Comments on: Cycling on ice

By: joycem

joycem — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 02:28:30 +0000

to Stuart M in Hokkaido, I was in Sapporo for a winter and I can not image biking in the winter there! I mean it was hard to walk. They had studded soles for shoes, never mind bikes. Huge ruts everywhere. they got so much snow there was no place to put it. two story high snow banks. How do you do it?

By: Doug

Doug — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:15:36 +0000

Well I purchased my studded tires last month so I could continue my commuting. They’ve allowed me to not miss a single day peddling to work. NH has proven that they are needed. When leaving in the morning, the roads have been leveled either by the plows or normal traffic. When compacted, the snow is nice to ride on. Once it gets churned up, I find myself keeping to the tire tracks. At times the rear tire may slip but it always seems to find it’s footing. My favorite days are when the roads are icy. The tires really do their job. I LOVE RIDING BY MY SNOW AND FROST COVERED TRUCK IN THE MORNING! Layering is the norm and a beard as well as two blinking red lights on the rear, reflective tape at every angle, a handlebar light and one mounted on my helmet. I really like the helmet light. Drivers take notice when you look at them, which I do at all intersections. You never know if they have had their coffee. I’ve started using a messenger bag. I purchased mine from Baileyworks out of Portsmaouth, NH. I highly recommend them! I’m using the medium Pro bag decked out in yellow. The second blinking red light attaches to the flap. I had a chance to test it in some HEAVY downpours and snowfalls and everything stayed dry and well protected. When I need something from the bag I can swing it to the front for easy access. I’ve tried a backpack, trunk for my rack and a handlebar bag. I was always wrapping the handlebar bag in a plastic bag as well as the trunk when I had to ride during heavy downpours. I suppose that is not true for all bags, it was just so for the ones I purchased.

By: Ron Georg

Ron Georg — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 15:49:20 +0000

Howdy–

I would say that the difference Nicolas is feeling is the shorter trail of the hybrid. Touring bikes usually employ long trail to give them a stable feel at speed with a load; that is, they usually don’t shimmy. The trade-off is that they tend to understeer. This gives them the illusory feel of stability as the front wheel ‘pushes’, which feels like traction on a dry road. On a slick road, when the front wheel tries to hook up, and it can’t, the bike keeps going straight. Counter-steering can help a bit, but it’s a tricky technique to learn, and it’s pretty much impossible at low speed.
Happy Trails,
Ron Georg
Moab

By: Nicolas Marchildon

Nicolas Marchildon — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 02:16:03 +0000

@electric: yes, I am sitting more up-right. That is why I said I put less weight on the handlebar.

By: electric

electric — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 02:13:27 +0000

Nicolas, could be the head-angle isn’t as steep or the wheelbase is longer; both would make it less twitchy. Maybe even just the seat tube angle, top-tube/stem length has you sitting more up-right and further back?

By: Nicolas Marchildon

Nicolas Marchildon — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:11:44 +0000

Last year I had a touring bike in the snow, and this year I have a hybrid. I don’t know why, but the hybrid is much easier to control in the snow. My guess is that I put less weight on my arms, so the front wheel goes less deep in the snow.

My other guess is it might be that putting less weight on the handlebars makes it easier to make smaller direction adjustments. An other difference may be in where my hands are. I was not using the drop bars, but my new bar is wider.

By: siouxgeonz

siouxgeonz — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:25:17 +0000

“not absolutely confident” – hand goes up… love the studs. Loose snow still makes me all nervous – I am trying to discern whether the increased heart rate & respiration is the work of going through the stuff or just the stress.

I thought about getting studlier tires – I got the hakkelpita 106′s ’cause they’re made for plowed streets with those occasional patches of black ice and they’re great for that… but on the not so plowed roads we have I am wanting More Control. On the other hand… I need to practice bike handling, and also on that hand, about at that point where I’m too uncomfortable, cars are sliding around, too, and I’d *really* rather avoid that.

Besides, just after I got studded tyres on the Gazelle, our weather completely deteriorated and I have had to use them all too often. These weekly ice storms, each a little worse than the previous (and now it’s lookin’ like bi-weekly), are getting a bit old. If I got heavier duty ones… who knows what would happen? For the good of my community

By: Scott R

Scott R — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:28:21 +0000

This is my first year commuting, so I didn’t want to stop when the snow and ice came to Omaha. I got some studded Innovas’s, and they work very well, though I never tried snow and ice without them.

So far, I’ve had no problems with traction, and only when I hit loose snow does my front wheel get a little tricky.

I found the city plows/brushes the snow from the bike trails the day after a storm, but most of my daily commute is on streets.

I would highly recommend studded tires to anyone who wants to keep commuting during the winter. Even if I spent the winter on dry pavements, I’d still mount the studs for peace of mind for that one time I might hit some ice and spill.

By: Paul in Minneapolis

Paul in Minneapolis — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:07:33 +0000

opps, street tires in winter are a pain…

By: Paul in Minneapolis

Paul in Minneapolis — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:06:32 +0000

This is my first winter with studded tires. Over the last three, more so with last year up here in the twin cities, riding without studded tires are great to have. Riding on snow and ice on street tires is taxing, and remember to stay loose when the ground is coming up to meet me, cause that is what it feels like when the front tire doesn’t like the patch of ice its one, takes training to keep loose and roll… The biggest problem with studded tires is, I find my self going too fast because they seem to grip the road too well.