so who's commuting in the snow?

dhope

lost_in_thought wrote:

Lastly, the new bike, while very pretty, is not very stoppy. At all. :?

The Koolstop Salmons I got a while ago made a difference on the Langster. I'd noticed before in rain then I'd apply the brakes, wait a moment, then steer around the obstacle. My Jedi reflexes did improve though in figuring when cars were due to be braking.

fossyant

Of course I did ride.

Wife needed to be in work early, so I drove the kids to school for breakfast club, drove home, got changed and jumped on the MTB (it has Schwalbe Snow Studs on).

Snow of 2-3 inches, then started blizzarding. Picked the pavement and local supermarket car park to clear the first mile of dirty/slushy road, then jumped on the snowy side roads, then took part of the Trans Pennine to Work. Flying along at 17-20 mph on ice and snow is a bit weird......

Only dodgy bit was on a 'cycle path' - it's got a stupid curb between peds and bikes, and guess who forgot it was there (only used it a couple of times)...... back wheel went sideways, but that was it.

Only slightly slower than normal, mainly because I was staying off the filthy main roads, and sticking to snowy back roads and tracks.

Warm as toast !

My only problem is the bike is dripping black water (melting snow mixing with brake dust) all over the office carpet............ :?

hatbeard

dhope wrote:

I didn't but in hindsight should have done, the roads were far better than they looked from my window at 6.15. Instead, I decided I could go to the gym after work instead, went back to bed for an hour and got the train.

wuss

The roads were fine today, seemed like everyone had their sensible hats on and it was probably the most hassle free journey I've had so far.

lost_in_thought

dhope wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Lastly, the new bike, while very pretty, is not very stoppy. At all. :?

The Koolstop Salmons I got a while ago made a difference on the Langster. I'd noticed before in rain then I'd apply the brakes, wait a moment, then steer around the obstacle. My Jedi reflexes did improve though in figuring when cars were due to be braking.

It transpires my rims are chromed steel, which is probably the bigger part of the problem, but thanks for the advice anyway!

iPete

lost_in_thought wrote:

Also, the snow seemed to be getting in my eyes a lot, and was really rather stingy, especially when it turned into sleety stuff. Yowch.

This, my eyes!

Felt like any other damp ride in London but with partial blindness every now and then..

gupta-patel

Snow forecast for today.

woodford2barbican

I forgot to use the bike with mudguards, so my only problem was wet feet and a cold bottom.

But on the bright side, 2 copies of City AM are performing their only useful function stuffed inside of my 'waterproof' boots.

theblender

always cycle in the snow...now freezing rain is another thing!

fell off rather lamely this morning too, it's my bikes way of telling me to ditch the summer treads and get some winter tyres!

lost_in_thought

iPete wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Also, the snow seemed to be getting in my eyes a lot, and was really rather stingy, especially when it turned into sleety stuff. Yowch.

This, my eyes!

Felt like any other damp ride in London but with partial blindness every now and then..

I'm really glad it wasn't just me!

Everyone else seemed to be suffering a lot less than I was, damn it. I have dug out my cycling specs from under my desk for the ride home - now - blue lenses or red? I reckon blue, although orange would probably be the best in this (lack of) light.

fossyant

Oh, you ain't stopping anytime soon with chromed rims.................... :shock:

Irvinet

Got the ski goggle down from the loft and made it in. Peds around London Bridge all in extra suicidal mode with hoods and umbrellas everywhere.

Brakes a sad parody of their normal selves.

Probably asking for trouble in general really but I just hate taking the train....

Butterd2

Yep I rode in on the FG with 23mm slicks.

First 10 mins was pretty hairy from Charlton village to the top of Greenwich Park. Choice was either to join the queue of traffic to be able to ride in the tyre tracks or to filter and ride virgin snow. Cycle path across the park was buttock clenching and a rear brake would have been nice with hindsight.
Once down the hill into Greenwich and it was a whole new weather system, the roads were cold and wet but no snow so pretty much back up to normal speeds and had a nice race with an MTB along Jamaica Rd.
Visibility was poor with either fogged up glasses or sleet in the eyes.

All in all good fun but I might have a little look at some CX tyres today.

Hot Orange

The snowy bridleway on my route still looked beautiful this morning, but the snow had thinned a bit and the ice underneath was exposed a little, meaning I had to take it quite slowly down there.

Otherwise, the roads were well used and well gritted and were just wet. My black trousers now have a white bottom from all the salt.

lost_in_thought

fossyant wrote:

Oh, you ain't stopping anytime soon with chromed rims.................... :shock:

Zachary.

soundninjauk

I do really really wish I'd gone and broken out the Oakleys before hopping onto the bike this morning. I'm glad it wasn't just me who couldn't see where they were going.

lastant

Butterd2 wrote:

Visibility was poor with either fogged up glasses or sleet in the eyes.

Yep - not sure relying on memory and the rear light on the guy in front was the best way to navigate my way from Clapham to Trafalgar Square but it was better than having sleet in my eyes!

I thought Oakleys were supposed to be better at anti-fogging?!

Kieran_Burns

I had the choice of cold face and being able to see or warm face behind the buff and blinded by condensation from my breath on the glasses.

I have however found I have everything to allow me to work from home, and it looks very tempting to cycle back right now.

Butterd2

lastant wrote:

Butterd2 wrote:

Visibility was poor with either fogged up glasses or sleet in the eyes.

Yep - not sure relying on memory and the rear light on the guy in front was the best way to navigate my way from Clapham to Trafalgar Square but it was better than having sleet in my eyes!

I thought Oakleys were supposed to be better at anti-fogging?!

I've got those cheap Wiggle multi lens things and couldn't maintain sufficient speed to keep them clear. Might try some anti fog spray but that was generally useless when I rode motorbikes.

Alphabet

oh, and hydraulic disc brakes are an absolute godsend.

russmcp

Chickened out. Wish I hadn't as the roads look ok.

Took ages by bus. First time I've used one to get to work so disappointed that I let myself down

Irvinet

Butterd2 wrote:

lastant wrote:

Butterd2 wrote:

Visibility was poor with either fogged up glasses or sleet in the eyes.

Yep - not sure relying on memory and the rear light on the guy in front was the best way to navigate my way from Clapham to Trafalgar Square but it was better than having sleet in my eyes!

I thought Oakleys were supposed to be better at anti-fogging?!

I've got those cheap Wiggle multi lens things and couldn't maintain sufficient speed to keep them clear. Might try some anti fog spray but that was generally useless when I rode motorbikes.

The two layered lenses in my ski goggles did not fog up at all on the ride in... I looked like a prat of course and the security guy at our building did not even try to contain his amusement but at least I could mostly see.

Kieran_Burns

Irvinet wrote:

Butterd2 wrote:

lastant wrote:

Butterd2 wrote:

Visibility was poor with either fogged up glasses or sleet in the eyes.

Yep - not sure relying on memory and the rear light on the guy in front was the best way to navigate my way from Clapham to Trafalgar Square but it was better than having sleet in my eyes!

I thought Oakleys were supposed to be better at anti-fogging?!

I've got those cheap Wiggle multi lens things and couldn't maintain sufficient speed to keep them clear. Might try some anti fog spray but that was generally useless when I rode motorbikes.

The two layered lenses in my ski goggles did not fog up at all on the ride in... I looked like a prat of course and the security guy at our building did not even try to contain his amusement but at least I could mostly see.

now there's a thought... I have a double glazed lenses on my paintball mask.... :twisted:

lardboy

Totally wussed out. Had the shoes on the radiator warming up, but the missus left before me, and ordered me not to as she left the house, as it was too slippy. Probably right about the side streets, but the main roads looked fine.

lost_in_thought

Ski goggles sound like a good idea...

mudcovered

Still here and riding. Fitted the Snow Stud tyres to my old Marin rigid MTB at the weekend. All I can say is I hope I never get a puncture in one as they were a pig to get on the rim. Mind you they handled the light amount of snow on my ride to work this morning nicely.

The real test comes on some of the frozen snow that I wussed out of riding over this morning right outside my house. I was sliding all over the place on my CX bike there on Friday night and conditions haven't improved much since.

Mike

SpaceBadger

This time last year I was on a hybrid and cycled all through winter (except when roads were actual sheets of ice), now I am all road bike'd up but am sans any studded tyres or the like.

Out of interest, does anyone make it through the winter on 23mm slicks or does everyone switch to CX/MTB or *shudder* PT options when we get the frosty icyness?

MonkeyMonster

That was cold and wet this morning and I disliked having to be more careful but overall good. Nasty headwind too. Clear shades/glasses make such a difference to not having stinging eyes.

Wallace1492

Had my ski goggles looked out on Sunday....
Wasn't snowing when I set off so didn't wear them - MISTAKE!
Down Maryhill Road into driving blizzard was not a pleasant experience.

Mistake no 2 was not wearing the merino liners under my Sealskinz gloves.... hands were a tad cold in the -5C, probably becuase it was a slower commute than usual.

Glad I did it though.....

Butterd2

lost_in_thought wrote:

Ski goggles sound like a good idea...

+1 - up to the loft this evening methinks....

Butterd2

Anyone got any tips for CX tyres? Obviously it's for road use to get me through the winter before switching back to the 23mm's. It's a converted MTB so clearance is not an issue.