For Gear, I wear a ski helmet, goggles, wool balaclava, scarf and skull cap, regular work clothes (jeans & button down shirt), heavy wool mid-layer, cotton anorak windbreaker, Duluth firehose cotton overpants lined in wool, and army issue muck lucks with double wool liners. I need different mittens, but rode this morning at -6 very comfortably.

Great photos and thanks for sharing.

Here are some things that are essential in winter time riding conditions:

1. Studded Tires – Buy them! They are a must, and the more studs the better.

3. Helmet – need I say more?

3. Mirrors – don’t ride without them! You need to know what’s coming from behind without turning your head. You need to keep your focus looking forward to changing conditions as much as possible. Besides, you are more likely to be riding in the car lane as plowed snow is piled on the shoulders.

4. Bright, reflective clothing. You can expect drivers to have reduced visibility due to blowing snow, ice on windshields, etc. You need to stand out. I even wear a safety vest.

5. Lights, front and rear. Up here in Alaska, we don’t have much daylight in winter. Lights are a necessity. Even with twilight conditions, bright lights are important.

6. Fenders, both front and rear. Keep the road grime from slinging into your face off that front wheel.

7. Goggles or face shield in arctic cold, windy conditions. For temps below 10F, you gotta protect your eyes and face. Anyone who downhill skis will tell you how bad your vision gets when cold wind hits and your eyes tear up. You can’t afford poor vision.

8. Check brakes right off the bat! If you had moisture anywhere in your system, your brake cables may freeze up. This is never a good thing. Additionally, shifting gears may be affected.

Anyhow, there’s probably more that I’m forgetting, but you get the idea. Winter is my favorite time to ride, so give it a try!

Today’s commute was similar. Some of the snow had melted, but it was very slick. Whenever I saw a dry stretch of sidewalk, I took it (there were no pedestrians in sight). Not everyone shovels their walk, so there was a lot of hopping on and off the sidewalk like Fritz talked about.

The key today was smoothness. Slow, smooth pedaling, with no sudden movements! There were some cars that weren’t sure what I was doing, but to take a hand off the bar to signal seemed too dangerous at times.

I’ll let you all know what snow tires I decide on!

I’m one of those hardcore vehicular cyclist guys, but in these conditions I have no problems using the flexibility of my bike to my advantage by hopping up on the sidewalk, cutting through parks, etc if it makes things easier. If I’ve hit areas of too deep snow, I just push my way through on foot if necessary (which is why gaiters and hiking boots are handy).

I was considering riding my 456 SS, but I thought I had to many hills to deal with, I also only have Fire XCs for it, so after a few thoughts on setting up my XXIX, so I set it up with HIGH pressure Karma in front and a Low pressure WeirWolf in back, works pretty well!
29″ makes a Big difference too!