Putting the rigid frok back on my 29er hardtail. Getting worried about the Reba seals blowing out with the thickened oil and hard rubber bits when its 10f and below.
I’m going fatbiking in Wisconsin on Saturday. I’m pretty stoked that the shop up there will demo my buddy a fatbike for the day. He’s gonna have too much fun and then buy the thing.
I WANT A FATBIEK TOO!
Where you riding in our fine state?
Bumping this thread as I’m facing my first Wisconsin winter after living in the S’th or the PNW for all my life.
Really want to commute year round, as I have done everywhere else I have lived.
Stick with the fixie Voodoo and keep it real?
Beef up the Tachyon with some studded tires?
…give in to the fatbiek urge?
or???
Fixie /w a brake and bar mits. Studs are not really necessary except for a few times and you will fall anyway cuz shit happens. Skinny tires will work great in the pow pow up to like 6 or 8 inches of the shit.
Paths are always worse the second day cuz they are rutted. Ride that shit like you’re riding sand or mud, loose and light and don’t brake.
Freezing rain will fuck you up I never successfully commuted in it the 3 days it happened last winter.
Get your layering game down, I was into my rain shell + a merino base + rapha winter collar (this thing is boss and worth 40 bux). This could take me down to about 15 degrees cuz I ride hard.
Base + sweater + puffy + collar for colder.
Also I was really into rain pants… I kind of just did the sweat box method… which was fine cuz I didnt freeze.
Bar Mits
Bar Mits
Bar Mits
tldr: Fixed gear, No studs, Ride hard, Bar Mits, Expect to Fall
+1 bar mitts
I just wear full blown ski gloves when it’s sub 20. Nice ones. Works great. For feet I tape any sole vent holes I may have and wear some wind proof booties. Wool base layers, soft shell outer. Any pants with tights work, but for really cold days I bought some swrve black label soft shell pants. Not as waterproof as you might expect btw.
Ditto to all this.
Mostly need a bike with full fenders, studded tires, and real winter boots (whether these are normal ones on platform pedals, or ideally clipless ones such as shimanos winter offerings… the more money you spend on them the better). Other clothing like wool socks, glove/mit situation, etc… need to be addressed, layers are generally the best idea but when it’s really cold you might struggle to block wind without nice technical gear so expect to do some trial and error. People saying you don’t need studded tires are just probably picking and choosing their rides or are riding offroad. On the road when there’s real ice and snow you pretty much need studs to not randomly fall or have to slow down a lot. With studs I can basically go the same speed on ice or light snow as I can on dry pavement. FWIW I’ve tried using a 26" mtb and a cross bike for winter riding both with and without studded tires. The cross bike has worked the best since it’s still somewhat fast when conditions aren’t that bad, and it’s capable enough to handle most stuff. I don’t think mountain bikes with wider tires are the answer either, I had to get off the bike on steep snowy hills because of wheelspin about the same amount of time as with the cross bike.
Fuck full fenders in any real amount of snow, especially if it’s wet/heavy snow.
Rode last winter in Boston, including two major snowstorms, on two bikes, SS’ed hybrid with 38s and full fenders, this was great on the really heavy snow days, and a fixie with 23s and those shitty raceblade fenders, which was actually great on an inch or less of snow, the tires basically cut straight down to pavement. Didn’t wipe out once. Sneakers, heavy socks, glove liners and full fingers bike/moto gloves, wool hat under my helmet and a winter jacket got me through the coldest days, chilly but not miserable.
Thanks for the opinions. Trial and error indeed. Current plan will be to work with the Tachyon and slicks + fenders when it gets unpleasant, then look into some fat studded tires for it for snow/ice.
More polarizing questions:
650b offerings for studded tires are slim–are do-it yourself screw in studs that bad of an idea?
Stud studs: how many is too few? The Nokian A10 doesn’t look like a reassuring number, and it seems to have not enough knobiness for the snow.
Thanks!
just get the A10. they bite fine. they won’t work well off-road though. studded on front only will be fine also, the rear slows you the hell down and if you don’t ride like a jackass, won’t keep you upright much better than a mud2.
MUPs can be more obnoxious than actual roads because of ruts.
third? to bar mitts. changed my winter life. so nice to be able to ride with thin gloves when it’s <20F.
[quote=b-roll]
Really want to commute year round, as I have done everywhere else I have lived.
Stick with the fixie Voodoo and keep it real?
Beef up the Tachyon with some studded tires?
…give in to the fatbiek urge?
or???[/quote]
If it’s more hardpacked snow than clean ice or frozen slush, file treads with low pressure gives you good traction. Running bigger gears with low cadence helps with the traction as well.
Drop bars are good for modulating how much weight you put on the front wheel. Sometimes you want to cut trough the slush, sometimes it’s better to just sit back and let the bike steer itself through the bumps. Get 'em wide and high enough tho.
That front brake? Don’t use it.
Need to turn? Put your weight into the corner and steer, keeping the bike upright, no leaning here.
Be ready to abandon the ship. If fixed, go clipless, if freewheel, go with platforms.
It’s bike riding, so remember to have fun.
big plastic platform pedals are really the way, save the clipless for the non-winterized bike
sometimes you are going to want full fenders, and sometimes you’ll get mad even at a downtube fender
tire choice is all over the place, every choice has merit for a big swath of conditions
I road 1,000 miles of wisconsin winter on clapped out slick 23s that were on my road beik the season before. Just ride in the snow.
Rare bit of unanimity is I gotta get bar mitts va’d.
Took me a minute.
b-roll, you alright.
can I stop eating dicks now?