Winter bike / Snow bike thread

Without sounding like a knob saying this if you ride with studded/cyclecross tires on the ice are you still going to slip around? I mean do they guarantee you won't fall off or are they just a slight difference from say 25c gatorskins?

Studded are overkill, surely? They'll get destroyed on bare tarmac too I'd wager.

Edited for you Mr Sparkes

I think they'll def improve the traction on ice, but nothing will guarantee you won't slip 100%?

I'm not taking the piss or anything, I just think that a wider tire will suffice in the UK. My MTB has been sticking like glue so far.

Last year.

...and no thats not a sunken path. The snow really was that deep.

what bars are they? midge?

Smallfurry wins the snow wars.

I'm not taking the piss or anything, I just think that a wider tire will suffice in the UK. My MTB has been sticking like glue so far.

Wait till you come across proper ice. Not little tiny bits, but like last winter when entire blocks of streets were covered in thick ice. And there was a salt shortage so they didnt grit the small roads.

nice

Thanks!

Pffft, no crud catchers anywhere. What's the world coming to? ;)

I now have a pull out Kashimax rain tail. No crud though.

I may get shot down here, but isn't a dedicated snow/winter bike a bit excessive in London, given the climate? Many years it doesn't snow at all.

Just sayin' ;)

Wait till you come across proper ice. Not little tiny bits, but like last winter when entire blocks of streets were covered in thick ice. And there was a salt shortage so they didnt grit the small roads.

I just walked to the main road. Admittedly a bit of a PITA in Sidis, and getting going was sometimes a bit tricky.

I just keep thinking of the environmental cost of all this dedicated winter kit!

@EB
"Note deep v of snow on rear"
hipster 4 lyf or what

Wait till you come across proper ice. Not little tiny bits, but like last winter when entire blocks of streets were covered in thick ice. And there was a salt shortage so they didnt grit the small roads.

Yeah, I was riding last winter. Cheers though.

years ago in a country with weather

this is confusing me in the mind tank......so much going on....

Yeah, I was riding last winter. Cheers though.

On the ice? 4 realz?

I rode my mtb last winter, whever I came across thick blankets of smooth ice (very often) there was little chance of staying upright.

If you managed it, hats off to you.

I was riding my track bike with 23mm slick tires for a while. Went down several times. But on the hybrid with thick 35mm tires I was fine. MTB has been OK so far, but any slips are loads easier to correct with an upright riding position and wide bars. On the track bike you were on the floor 0.00001 seconds after feeling a slip.

Last year.

...and no thats not a sunken path. The snow really was that deep.

more pictures of this please. it really looks great.

I was riding my track bike with 23mm slick tires for a while. Went down several times. But on the hybrid with thick 35mm tires I was fine. MTB has been OK so far, but any slips are loads easier to correct with an upright riding position and wide bars. On the track bike you were on the floor 0.00001 seconds after feeling a slip.

So if I just buy wider tires with more grip I should be better then?
Pretty sure I can fit 32 on my bike (charge plug) combine that with a more upright position I should be well away.

not mine but a good friend's from last year, homemade studded tyres, worked brilliantly on the icy roads round hilly Co. Down

my friend andy holding my bike by a whisker on a frozen lake in richmond park. we spent about 30 minutes standing around just trying to muster up the courage to walk on it - didnt happen.

not mine but a good friend's from last year, homemade studded tyres, worked brilliantly on the icy roads round hilly Co. Down

My kinda bike, look like a lots of fun to ride.

need to put those on-one drop bar on mine.

love that photo, we go for a ride every christmas eve round near his house (killinchy/balloo area - google maps if you are interested), well last xmas eve was too icy - hence the creation above - so it was the day after boxing day. really looking forward to this year. He has a 30 strong stable, not one bike the same (from a 1926 Raleigh Superbe to a modern alu ribble), usually about 14 or 15 bikes ready to ride. they're all hung up in his garage, you just walk in and pick one, like a kid in a candy shop. All but a couple of them have brooks saddles.

I've got a 38c cross tyre I was going to sell, but now I'm thinking of keeping it for the winter.

If you had a 32c and a 38c which would you put on the font and which on the back?

First instinct says biggest on the front... but then as they're both biggish, I can also see an argument for having more grip where the power comes from...

Thoughts?

xmas eve a couple of years ago

last year's ride, shit photos

Studded are overkill, surely? They'll get destroyed on bare tarmac too I'd wager.

They have a bedding in time, where the studs can get pulled out. After that if you're usinf carbide tipped studs, they last quite well. The trouble is that the ride is nasty on bare tarmac. They roll poorly, make a lot of noise, and vibrate. Riding spikes on old hard pack snow is pretty special though.

what bars are they? midge?

Yeah, I like the width in the drops when off-road/ winter cycling. But have the tilted up for a nice hoods position for cruising.

more pictures of this please. it really looks great.

Not pretty but darn useful.