I’m living in New York City now, and I’m riding a Specialized Langster (yeah, could be better) as my main transportation. Winter is coming, and I plan on riding throughout it, so I was wondering what I’d need to do to make my bike a decent winter ride.
I was thinking fenders of course, and possibly wider tires, but I’m not sure there’s clearance for more than a 23. Any other suggestions? Does anyone know how bike-able winter Manhattan is?
You can ride through the winter anywhere.
I don’t know if the langster is the bike to do it on though.
I think your best bet would be to pick up an old schwinn frame or something and throw a fixed wheel on it and a full set of fenders and at least 32s semi knobby.
200 dollar conversions make great winter bikes.
get a thrift store or craigslist bike to ride that you dont care about. that way you can leave it set up for winter year round and not have to worry about cleaning it up after each ride. on sunny days, bring out the langster and enjoy it. i picked up an old ross road bike from the late 70’s for my winter ride. some fenders,a few new parts, a comfy saddle and a rack is all it took to make it an all-weather ride.
only thing is, we dont get snow or any of that other shit out here in california. i just need to worry about rain for a couple months and then its back to riding the bike that i actually enjoy.
fenders, brakes, less aggressive handlebars, and maybe a lower ratio
I rode last winter on 23s and it was fine. The thing is usually only cold, assuming ny cleans the streets well, and generally the streets will be free of snow unless it just snowed.
Also, the langster is aluminum so it wont rust. If its stock everything should be sealed baring so that helps as well. Just wipe it off after you ride and you should be fine.
I’d love not to get a conversion, as of now I don’t really have space for a second bike.
I’m thinking the streets might be a bit slushy during the worst of it, but thats what the fenders are for, right? I’m running just a front break now, should I put the back one on too?
Also, what am I looking to wipe off? Water? Or the salt junk that’s out there, or something else?
your bike will be covered in snow/salt/winter mix when you get done riding. It helps to wipe that off. I guy i know uses a toilet brush and some clean water. I just use a rag.
I think the most important thing is fenders. preferably full as opposed to something like race blades. Full fenders will keep your feet dry and there is nothing that will ruin a ride quicker then wet feet.
I ride through the winter, trying a bit different approach this year.
Last year I converted a schwinn road frame, brakes, fenders, smaller gear etc. This year, I put fenders on my touring bike, probably knobbies. I would say, if you can find a set of like, 28 touring tires, try those out. A little more traction, worth it. Put some fenders on, and definitely find some nice gloves and you should be good. The most important thing regarding commuting is learning how to dress. If you dont layer, wear breathable materials and a wind stopping jacket etc. you will get cold even if you are only running a few blocks.
A 700x23c tire works best for city winter biking. I keep telling people this and their response is usually “no that’s so stupid”. I used to think the same until I noticed that practically every messenger kept their skinny tires during winter (and we got over 14ft of snow last year). The reason for this, I later found out, is that skinny tires cut through the snow to grip the surface beneath whereas fatter, squarer tires kinda bounce around on top of it. The snow on city streets is either fresh, has turned to slush or has been removed. You don’t really need to worry about ice since you only find that shit in very small patches and beside, knobs and threads won’t do shit to help you there so your best bet is just to avoid it.
Not true in Chicago at least.
I’ve ridden down streets that were maybe 70% ice covered under about an inch of snow with lots of icy potholes that make your wheels jump around. Ive done it on 23s and I’ve done it on my high-tex 32s.
You do what you want, but I’ll stick with my 32s.
Not true in Chicago at least.
I’ve ridden down streets that were maybe 70% ice covered under about an inch of snow with lots of icy potholes that make your wheels jump around. Ive done it on 23s and I’ve done it on my high-tex 32s.
You do what you want, but I’ll stick with my 32s.[/quote]
Would you trust the advice of someone who has spent the last six months continuously logged on to tarckbike.com? I know I wouldn’t.
