Cycling on ice

[MacB]

Dedication above and beyond the call of duty. Why put yourself through such torture?

I reckon it's for the buzz, may be hell during but afterwards you feel like Superman. Though I don't think he should have worn his pants on the outside while commuting

 

[zophiel]

It probably is the buzz. I swapped to the old bso sorted some lights and did the snow/ice commute today and it was so much fun. Very technical, not just a straight sprint up the hills to work. Coming back was fun too, in the dark loads of light reflections.

The roads were all a right mess. Cars parked all over lol.

 

[zacklaws]

Well I've commuted everyday this week and managed to stay on. This morning and last night was a struggle on the cycle path, the snow has become that frozen it is hard to break a way through it so gave up and went onto the road.

I've found that the best way is to start in a lower gear than normal, find a pace your comfortable and feel safe with, initially your back wheel may have a tendency to spin or slide sideways on occasions but just change up a gear and keep the same pace untill you find a gear where all the sliding etc stops. If you go past the sweet spot though it then becomes a struggle to push through the snow unless you speed up which makes it become a bit dodgy.

Tried a different pair of gloves instead of the Altura Night Vision and found them far better. "Alpinestar chill", there designed for moto cross etc but Chain Reaction sell them for MTB riders. I've had mine a long time but never liked them because they are a tight fit. But yesterday and today I found out how good they are, my hands were warm to start with and throughout the ride unlike the Night visions, plus the liner is sewn in.

 

[kewb]

tore my jkt last night after coming off on a country road ,
got stuck in frozen tyre tracks and went sideways ripped my jkt at pocket grrr .

 

[Midnight]

Came off last night on ice and bashed my hip. Wasn't seriously injured but am cycling with a limp today .

I'm beginning to thing it's not worth it in this weather. Yeah, I know in other countries they manage in even worse conditions, but in Britain we always get the wrong sort of snow...

 

[Stephenite]

Came off last night on ice and bashed my hip. Wasn't seriously injured but am cycling with a limp today .

I'm beginning to thing it's not worth it in this weather. Yeah, I know in other countries they manage in even worse conditions, but in Britain we always get the wrong sort of snow...

I manage it here in norway fine (on a Kona Jake The Snake with Schwalbe Marathon Winter 700x40 tyres), but maybe in the UK it would be a different story.

When the temperature is hovering around zero new ice is formed all the time.

It does help with proper tyres though. All vehicles in this country are required to have winter tyres from October through til April. Bicycles are exempt but it's foolhardy to not have them equipped. It isnt often you see/hear a commuter, or anyone riding further afield, without studded tyres.

I've seen a few discussions on here about which tyres to use for snow and/or ice, but they seem to be discussing which tyres are least unsuitable for the conditions rather than which are best suited.

Anyway,
Hope your (and everyone elses) injuries heal soon.
Merry xmas.

 

[Chrisc]

I manage it here in norway fine (on a Kona Jake The Snake with Schwalbe Marathon Winter 700x40 tyres), but maybe in the UK it would be a different story.

When the temperature is hovering around zero new ice is formed all the time.

It does help with proper tyres though. All vehicles in this country are required to have winter tyres from October through til April. Bicycles are exempt but it's foolhardy to not have them equipped. It isnt often you see/hear a commuter, or anyone riding further afield, without studded tyres.

I've seen a few discussions on here about which tyres to use for snow and/or ice, but they seem to be discussing which tyres are least unsuitable for the conditions rather than which are best suited.

Anyway,
Hope your (and everyone elses) injuries heal soon.
Merry xmas.

Interesting tyres. Plenty of grip on the ice?

 

[Stephenite]

Interesting tyres. Plenty of grip on the ice?

Not one slip after 50-60km. You still have to be careful tho.

Back wheel has slipped when standing and going up steep hills. Sit down again and they're fine.

 

[palinurus]

I've been riding carefully this week, picking the routes most likely to be clear of ice, walking where unsure, even got the train twice.

But i've seen a good few types on supermarket MTBs managing on pavements with lumpy polished ice that I can barely walk on. How do they do that?

 

[Globalti]

You can ride almost anything and get surprising traction and braking with a pair of knobblies, I use Panaracer Fire XC pros in 1.8 and they're pretty good, the treads seem to scour down into the snow when I brake. The only problem is when your wheels hit the edge of a rut left by a car tyre; that can have you off.

 

[andrew_s]

If you can walk on ice, you can ride a bike on it.
You just have to take it slowly and carefully. Pay attention, steer very gently, and don't do silly things like try to look behind. Slowly can mean walking speed.
In the pub last night, they said I'd never ride up the pitch back to the village - they had had to walk on the verge, and there were 2 cars abandoned in the hedge (one a 4x4). No problems.

 

[Chrisc]

Just been out and the first 1/4 mile from my house to the road is a farm track covered in compacted snow and ice. Didn't fall but very interesting. Am used to sliding around on dirt bikes but haven't done it under my own steam before. Did unclip my spd's just in case.

 

[GrasB]

I've seen a few discussions on here about which tyres to use for snow and/or ice, but they seem to be discussing which tyres are least unsuitable for the conditions rather than which are best suited.

I think the problem is people see best part of £70 going on a pair of tyres they only see being any good for a few weeks a year. From where I'm standing however the fact they deal with ice, especially the wet ice we have today as it's raining with patches of thick ice still on the road, they're earning their keep. In reality a tyre change when warm & light comes in at about 2min so why not use them only when the temp is predicted to be well below freezing? I'll get many winters out of my pair.

 

[MacB]

I think the problem is people see best part of £70 going on a pair of tyres they only see being any good for a few weeks a year. From where I'm standing however the fact they deal with ice, especially the wet ice we have today as it's raining with patches of thick ice still on the road, they're earning their keep. In reality a tyre change when warm & light comes in at about 2min so why not use them only when the temp is predicted to be well below freezing? I'll get many winters out of my pair.

I wonder about the attitude to tyres and prices, I take the view that it's my only contact with the road so want fit for purpose, with price being secondary. I know that many feel they've shot up in price but I've not been cycling long enough to be aware of this. I can only compare with the cost of all the other bike bits and, by that mark, they seem very reasonable. Look at things like shifters and STI's, I know they're very slick and all that. But we're talking a lever pivot for brakes and a ratchet/release for gears, hardly cutting edge.

I was taking the view that, for commuting, a new set of tyres each Autumn and Spring, around £140 for the year, seems ok. I don't know re wear on the Winter ones yet but the M+'s seem to wear very slowly, so more than a single year looks likely. I'll see how riding the Winters feels but they'd have to be diablical for me to consider taking them back off before Spring.

I've mentally allocated £300 a year in running costs for my commuter bike. This is a fraction of fuel or fares and less than a gym membership as well

 

[Bodhbh]

I think the problem is people see best part of £70 going on a pair of tyres they only see being any good for a few weeks a year. From where I'm standing however the fact they deal with ice, especially the wet ice we have today as it's raining with patches of thick ice still on the road, they're earning their keep. In reality a tyre change when warm & light comes in at about 2min so why not use them only when the temp is predicted to be well below freezing? I'll get many winters out of my pair.

I'm off the bike atm with an injury, but I went out hiking on Saturday and it was absolutely glorious - land covered in snow, perfect clear blue sky. The country roads were all ice and compressed snow.

I got thinking, I would loved to take a winding route over to Ivenhoe Beacon, 20 miles away, the highest point in the area and giving a great view over the surrounding countryside. For this I would have needed some spiked tires. The single gorgeous day and getting a day out on the bike it it would have been worth the cost of a pair of spiked tyres alone I think, nm communting use or whatever else.