? should I run them at lower pressure if so what sort of psi should I be aiming for?

I've umm'd and ahh'd about fitting the Boroughs back on my Tricross but I'd rather have something with complete tread. If this Winter is going to be anything like the last one, we'r going to need some more tread across the whole tyre.

Agent57

fnegroni wrote:

For the last few winters I have used AutoSocks. Recommended them before and will again.
They work like magic on ice and snow, whether hard pack or soft slush.

Great to know! (see my 9:35pm post where I said I was thinking of getting some; now I'm sold)

cee

we have 2degrees and sunny forecast for later this week!

hurrah!

lost_in_thought

I'm excited

I really want some spiked road tyres. Any ideas? I'm sure they have them in Finland. Why I didn't pick some up when I worked there all the time I'm not sure.

Agent57

lost_in_thought wrote:

I really want some spiked road tyres. Any ideas?

Schwalbe Marathon Winter, 700x35c - £34 each. Dunno if you'll find narrow studded tyres though.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-marath ... road-tyre/ (out of stock though).

Kieran_Burns

I'm thinking that the spiked ones are a bit OTT, but the non spiked Schwable look like a good bet

hatbeard

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I'm thinking that the spiked ones are a bit OTT, but the non spiked Schwable look like a good bet

got any linkage? it's payday on monday and I'm thinking I might treat myself to some 'winter' tyres then

Kieran_Burns

These: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-cx-pro ... ross-tyre/

or these:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-cx-pro ... ross-tyre/

trying to see what the difference is at the moment

Agent57

Kieran_Burns wrote:

trying to see what the difference is at the moment

450g for the standard wire-on, 295g for the light folder, I think (going by http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/c2-1034-schwa ... x-pro.html).

Kieran_Burns

Methinks the light then - it'd be nice to not add another kilo to the weight of the bike (I know, I know... I'll be SWAPPING tyres... )

jonginge

Another year has gone by. Another year thinking 'I really must fix the MTB's front brake'... :oops:

jackfeeder

Mr Plum wrote:

I don't mind the cold at all, but I hate icy roads

Yup, me too.

Cuchulainn

For people looking for the Schwalbe studded tyres, you can get them here. Ordered mine last wednesday and they are due to be delivered today. They seem to be good at getting new stock in too.[/url]

hatbeard

Kieran_Burns wrote:

These: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-cx-pro ... ross-tyre/

or these:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-cx-pro ... ross-tyre/

trying to see what the difference is at the moment

how well would they cope with compacted snow/ice do you think? anyone here ran them before?

for £20 more I'm tempted to get the marathon winters just for the added peace of mind.

Agent57

I wonder if those Autosocks could be adapted to produce Velosocks. They'd probably be useless for rim brake bikes, but for disc brake bikes, they could work I think. It'd be handy to just carry a pair of Velosocks in my pannier, just in case it ices up or snows before home time.

fnegroni

Agent57 wrote:

I wonder if those Autosocks could be adapted to produce Velosocks. They'd probably be useless for rim brake bikes, but for disc brake bikes, they could work I think. It'd be handy to just carry a pair of Velosocks in my pannier, just in case it ices up or snows before home time.

I am so impressed by autosocks that I had the same idea when commuting last winter.

It is certainly possible to buy a pair of autosocks and cut the to size, but they are made of a very resistant material which would be extremely difficult to cut properly.

With autosocks you can drive at 30mph on dry tarmac for up to 30 miles. On a bike, that would probably equate to a lifetime of use.

P.S.
So far I have driven more than 30 miles on dry tarmac over the last few winters and the autosocks are still in good condition.

fnegroni

I have done it! I got myself a pair of Schwalbe Ice Spikers!

Found them in stock and just went and bought them, after reading up about several types on this excellent guide http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp

Did ponder for a while, but ultimately, I take my son to school every day on my bike, and depend on my bike for the daily commute and trips to the shops.

I am expecting a new born soon and my wife is going to stay at her mums for a while, leaving me with no car and that means these tyres are my only option.

Plus it means I can go for a Sunday ride no matter what the weather :-)

rolf_f

fnegroni wrote:

I have done it! I got myself a pair of Schwalbe Ice Spikers!

Found them in stock and just went and bought them, after reading up about several types on this excellent guide http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp

Where from? I have one in the post from Spa Cycles who were expecting more but said that Schwalbe tend to support the home market first - hence short supplies here!

Agent57

Rolf F wrote:

fnegroni wrote:

I have done it! I got myself a pair of Schwalbe Ice Spikers!

Found them in stock and just went and bought them, after reading up about several types on this excellent guide http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp

Where from? I have one in the post from Spa Cycles who were expecting more but said that Schwalbe tend to support the home market first - hence short supplies here!

I bought mine from Wiggle, but I was forward-thinking enough to beat the rush; I bought mine about 6 weeks ago.

fnegroni

Rolf F wrote:

fnegroni wrote:

I have done it! I got myself a pair of Schwalbe Ice Spikers!

Found them in stock and just went and bought them, after reading up about several types on this excellent guide http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp

Where from? I have one in the post from Spa Cycles who were expecting more but said that Schwalbe tend to support the home market first - hence short supplies here!

Merlin Cycles

They claim to have them in stock so I just placed an order.