# Do you cycle all year round?



## Bimble (16 Jan 2011)

I noticed in some of the other bits of the site that people had come off their bikes a lot this winter, and just wondered if most of you cycle or year round or just in the warmer months?


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## fossyant (16 Jan 2011)

All year.

Have ice tyres on my MTB for the ice/snow. If I didn't, I wouldn't be riding (I've come off badly on ice in the past).


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## gaz (16 Jan 2011)

All year, apart from ice and snow, not because i can't, but because i know too many people around my way still drive their rwd bmw's in the ice and they can't control them.


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## jayonabike (16 Jan 2011)

I try to, weather permitting.


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## Davidc (16 Jan 2011)

Yes, but not in all weathers.

Ice and snow, no.

Heavy rain, only if I'm already out on the bike.

High winds, not if I can help it.

Cold, yes

Hot, yes


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## fossyant (16 Jan 2011)

Oh, forgot to add, I have a mostly off road route to work I can do in the ice, so well away from the idiots who can't drive in the conditions.


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## potsy (16 Jan 2011)

Well, I have cycled in every month of the year if that's what you mean.





Don't do ice or snow, haven't got a mtb or studded tyres.


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## carlgorse (16 Jan 2011)

I like to get out in most weather conditions but last sunday i stepped outside and the main roads where shear ice and i went back in and did a few hours swimming to save on doing some damage to me and my bike  

Rain im not bothered about and the wind is great if its behind me  if not give me a push please


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## ianrauk (16 Jan 2011)

Yes I was one of those you probably saw that come off during a heavy frost, last week.

But yes I cycle all year round. Only time I don't is when there is heavy snow and ice..


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## Iainj837 (16 Jan 2011)

All year round


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## phantasmagoriana (16 Jan 2011)

All year round - studded tyres on my hybrid (came off on ice a few months ago - wasn't hurt, but it convinced me the tyres were a good idea!). I did miss a couple of days commuting last year in the snow, but that was due mainly to lack of visibility in falling snow.


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## gbb (16 Jan 2011)

All year round for me Bimble...
Ironically i hate the cold weather but commuting gives me the opportunity to keep some reasonable mileage going during the winter months. I dont go out 'pleasure' riding too much when its freezing, but my commutes not long so i can cope with that.
I think the fear of falling in ice is greater than the reality, ive only come off twice in ..i can't remember how many years.
Snow, no problem...this is mine after a commute to work one morning, head down, squinting eyes from the blizzard of snow..





Summer, the hotter the better. Couple of years ago, it was 32 degrees C, i sweated so much i couldnt undress when i got offf the bike


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## MossCommuter (16 Jan 2011)

apart from annual leave, every day bar 3 since this time last year.

Three offs on the ice, two on the beer.

MTB (recent purchase) is unfallaoffable compared to the hybrid (on the ice and snow)


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## numbnuts (16 Jan 2011)

I'm not a snow man  and I don't like rain too much


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## perplexed (16 Jan 2011)

All year round, all weather...

Got home in the early hours last winter with several inches of snow on me helmet...


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## Broadside (16 Jan 2011)

I go out in all weathers apart from snow, and since coming off last Sunday night on sheet ice I am now pretty careful about very cold rides. I was previously un-bothered about temps down to -4c but now I am wary of the ice. Luckily it was a walking pace fall when the ice got me so the injuries were very slight.


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## buggi (16 Jan 2011)

i don't mind wet, cold, hot, warm, dry but if it's icy, forget it. i've already had one broken collar bone and i'm not going back there if I can help it.

O yea, i don't do high winds either ... like yesterday when i abandoned my ride after 1/4 mile because the wind nearly blew me into a car and then nearly had me off on a roundabout.


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## slowmotion (16 Jan 2011)

I don't ride if there is ice about, but apart from that, all year round.


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## cyberknight (16 Jan 2011)

All year unless the weather is really bad snow/ice, i am not about to try it on 23 mm slicks as my bike s do not have clearance for spiked tyres or CX tyres.


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## gaz (16 Jan 2011)

ianrauk said:


> Yes I was one of those you probably saw that come off during a heavy frost, last week.
> 
> But yes I cycle all year round. Only time I don't is when there is heavy snow and ice..



Heavy frost last week? didn't spot a sign of frost by me.


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## addictfreak (16 Jan 2011)

All year, odd day off in heavy snow/bad ice.


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## Brandane (16 Jan 2011)

I will ride in most weather conditions, but like a lot of others I draw the line at ice. Had a low speed off in December which caused a bruised rib and 2 weeks off work, without pay. So my wee accident cost me about £500. Won't be taking that chance again!


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## mcshroom (16 Jan 2011)

I'll ride in almost anything, but the studded tyres come out for ice. The last few months have included 60mph gusts, through a puddle almost up to my hubs and on a blanket of snow. I do have the advantage of a mainly off-road route if the weather's bad though.

If I gave up riding in wind and rain then living where I do I would have to give up cycling


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## palinurus (16 Jan 2011)

All year round, including snow and that, and when I've got heavy stuff to take to and from work.

Wasn't always thus. I've become hardier as I've got older.


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## Fab Foodie (16 Jan 2011)

Davidc said:


> Yes, but not in all weathers.
> 
> Ice and snow, no.
> Heavy rain, only if I'm already out on the bike.
> ...



Me too, and on my 'Best-Bike' to boot


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## asterix (17 Jan 2011)

gbb said:


> All year round for me Bimble...
> Ironically i hate the cold weather but commuting gives me the opportunity to keep some reasonable mileage going during the winter months. I dont go out 'pleasure' riding too much when its freezing, but my commutes not long so i can cope with that.
> *I think the fear of falling in ice is greater than the reality, ive only come off twice in ..i can't remember how many years.
> *Summer, the hotter the better. Couple of years ago, it was 32 degrees C, i sweated so much i couldnt undress when i got offf the bike




Sadly, not in North Yorkshire. Although I also have been fortunate in avoiding falls generally, ice is the one thing that has toppled me most, and it can be impossible to distinguish from a wet road.

Nevertheless, it never stopped my daily commute, I just got off and walked if need be. This months been on a couple of longish rides, one on the Wolds (50 miles), to'other to Castle Howard (44 miles). Ice present on both though fortunately not the really bad sort.


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## youngoldbloke (17 Jan 2011)

Yes - weather and road conditions permitting - as I am not commuting I will avoid going out in continuous rain, or force 10 winds, any time of year.


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## SquareDaff (17 Jan 2011)

I only stop in snow more than about 3-4cms. Otherwise it's business as usual!!


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## Bigsharn (17 Jan 2011)

Not in snow unless it's very close to being completely defrosted. Luckily there's a short route I can take so my commute's only 1.3 miles following a bus route, then a main road into the city, but if it's fresh/compacted snow I'd rather walk


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## BSRU (17 Jan 2011)

Soon to be all year round, this is my first winter commuting, first time I have ridden in December/January and soon to commute in February for the first time. Before Christmas cycled in during the snow/ice even though for some reason some fellow workers could not manage to drive in. Cycled in every work day so far this year even in the pouring rain/howling wind and it still being dark.

It's all about having the right gear/clothing and the mornings I wake up feeling crap I just commute anyway as I know I will feel better by the time I get to work. Studded tyres for the ice commutes are essential for giving me the confidence to ride in conditions I thought I never would.


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## 2Loose (17 Jan 2011)

All year round with less than a week off in the last two winters due to ice. 
If the weather is crap then getting out can be 'motivationally challenging', but once out it is normally a lot better than expected.


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## Moodyman (17 Jan 2011)

All year round except Ice and Snow. 

I know you one can buy special tyres, but it's too much hassle for the few occasions that I actually need them.


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## nightoff (17 Jan 2011)

All year round for me except snow and ice. Don't mind freezing temps if it hasn't been raining. 

I had a 3" icicle hanging off my Buff where my breath had frozen on an 8 mile -12C this winter. I only noticed it when it raked across my forehead when I took it off at work.


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## AuraTodd (17 Jan 2011)

I tend to cycle in the warmer month's, not too keen on rain.


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## johnr (17 Jan 2011)

All weathers for me. I must say I was having serious doubts when it was -14, but as I was almost home I just kept going


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## biggs682 (17 Jan 2011)

i try weather permitting , but refuse to in snow and thick frost/ice


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## summerdays (17 Jan 2011)

All weathers, I have 2 bikes so I've fitted the studded tyres to one of them. However I have found my motivation lacking for anything extra other than the commute in the wetter, colder days.


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## Tigerbiten (17 Jan 2011)

I try and ride in all weathers.
I had my first week of doing 0 miles in it over x-mas, but I was getting over the worst part of a cold.

I ride a recumbent trike so ice is not that much of a problem, as long as its not in the brake cables.
Over 8" deep snowdrifts are another matter as my crotch then acts as a snowplow .......


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## Hacienda71 (17 Jan 2011)

All year for me. So far this winter in snow, and temps down to minus 10.


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## skudupnorth (19 Jan 2011)

Bring on whatever is out there ! Ride all year in all weathers,had one off whilst useing the Hybrid due to braking on ice and not being able to get snow/studded tyres for my trusty steed ! Used the Fixed more due to not having to use brakes as much and it coped well even with the factory fitted slicks  
To be honest i prefer crisp cold rides more that burning up on a summers day as long as i'm wrapped up life is good !


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## peelywally (19 Jan 2011)

i cycle all year year round , had a few good mtb sessions in the snow this year and got to see some great scenery because of it ,

have to say im jittery about road rides after recent crash (see lucky escape thread ) was out once after crash and was just nervous as hell (half hour of stopping and starting fiasco  )i will likely refrain from roads until all ice has gone , rode for years in winter with a few slides and falls but my nerve has gone i think i keep imagining being knocked out in traffic and laying in the road ,shivers, 

never say never though .


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## joggingbob (19 Jan 2011)

I ride all year round but not when it is ice or snow - no enough confidence, but tempted to purchase the ice tyres that have been discussed on this forum and give it a go. (High winds though rare have persuaded me to take the train). That is for commuting. For leisure riding I am more selective.


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## ACS (19 Jan 2011)

Like a lot of OP's I also ride all year round but not when there is ice or snow on the ground. Not a great fan of fog / very poor visability and will often err on the side of caution. My commuter route is rural and the lanes are used as a rat run by the local moton's as a way of avoiding the tourists, HGV's and non locals who use the main drag (single carriage way, lots of villages)


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## HJ (19 Jan 2011)

Yes, for me a bicycle is about transport, not sport...


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## Cheule (19 Jan 2011)

Bimble said:


> I noticed in some of the other bits of the site that people had come off their bikes a lot this winter, and just wondered if most of you cycle or year round or just in the warmer months?



I cycle all the time without interruption. I never let any sort of weather stop me commuting.


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## Paulus (19 Jan 2011)

I am the same as many others on the forum, I cycle all year round but only the ice stops me. My bikes are a means of transport for me and they all get used.


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## redflightuk (20 Jan 2011)

All year all weather. Had fun showing up the motons trying to get up a 12% climb on packed snow, they only made it half way up the hill. While i waited for them to slowly reverse back down i put my snow string on the rear wheel then rode all the way to the top.


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## brokenbetty (21 Jan 2011)

All year, all weather. I don't need anything special for the snow and ice because I live close enough to wheel the bike to the main road which is always clear.

I only get the train to work if I'm going somewhere other than home afterwards.


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## Flying_Monkey (24 Jan 2011)

We've had quite a few threads on this over in Commuting - simple answer is 'yes'. 

I should qualify that and say that I live in Canada (and BTW, not even in one of the coldest parts), and it stays below freezing from mid-December to the end of March, and we usually have around half a metre of snow on the ground for most of that time, although it does get cleared off the roads (in most places). This morning it was a (unusually cold) -33. My ride was hampered somewhat by what felt like bits of my bike freezing together... 

All you need is the right clothes and a properly equipped bike for whatever conditions you are riding in. My view is make it as simple as possible so in winter I use a self-built single-speed steel MTB with wide bars for balance, and studded tyres. 

To be honest though, I prefer these conditions to the driving winds and horizontal hailstones or freezing rain we used to get on Tyneside in winter (and that didn't stop me either!).


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## maat1976 (24 Jan 2011)

I've only been here in the UK for 18 months and other than 6 weeks when I was sick as a dock this past Nov and Dec, I've cycled/trained it for 60-70% of the time. I hope to up this shortly after getting a sweeter ride!


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## ufkacbln (24 Jan 2011)

The Catrike Expedition is a superb winter bike, and the fact that it is a trike enables me to cycle on days I would not dream of doing so on two wheels


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## Skyfoil (26 Jan 2011)

I've only been cycling for 4 months, and have commuted to work every day since collecting my bike from the shop.

I came off it on a frozen car-park at work early in the winter, but I still had my slicks on. That weekend I was straight back to the shop for some winter tyres. Since fitting then i've cycled on snow, ice and through some pretty harsh winds.

I decided when I stopped driving to work that it was all or nothing. I don't regret it either.

This weekend i'm fitting SPD's to my bike aswell. I've never tried them before, so i'll probably fall off a couple of time next week!  

I've heard a popular cyclists comment; 'There's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing'. All I can say to that is, I still havn't found the right clothing!


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## BSRU (26 Jan 2011)

Skyfoil said:


> This weekend i'm fitting SPD's to my bike aswell. I've never tried them before, so i'll probably fall off a couple of time next week!



You just need to remember, until it becomes second nature, that it is a different action, instead of the normal lift of the foot you need to twist it first. Also you will need to learn to pre-empt situations, unclipping as a precaution sometimes.


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## Flying_Monkey (26 Jan 2011)

I should add - I don't use SPDs in winter. Simple platform pedals mean less can go wrong.


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## vorsprung (26 Jan 2011)

I commute all year round. i have ice tyres, I missed one day of my 15 mile each way ride to work last year as the snow was too deep

Fun rides, I will go out at the weekends if it is ok. I will do sub zero temperatures and extreme heat. I don't like strong wind or rain. I will enter and start events that are likely to feature rain/wind/hail/snow/mud if they go somewhere nice (like Wales)

I should add - I don't use high heels in winter. Simple flat shoes mean less can go wrong


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## Woz! (26 Jan 2011)

Tried to start my commute to work yesterday (earlier in the year than normal). Sadly, the route I take uses a bridal path and it appears that in the winter months during the snow some tractor drivers have decided to use this same bridleway.

So, it's gone from this: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvf-woz/3597418859/

To a wide 'path' thats _literally_ 4 inches of slurry and wet mud with a consistancy of a Macdonald's shake 
I'm used to muddy conditions, but I was just spinning the back wheel and when I took my foot off the pedals I virtually lost my shoe!
At one point I ground to a complete stop and because of the crap in my SPDs I couldn't detach, so just slowly toppled sideways into the mud 

Also, this section was right at the beginning of my 13 mile ride home, so the bike was in a right mess with everything grinding and hissing for the rest of the ride, which virtually killed me! 

If I don't use this bridle path, my route takes me on some roads that are dodgy at the best of times in the dark in addition to crossing a roundabout just off a motorway which can be hair-raising in the dark.

Later on the ride, I go on a paved road country road that a farmer has clearly been using to move...er...fertilizer, which was distributed evenly across the surface. I was thanking my lucky stars that my tourer has full mudguards!

I won't be commuting for another few weeks!


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## Skyfoil (26 Jan 2011)

Flying_Monkey said:


> I should add - I don't use SPDs in winter. Simple platform pedals mean less can go wrong.



Well, hopefully the worst is over now.
Thanks for the tip though. I think I might keep my platform pedals in a safe place ready for next winter.

Yes, even after only a few months, i'm already thinking about next year. I've seriously got the bug!


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## BSRU (26 Jan 2011)

Skyfoil said:


> Well, hopefully the worst is over now.
> Thanks for the tip though. I think I might keep my platform pedals in a safe place ready for next winter.
> 
> Yes, even after only a few months, i'm already thinking about next year. I've seriously got the bug!



My SPD pedals have one side SPD and the other flat for normal shoes, or you can actually buy the flat platform separately although it is almost the same price as buying new pedals.


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## Woz! (27 Jan 2011)

Yeah, I've got the two-sided pedals on two of my bikes (the GT MTB and the Tourer). They work really well and they're weighted so that they fall with one edge down. You quickly learn that bringing your foot to them from the back will engage the clips and from the front will present the standard flat pedal (or maybe it's the other way! Motor-memory verses memory memory!).


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## trickletreat (27 Jan 2011)

All year, all weathers, with daughter pedaling the trailer, and an ice tyre fitted for traction in the winter.


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## lanternrouge (27 Jan 2011)

this is my first winter as a cyclist and i think i'd go mad if i couldn't go out. Snow does stop me (i have road bike) but have started spin classes as a way of getting some extra exercise. bring on the lighter evenings!


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## Oldbloke (27 Jan 2011)

Snow, heavy rain & very high winds = no.

From -10c to +40c, dry(ish) & not gusty, road bike

Damp, icy,windy, out comes the hybrid

Only one fall this winter, when my chain came off at low speed & I couldn't release my pedals quickly enough


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## byegad (27 Jan 2011)

All year but enough snow or black ice sees me staying in. That said until 2010's late winter at the start of the year and then early winter at the end I'd not missed more than a week or so for ten years.


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## Flying_Monkey (28 Jan 2011)

Skyfoil said:


> Well, hopefully the worst is over now.



For you lot, certainly. I'm in Ontario - we have another 2 months of proper winter yet.


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## threebikesmcginty (28 Jan 2011)

Flying_Monkey said:


> For you lot, certainly. I'm in Ontario - we have another 2 months of proper winter yet.



Blimey! Is it too cold to sleep, must be silly o'clock in the morning there?


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## Flying_Monkey (28 Jan 2011)

threebikesmcginty said:


> Blimey! Is it too cold to sleep, must be silly o'clock in the morning there?



It's actually relatively warm (-7). I just have trouble sleeping sometimes...


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## EssexRider (28 Jan 2011)

snow and high winds i dont.


rain or cold doesnt bother me at all.. just go much slower in the rain though


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## PatrickPending (29 Jan 2011)

Indeed, all year round except when icy, 28Km short of 1000Km for January, cycle to town today should get me closer and a ride sunday will take me past......


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## gb155 (29 Jan 2011)

Oldbloke said:


> *Snow, heavy rain & very high winds = no.*
> 
> From -10c to +40c, dry(ish) & not gusty, road bike
> 
> ...



but that when you know your a CYCLIST and not just a POB


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## dave r (30 Jan 2011)

All year all weathers, the only thing I do when the ice and snow is about is cut back or stop the Sunday rides, the commuting continues, it was down to -11 at one point just before Xmas. I ride nothing but fixed all winter.


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## JDP (30 Jan 2011)

Commute all the time with the exceptions of torrential rain (although have now got some waterproof gear so this may change) and ice which isn't really worth the risk.


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