Sorry if there’s a topic about this already - I searched and didn’t find anything.
Anyway, I’m going to be spending two weeks in Edmonton come January. I feel like I’ll go crazy if I don’t ride a bike that whole time, so I’m going to try and do some winter riding. I’ll be staying at my dad’s house, which is just blocks away from a really nice MUP system that runs along the river that bisects the city, so it would be nice to ride that. I’m not looking to do anything crazy or get in super long rides, but it would be nice to get out for an hour or so at a time.
As far as bikes, I am going to see if I know anyone who will lend me something, but I may have to suck it up and ride my stepmom’s super crappy rigid mtb. Or I may lose my mind and decide to bring my cross bike up.
It’s usually around -15 to -20 C at that time of year. There’s usually some snow, but it’s not super snowy like Vermont or something. The biggest problem I foresee is ice and hard-packed snow.
Should I try to find some studded tires? What kind of shoes do you guys who ride in winter wear? Any general advice on winter riding?
Michelin Pro Grip handles ice like a boss. I’ve fallen over after putting a foot down stopping on black ice. Didn’t even notice I was on it when riding. For shoes I just bought some decent booties. Keeping me too toasty even.
Hard packed snOw sucks, nothing works on it short of mountain bike tires with drywall screws (or hambiek) so I’d give up any illusions about riding on any of that.
MUPs generally aren’t salted and tend to be a bad idea. If its salted knock yourself out, but typically people just walk on the snow until it turns into a rutted sheet of ice which isn’t rideable. Stick to the streets.
For feet, wool socks wool socks wool socks. Buy some that are specifically for skiing or other winter sports, not that bullshit you Californians wear as you will need the insulation.
Studded tires are cool if you think it likely that you’re going to hit a lot of black ice, otherwise they add more rolling resistance than anything else you can put on your bike. If you’re going to go studded I’ve used just a studded front in the past and had good luck.
I ride year round, i.e. through as much snow as falls, on a road bike with 23c Krylion Carbons. When the mup’s are really gnarly I’ll throw on something like a 28c Conti Touring Plus for a little bigger footprint to roll over the chop. If airborne moments don’t figure prominently in your riding style disregard all this. Acclimating to riding in whatever that works out to in F may be the biggest obstacle.
tc–in a snow i’ve always preferred a fixed gear with platforms and front brake with 23s. i’ve gotten the impression the 23s cut down through the snow and are a bit more stable for that reason, and fixed gear cuz it’s so easy to feel when you’re sliding out and pedal or backpedal to correct anything, but since you don’t want to actually use it to stop (cuz you’ll slide out) so front brake.
of course, i rode a track bike and a mountain bike when i was messengering in winter in ohio, so i pretty much only have those two to conpare. mtb sucks in snow atmo. i also rode a road bike in snow when i lived in idaho, but i didn’t know anything about bikes then, so the fact that i thought it was horrible in snow may also have been user error, so i don’t count that experience as being worth much in terms of giving advice based on it.
Whatcha wanna do is run your most potent chronic up front this time of year, with your mildest burrito sauce out back. Seems kinda counter-intuitive, but hey that’s what works.
The best deal for studded tires i found last year was through chain reaction cycles. I got schwalbe marathon winters from them because vancouver can have totally ludicrous black ice, though it doesnt snow much here.
whenever im there in the winter everyone rides cross bikes because hte roads are so fucked you will destroy a regular wheel trying to hold your line without getting killed by shitty albertan drivers
how long are you going for?
unless you have some nice winter gear its going to fucking suck
and january it can get really, really fucking cold
id forget about the bike, if you need to ride put on every piece of winter clothing you have and ride the shit mtb
if you are going to ride the mups studded tires will be good, but you’d be better off with xc skis
I think the only new thing you’d need is some neoprene booties. You can simulate booties hobo style by doing a sock, plastic bag, sock collaboration.
When it’s really cold I give up on the bike specific gear on top and wear a super thick wool sweater with a couple of wool t-shirts underneath, then a jacket on top. Let me tell you supgirl was pissed when she found out that I was wearing her very expensive christmas gift for riding until I explained that it was an awesome gift because I wear it every day.
ALso cover your neck and wear some sort of eye protection so your eyeballs don’t freeze
not to be fucked with[/quote]
Did a 4 hour ride in -60 wind chill last Winter. YOLO
After sleep my tenderhole post looks regrettable. Supple tires that let you run low pressures make a pretty big difference unless have designs to attempt fixing a tire. For sure get some neoprene booties to match your pedals. I used to use super thick cold water diving ones for platforms after toughening up the sole. Same for ski googles or whatever is handy. Post pics if somebody lets you borrow a full squish like this.
