ice on the road

james-m-h

so how do you guys cope? i just go slow and dont use the breaks. and also whats your favourite thing about winter rieing if any

sungod

plenty of info here...

http://www.icebike.org/

favourite thing is that each day is closer to the end of winter

Supergoose

james-m-h wrote:

so how do you guys cope?

Turbo trainer and or MTB or X off-road.

Venture back onto tarmac when its well above freezing, just not worth it imo. Ive seen some crazy road conditions over the years.

Scrumple

I stay in.

A broken bone and months off isn't worth the miles. Most serious riders will use the turbo and wait for the thaw.

LeicesterLad

Scrumple wrote:

I stay in.

A broken bone and months off isn't worth the miles. Most serious riders will use the turbo and wait for the thaw.

Well i don't have, and can't afford a turbo, so thats me F*cked.




*except i will obviously be riding in the cold/mild ice/slush/salt because i'm not a little girl

Frank the tank

I tend to "turbo" or off-road more often. I do a short commute everyday and soft sod me have almost had an off on each of the last two days at the same junction.

I never cease to be amazed at how good the "human gyro-scope" is at keeping me upright, 'cos I'm mystified how I've actually stopped on the bike to be honest. :shock:

james-m-h

short comute is my major concern very icy roads at the start, i preferthe snow as i can actually grip in that

rolf_f

Studded tyres - simple!

Mike67

james-m-h wrote:

i just go slow and dont use the breaks.

Doesn't work if you're going downhill and picking up speed rapidly

Came round a downhill bend last year after 10 (ice free) miles of my ride...the whole road was sheet ice. Braked as much as I could to scrub some speed off before I hit the ice sheet and the inevitable fall. One good thing about sheet ice is you don't get any gravel rash...just takes a long long long time to stop

Promised myself this year to stick to the turbo if there's any chance of ice on the roads.
I'll probably take the mountain bike for the odd off road jaunt though. Winter riding off road through the middle of nowhere in snow must be one of better cycling experiences.

And then there's always cyclocross...

nottscobb

Schwalbe winters http://www.dotbike.com/p/7596

If only I'd not listened to the wife who said I wouldn't need them this week, then I wouldn't have a bruised hip, sore shoulder and slight graze on my cheek. Still, I get to blame her completely and hope that the sympathy/guilt translates to extra xmas presents

Cressers

Just be prepared to let go and go loose when the inevitable happens. Many injuries are caused by trying to fend off a hard road with weak bones and bodies; try to land on your rump, and if you can't do that roll out and dissipate the energy that way.

upperoilcan

james-m-h wrote:

so how do you guys cope?

Simple,the bike stay's in the house..........

shedhead

MTFU & get a fixie & some 35mm conti twisters ! i do a 12 mile commute every day at 5.30am regardless of how bad the weather is ! Although to be honest, if the car had gone off the drive when the wife got up, my bottom bracket might be knackered !

fossyant

Studded tyres - best thing since the wheel ! Although looking outside I need a canoe not a bike !

bompington

From bitter experience, I can confirm that it doesn't matter how knobbly your knobs are, they won't grip on sheet ice: this morning, while on a short stretch of tarmac on the way to walk the dog, I managed a full 180º upright before the inevitable slip and thump. So don't listen to anyone who advises anything un-studded, they are either out to get you or are seriously deluded that being able to stay upright on a tiny dusting of frost counts as real ice.

Sheet ice - definitely nothing made of rubber will do. I'm still waiting on the Snow Studs (btw, isn't it a bit of a con calling yourself nextdaytyres.com when you only dispatch the tyres the next day?) and looking forward to trying them out.

Extralight

Studded tyres are amazing on ice - so good in fact that you may forget how slippery it really is, and fall on your @rse when you stop, put your foot down, and find your foot slides away from you. Happened to me on my first outing with them - d'oh! :oops:

Yossie

Nah - out there everyday all year round, ice, snow, wind, rain, whatever. 23mm Vittoria Zaffiro slicks, just watch the road and take it really easy if it gets sketchy (we had huuuuge diesel spills around here last week so I just slowed down from high 20s to about 10 mph - cars behind could see what was going on and understood, so all cool).

1 spill on sheet ice last year resulting in a slightly bruised right buttock, apart from that (touch wood) nothing for absolutely donkeys.

Remember: 2 winter miles are worth 1 summer mile.

One thing I'm finding at the moment with these ridiculously strong winds is that sometimes it gets so bad its actually quite funny (in a mad way - serious sand blasting on the way home last night) - and always a sense of acheivement for getting home. Makes that first double espresso that so much more welcome.

madeinleeds

First day of proper ice down here in Kent. Luckily not a commute day for me. Trying for an all year round commute this year, which makes me think I might need to get some winter tyres. How durable are they ? I've got spare wheels they can go on so can swap over any time the thermometer touches freezing, but I do 100 miles a week on the commute. Are they going to last through winter or is this an expense too far ?

Mad Roadie

Kentish roads are slippery this morning - and thats just the dog walking - it will be turbo for me - I wont risk my bikes getting totalled because of some MTFU crazyness

Tom Butcher

If it's really icy then I might just stick to the A6 - up to Bakewell and back isn't a bad run if the back roads are slippy - normally though once it gets to mid morning most roads seem safe enough. There are times I avoid the lanes but I find not that often. Touch wood I can't remember coming off on ice since I stacked it at the foot of our hill cycling to school about 30 years ago !

cougie

Tom Butcher wrote:

Touch wood I can't remember coming off on ice since I stacked it at the foot of our hill cycling to school about 30 years ago !

Oh Pops / you've done it now !!

rolf_f

bompington wrote:

From bitter experience, I can confirm that it doesn't matter how knobbly your knobs are, they won't grip on sheet ice.

I'd have thought knobblies would be worse on ice than slicks. Knobblies will generate some lateral movement to the tyre encouraging you to come off. And it isn't as though the knobs have anything to stick in to!