Black ice + bike =

secretsam
secretsam Posts: 5,098
edited February 2017 in Commuting chat
Ouch. Man down.

It's just a hill. Get over it.
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Comments

  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 25,488
    = bike remains at home.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • Nevermind the rider, is the Pinnacle Dolomite ok? ;)
    ================
    2020 Voodoo Marasa
    2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
    2016 Voodoo Wazoo
  • secretsam
    secretsam Posts: 5,098
    Nevermind the rider, is the Pinnacle Dolomite ok? ;)

    I was on my old Steelie. Bike fine. Rider battered...

    It's just a hill. Get over it.
  • secretsam
    secretsam Posts: 5,098
    PBlakeney wrote:
    = bike remains at home.

    Genius. Next time I ride I will keep my eyes open. I mean, black ice is easy to spot, isn't it? :evil:

    It's just a hill. Get over it.
  • Hopefully some magic Sudacrem will heal any minor open wounds!

    I came across icy patches while walking yesterday morning, despite the air temp feeling warmer, making me unsure about doing a quick test ride using my new Sony Smartwatch 3 in standalone mode in the afternoon. Ended up doing a very short circuit with no ice dramas, but discovered the watches GPS missed the first ~1.5 miles (I set off with the GPS bars still moving, must try waiting for a static bar reading today).
    ================
    2020 Voodoo Marasa
    2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
    2016 Voodoo Wazoo
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 25,488
    SecretSam wrote:
    PBlakeney wrote:
    = bike remains at home.

    Genius. Next time I ride I will keep my eyes open. I mean, black ice is easy to spot, isn't it? :evil:
    I have a shed roof which frosts over when it is icy. It may err on the cautious side but I never encounter ice. :P
    Better safe than sorry as my peers, and yourself, have found out.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • Every January threads like this mushroom out. I don't know whether people are thick... actually I do think people are thick, as they don't seem to get it
    left the forum March 2023
  • It's perhaps down to the urge to want to get outdoors on a bike, being aware that the weather is borderline, but not appearing to be over the dangerous line when looking out of the window. But every so often, conditions on the ride are worse than what we saw from indoors.

    Normally I would not entertain going for a ride in borderline weather, but I have to admit the urge to go for a ride (even if just a short ~20 minute one) is very strong recently, making me think increasingly of buying a set of studded tyres that might perish from UV deterioration long before they wear out. :lol:
    ================
    2020 Voodoo Marasa
    2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
    2016 Voodoo Wazoo
  • gbsahne001
    gbsahne001 Posts: 1,973
    studded tyres this morning, meant uneventful ride, which couldn't be said for 3 car drivers; 2 in ditches, 1 in the hedge having hit a tree and looking worse for it
  • Every January threads like this mushroom out. I don't know whether people are thick... actually I do think people are thick, as they don't seem to get it
    Cold weather in Winter is a shock every year :)

    Like Christmas & New Year is to my council, who publish a bin/recycling collection calendar every year - and every year it ignores Christmas & New Year (as if the garboes are coming on Christmas Day and New Year's Day) - every year it has a note on telling you that it doesn't take account of them not working 25/26 Dec and 1/2 Jan...
  • rower63
    rower63 Posts: 1,991
    Every January threads like this mushroom out. I don't know whether people are thick... actually I do think people are thick, as they don't seem to get it
    yes but equally you could complain that every morning and evening we predictably get comments mushrooming out on the SCR thread - don't be such a spoilsport :wink:
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  • Every January threads like this mushroom out. I don't know whether people are thick... actually I do think people are thick, as they don't seem to get it
    Cold weather in Winter is a shock every year :)

    By late January the shock should have been absorbed... we had the first frost back in November, if you recall
    left the forum March 2023
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    Some people just have to get to work.... sadly thats me , still .. touch wood, roads have not caused issues for me... including an off camber downhill , from Keele Mountain (it is to me) , roundabout coming back into town.
  • JGSI wrote:
    Some people just have to get to work....

    Me too... I got a pair of Schwalbe marathon winter with spikes... it's not rocket science :roll:

    Hopefully now we won't start the poor man who can't afford thing... :wink:
    left the forum March 2023
  • benws1
    benws1 Posts: 415
    edited January 2017
    Was out on the Misceo in the cold last night. Noticed some shaded parts of the roads had glistening frost on. Took it steady though and managed to stay upright. I think having my fat hybrid tyres on helps a lot. :)
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    It's perhaps down to the urge to want to get outdoors on a bike, being aware that the weather is borderline, but not appearing to be over the dangerous line when looking out of the window. But every so often, conditions on the ride are worse than what we saw from indoors.

    Exactly what I did on Sunday. Beautiful bright day, road outside was bone dry, couldn't resist. Thought if I waited till midday I'd be OK. However my route was on a lot of ungritted lanes, some in deep shade, and I encountered a lot of frost, ice and melt-water. Spent a lot of time in the middle or on the wrong side of the road for safer riding, and proceeding with great caution. Had I tried that at night I'd almost certainly have ended up on my @rse. Not going out again till Friday night when it's forecast to be warmer...
  • benws1
    benws1 Posts: 415
    JGSI wrote:
    Some people just have to get to work....

    Me too... I got a pair of Schwalbe marathon winter with spikes... it's not rocket science :roll:

    Hopefully now we won't start the poor man who can't afford thing... :wink:

    How do the spikes in the tyres last? Do they wear out gradually?
  • timothyw
    timothyw Posts: 2,482
    The Schwalbe Winter in 700x30 will go on a large number of road bikes - certainly if they have clearance for mudguards, you can probably take off the mudguards and put them on.

    https://www.athleteshop.co.uk/schwalbe- ... AtZM8P8HAQ

    Buy these, put them on your bike, don't fall off. Simple. I'm with Ugo on this one.

    PS: i've never bought from that shop but that seems to be the best price - I bought my set for £47 from somewhere in Germany via ebay back in November.
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    Not on spiky things... normal road tyres. The councils have been very god this year in gritting - I dont use lanes.
  • fat daddy
    fat daddy Posts: 2,605
    I swap bikes on the weather, today was a toss up between the racing ralphs and spikey marathons.

    Glad I went with the marathons ... you know you made the right choice when they no longer make a noise like frying bacon .... the back roads were just a white out and streams of frozen water running across the roads
  • benws1 wrote:
    JGSI wrote:
    Some people just have to get to work....

    Me too... I got a pair of Schwalbe marathon winter with spikes... it's not rocket science :roll:

    Hopefully now we won't start the poor man who can't afford thing... :wink:

    How do the spikes in the tyres last? Do they wear out gradually?

    Haven't noticed any wear, but then again, how often do you use them? This winter I have been out on them maybe a dozen times... that's 300 miles
    left the forum March 2023
  • benws1
    benws1 Posts: 415
    benws1 wrote:
    JGSI wrote:
    Some people just have to get to work....

    Me too... I got a pair of Schwalbe marathon winter with spikes... it's not rocket science :roll:

    Hopefully now we won't start the poor man who can't afford thing... :wink:

    How do the spikes in the tyres last? Do they wear out gradually?

    Haven't noticed any wear, but then again, how often do you use them? This winter I have been out on them maybe a dozen times... that's 300 miles

    Thanks. I may look at some for next year then. Been on frosty roads, but have been riding a hybrid with fat tyres. I know the width of tyre probably doesn't help in ice, but I've been ok so far.
  • benws1 wrote:

    Thanks. I may look at some for next year then. Been on frosty roads, but have been riding a hybrid with fat tyres. I know the width of tyre probably doesn't help in ice, but I've been ok so far.

    It doesn't...
    It's the common attitude"I've been OK so far"... that works until you are not OK anymore. My track record on ice is poor... pretty much every time I have been out and there was ice, I have gone down... hence I bought the Marathon winter last year

    They are a shoot ride, but a much safer ride
    left the forum March 2023
  • timothyw
    timothyw Posts: 2,482
    With the studs being made of steel, fairly unsurprisingly wear on them is pretty negligible compared to the rubber of the tyre. Slightly bigger is the risk that the studs get pulled out by locking the brakes, extreme power or just bad luck - you can buy a replacement set of studs (and the tool to fit them) for under a tenner.

    Assuming you live in areas that only have ice for a few weeks a year, as I do, there is no reason you can't get many winters out of a set of them.
  • benws1
    benws1 Posts: 415
    benws1 wrote:

    Thanks. I may look at some for next year then. Been on frosty roads, but have been riding a hybrid with fat tyres. I know the width of tyre probably doesn't help in ice, but I've been ok so far.

    It doesn't...
    It's the common attitude"I've been OK so far"... that works until you are not OK anymore. My track record on ice is poor... pretty much every time I have been out and there was ice, I have gone down... hence I bought the Marathon winter last year

    They are a shoot ride, but a much safer ride

    Yes, I've been lucky so far. To be honest though, last night was the first time I've actually been out on frosty roads. I saw ice at the side of the roads on Saturday. However, the main parts of the roads were dry.

    I do mix my riding with turbo stuff at the moment. I'm only out on the road 3 times a week.

    I live in Lincolnshire so it's flat, windy and we seem to suffer more with wet roads than icy roads.

    Will look at some asap. :)
  • By late January the shock should have been absorbed... we had the first frost back in November, if you recall
    Maybe in your world - I woke up to frost on my birthday in early October...
  • meanredspider
    meanredspider Posts: 12,337
    I used to ride Ice Spiker Pros on my MTB - a set lasted at least 3 years of winter commuting (30 mile RT - December to April 3-4 days a week). The studs were still OK but a few had ripped out and the rubber torn. But they are utterly brilliant - I'd happily ride on sheet ice with them. There are deals to be had towards the end of winter typically. I picked up a pair of Ice Spiker Pros at under £30 each.

    I too wonder a little at why anybody should be surprised that they'd fallen off. That said, I was in Vermont on the day the first snow of the year fell (and it falls every year) and witnessed 3 crashed cars on the way to the airport - as if people had never seen snow before.
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  • prawny
    prawny Posts: 5,439
    JGSI wrote:
    Some people just have to get to work....

    Me too... I got a pair of Schwalbe marathon winter with spikes... it's not rocket science :roll:

    Hopefully now we won't start the poor man who can't afford thing... :wink:

    Ahem, you called :lol:

    Just went to order a pair of winters at lunch but wiggle have only got one left.

    I never thought I'd need them as all my route into work is main roads and normally gritted, but I'm on the train this week after fridays off and I'm not enjoying myself at all.

    I'll have to fit the winters to my MTB which won't be fun either as they won't fit my commuter, 40 miles on studded tyres on an MTB won't be fun at all. Better than the train though.
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  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    prawny wrote:
    40 miles on studded tyres on an MTB won't be fun at all. Better than the train though.

    Jesus, how bad is the train???
  • keef66 wrote:
    prawny wrote:
    40 miles on studded tyres on an MTB won't be fun at all. Better than the train though.

    Jesus, how bad is the train???

    On the 2nd of January I did 62 miles on studs... it took me 4 hours and a half, which is probably half an hour longer than it would have taken me in January with race tyres.
    So yes, they are a drag and slow you down by something around 10-15%. If your commute is flat, they are actually not that bad, but uphill they are heavy and the drag is considerable.

    That said, we go on about how hard we like to train, so there you go... add 20-30 Watt resistance to your commute and see how you cope with it...
    left the forum March 2023