slick tyres and snow/slush

[MontyVeda]

Normally at this time of year, i swap my slickish tyres for nobbly tyres... but i threw the old nobblies out after last winter. Should i take my chances riding fat slick tyres in the snow, or go and buy some nobblies?

 

[jay clock]

new bike needed.....

 

[MontyVeda]

new bike needed.....

I have been looking for an excuse to buy one of these

 

[Ajax Bay]

Slick tyres and snow: not recommended. Knobblies. And don't throw them out this time.

 

[MichaelW2]

Fat slicks are really bad on soft and slippery surfaces. They wont even cut into the surface like thin slicks.

 

[Spiderweb]

@MontyVeda you are either a very brave man or you need a check up from the neck up!

 

[MontyVeda]

@MontyVeda you are either a very brave man or you need a check up from the neck up!

Are you suggesting i hibernate?

 

[NickNick]

I'm about to go and mess about on our cul de sac with the road bike, its never gritted and covered in snow and ice and there's hardly any traffic on it...

 

[MontyVeda]

Slick tyres and snow: not recommended. Knobblies. And don't throw them out this time.

Threw the old ones out coz they were old and knackered. How do riders of road/touring bikes cope with their winter commutes?

edited to add... and this is Blighty, it's more slush than snow. (in fact at present, it's not even slush)

 

[Bazzer]

Threw the old ones out coz they were old and knackered. How do riders of road/touring bikes cope with their winter commutes?

edited to add... and this is Blighty, it's more slush than snow. (in fact at present, it's not even slush)

Well I put Marathon + on my main road bike from the middle of November, but I chickened out this morning and am "refreshing" my old hybrid which has 35mm tyres with a deeper tread pattern.

 

[Vantage]

Slick tyres and snow/slush make for less rolling resistance. You'll go much faster.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

I never had any problems when I used to commute, same tyres as in summer. That includes ice, snow, slush and a low temperature of -23 degrees in 2011(ish), just ride to the conditions.

 

[MichaelW2]

I have ridden a touring bike with 32 mm Conti Top Touting on snow. It works OK, better than my 26" Big Apple slicks. TT tyres can get stuck in frozen ruts which is a problem and on slick ice they are not much use, but in thin snow and frozen snow you get along. I now run knobble 26" studded tyres for snow and ice, which are in a different league

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

I've ridden '20' in the snow before now, but they did make for interesting cornering.
They were the widest my work-bike of the time would take with mudguards
(Dyna-Tech 755Ti, with Salmon Profils)

 

[MontyVeda]

I have ridden a touring bike with 32 mm Conti Top Touting on snow. It works OK, better than my 26" Big Apple slicks. TT tyres can get stuck in frozen ruts which is a problem and on slick ice they are not much use, but in thin snow and frozen snow you get along. I now run knobble 26" studded tyres for snow and ice, which are in a different league

Big Apples are what I'm on at the mo. Riding home from work at midnight last night was fine on the roads... but the cycle tracks don't generally get gritted so the icy/frozen slush stretches were ridden cautiously and slowly and with minimal steering. If i do have an off, I'm confident that I'll be going slow enough not to do any damage to me or the bike... it's the bottles of beer in my pannier i'm most worried about.