Question about riding in snow esp. for those with the proper tyres

[raleighnut]

There seems to be a theme developing here! Maybe I need to drop my pressures a bit, as they are probably about 50 psi just now. Will drop them to 35/40 and see if I get on better with hard packed rutted surfaces.

It depends on the tyre width though, the 35psi I quoted was on 1.85" and 2.3" (rear) and even then I'm not 'bumping' up kerbs on them (plus the bike is a Saracen 'Blitz' so it's not much use for owt else)

 

[Siclo]

I've got a set of 26 x 1.9 Schwalbe snow studs that I've had for nearly 10 years on a MTB, pressures depend on conditions, for dry roads and slush I'll run at 50 psi, proper snow and ice down to about 35. Handling is different, my take on it is that cornering is almost best done through the bars as opposed to leaning IYSWIM.

 

[mjr]

Is my experience of riding on snow using knobblies designed for mud typical, and if so, do proper ice / snow tyres make much difference? As I say, straight line grip is fine, it's just when the tyre digs in to the compacted stuff that's breaking up, and when going around corners.

It's been a while since I've ridden real ice on ordinary tyres but I think so. I think I spin less in straight lines and it grips far more when turning - there's less of that sand-like feeling of turning the bars slightly and waiting a random time until it bites (or digs in and stops if unlucky) as long as there's hard ice or tarmac under there somewhere. I'm probably more cautious than I need to be (20-40% slower) because I can't quite believe how good the grip is and I keep waiting for it to slide.

My wife says she's skidded her bike on Snow Studs at a T junction that's a notorious ice rink but then the studs bit (they're on the shoulders not the centre tread on those tyres) and she stayed up. I've yet to come that close to falling.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

I've got a set of Marathon winter on my s/s mtb and they let me down yesterday,
Unfortunately I was cycling to work last night, and the inner tube expanded and blow the tyre of the rim, tried to refit the tyre but with no joy, had to call for a rescue .
Not happy, as now the nearly new tyre is for the bin.

If it's just blown off the rim and won't refit, sounds like a faulty tyre. Warranty claim as it's nearly new?

 

[GM]

Saw this on my FB. What a good idea......

 

[mjr]

Saw this on my FB. What a good idea......

View attachment 398166

Do not try that with rim brakes...

 

[Gibbo88]

My tyres on my orange five Pro are good of road, through mud and even snow but they really don't like tarmac and even on a dry summers day cornering on the roads is a nightmare with the tyres slipping.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Like @Rickshaw Phil I have a bike with a set of marathon winters (studded semi sleek tyres) and they are excellent on sheet ice on tarmac, never fallen off yet, even on ice frozen, then melted then refrozen 3 days in a row.
On fresh or rutted, slushy snow though, the winters will not grip well.
The problem is stopping, because your feet will still slide under you.
I also have a bike with a set of marathon snow studded knobs, excellent in deep snow and slush, very slow on tarmac of course.
Steering is a bit scary, you really need to turn the handlebars.
In spite of all this equipment, I still chicken out of the commute in extreme weather (well, my take of extreme could have a different meaning to you) because my cycling skills are not that good.
Also, it's all very well being able to cycle on ice and snow, but can one rely on drivers not to slide into us?

 

[KneesUp]

I'm fortunate in that I have a few choices on my commute - there is the lumpy way, which is all residential streets, or the flat way, which is a main road but it's pretty straight with decent sight lines, but it's narrower than it would be if those pesky Victorians hadn't built houses down both sides so it's only a 30mph zone - and regular bus stops mean that in the main the traffic speed is quite low, so skiddy cars aren't too much of an issue, especailly when you also consider that this is Sheffield, where there is a hill on every journey, so people who can't drive on snow tend not to get very far

The bike felt better today with less air in the tyres. I say 'better' - it steered a little better, but a very cold headwind and soft off-road tyres made parts of it a pedal-to-go-downhill ride - but it's all good exercise I suppose!

Interestingly (perhaps) I googled my tyres earlier and found a review on Chain Reaction in which someone says they offer great traction on the rear, but awful steering, and that this is due to the tread pattern, which kind of makes sense - most of the blocks are side to side so I can see that if there are sideways forces - such as when you steer - the tread is not much help. So I may retire the one off the front to be my next rear tyre, and get something different for the front.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Back 'In The Day'.......
I once rode home from Leeds - Wakefield, back in early 1995, which had a quite fearsome couple of days of snow (where buses were off the roads by 15:00, Churches/Schools opened up for stranded commuters
Our vans were stuck all over the country from Birmingham upwards

Come home-time (23:00), there was probably 6 - 7 inches on even the main A61 (Leeds - Wakefield)
I managed to ride most of it, weaving in/around stranded vehicles, even up Bell Hill (for those around the area, the drag from Stourton, up to the 'Jaw-Bones' & the junction with Wood Lane (into Rothwell)

On a pair of grotty old Michelin tyres ('23', I think), I had no issues........ barring a bit of snow clogging the 'guards
I only had one hill that I couldn't get up. but the snow was drifting over the fields & was deep enough to offer a good resistance
From memory, it took me an extra 10 minutes or so


Today.................
I had an experiment earlier this afternoon
Don't get me wrong, I'm not that worried about falling off, but don't want to do so, & jigger up a hydraulic STI 'brifter' (at the price they are!!)
It's the wheel off my CX bike, which is on cantilevers, so I can't use them

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Further to what I said about snow stud tyres, they really don't like slushy conditions. On todays ride they were great on fresh snow and on the compacted stuff but went off in all directions on the slushy bits (of which there were lots today).

Something to bear in mind.

 

[KneesUp]

I can attest that car winter tyres are the same - the back street route to our house was no bother with winter tyres and 2wd when it was actually snowy. Now it's ice and slush you can't quite get up. Ask me how I know.

 

[mjr]

Further to what I said about snow stud tyres, they really don't like slushy conditions. On todays ride they were great on fresh snow and on the compacted stuff but went off in all directions on the slushy bits (of which there were lots today).

Something to bear in mind.

Didn't have much trouble with Winters today but I did aim for ice or dry tarmac rather than slush when there was a choice.

 

[classic33]

It's been a while since I've ridden real ice on ordinary tyres but I think so. I think I spin less in straight lines and it grips far more when turning - there's less of that sand-like feeling of turning the bars slightly and waiting a random time until it bites (or digs in and stops if unlucky) as long as there's hard ice or tarmac under there somewhere. I'm probably more cautious than I need to be (20-40% slower) because I can't quite believe how good the grip is and I keep waiting for it to slide.

My wife says she's skidded her bike on Snow Studs at a T junction that's a notorious ice rink but then the studs bit (they're on the shoulders not the centre tread on those tyres) and she stayed up. I've yet to come that close to falling.

One of the things to avoid doing on ice.

 

[mjr]

One of the things to avoid doing on ice.

But there's a fence/wall/car/house/... ahead! Turning is rather useful when cycling.