cycling on ice or frosty mornings

[photography27]

hi all, hope all is well with you all,
forget studded tyres or MTB'S.....i have a spech secteur, normal road tyres (23'S) and plan on commuting through winter, now my question is.... is there any tips or tricks to cycling on frost or ice, cycling is the only way to get into work, (6 mile trip) so its either cycling or walking.
thanks in advance for your help.
mik

 

[trickletreat]

hi all, hope all is well with you all,
forget studded tyres or MTB'S.....i have a spech secteur, normal road tyres (23'S) and plan on commuting through winter, now my question is.... is there any tips or tricks to cycling on frost or ice, cycling is the only way to get into work, (6 mile trip) so its either cycling or walking.
thanks in advance for your help.
mik

You could try this outfit to help deal with the inevitable

http://www.google.co...ved=0CB8Q9QEwAw

 

[photography27]

ha ha looks like a boil in the bag outfit lol

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Soft hands and a gentle touch, keep it smooth and gentle, stay away from the brakes, if you have to brake light use of the back only, and keep your speed down.

 

[RedBike]

Don't go around any bends! It doesn't matter how icy it is provided you don't need to slow down or turn. Stick to trunk roads. They're normally gritted and avoid riding in the gutter.

 

[fossyant]

I commute mostly on 23mm tyres. Main roads are usually fine, so walk the bike to one if your road is iced up. Worse conditions tend to be a freeze after a wet period as the damp roads turn to ice. This is when I switch bikes. Normally, with the exception of last winter, then I'd only miss a handful of days due to bad ice.

 

[swee'pea99]

Snow - wide knobbly tyres at low pressures.

Ice - walk.

 

[magnatom]

I cycled on 25mm tyres all winter (and it was a harsh winter!). As Fossy says, walk the bike where there is ice, main roads tend to be fine. Just drop the speed a little, and take corners with care.

 

[potsy]

My Secteur is being put away for the winter soon,nearly time to get the hybrid out,28mm M+ tyres,full guards and rack+ paniers.
That way if I do come off I won't be as upset breaking that than I would be if it was the Sec.
Have toyed with the idea of studded tyres but am still dithering,might just be forced to use the car when it's icy

 

[biking_fox]

Definetly take it slower - lots of advantages: you can see potential problems earlier (frozen puddles etc) you can plan your moves in advance allows gentle movements which mean you're less likely ot come off, and finally of course if you're going slowly it hurts less if you do come off!

HIgh tyre pressures on narrow tyres mean you cut through thin layers of frost/snow to find the grip underneath. Unlikely to work with black ice!

 

[steve52]

the really important thing is keep the wheels vertical with the saddle upermost, do all u can to maintain this and all should be well, if the road seems to be in the vertical plane you have fallen over and action should be taken to correct this!

 

[DrSquirrel]

Learn to fall off...

MTBing when I was young and fearless drummed this into me

Though like everyone else has said...
-Go slower
-Minimal use of the brakes (slow down before the corner)
-Keep yourself as upright as possible

 

[SavageHoutkop]

EDIT: never mind, ignore me, I'm answering the snow question already not the ice one!

I found last year my route was pretty clear (sticking to bus routes means that the road will be gritted, and also the busses are good at breaking the stuff up). Of course, provided busses are regular!

The only problem with this is that busses collect huge chunks of compacted snow by their tyres, and deposit them on the road in large heaps - and since they've compacted it all you end up with a large ice-lump!
Keep an eye out for those lumpy things and avoid if possible.

 

[smutchin]

Watch out for ice on roads with a camber - it's all very well trying to stay vertical but not much help if the road is at an angle. This was the cause of my last ice-related fall. Best to stay close to the centre of the road if possible.

I've invested in some ice tyres for the first time for this winter. Think I'm going to start using them pretty soon.

d.

 

[L.E.D.]

You could try this outfit to help deal with the inevitable

http://www.google.co...ved=0CB8Q9QEwAw

I now want a cycle jersey with Michelin Man on the back , Foska maybe be getting an email soon