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This morning - damn phone won't expose properly for snow.
Nice ride to work, about -10c but really nice compacted snow on all but 100 metres of the trip.

I see - I'll have to add another layer then!

I wear them under lycra leggings - still seem to slip. The problem is is that you can't pull them up easily when they are underneath! I look like I have some kind of itchy skin disease at the lights!

I guessed that the marathon winter would be best for me as I ride in variable conditions. Some places are unploughed paths, which are probably going to be the hardest for me, but other places are completely cleared.
Plus the fact that the marathons are the only spikes I can find that fit my bike(I think).
It is amazing how fast the snow changes on the roads here. In one hour the snow went from hard packed to that broken up brown slush with the really hard chunks that want to throw you around.

I have some leg warmers and think they are crap - they always slip down to my knees after 15 mins cycling.
I have overtrousers too but they alway get you wet from sweat so I only wear them if it is pouring.

The lobster mitts look ace - Would be great to stop your little finger getting so cold.
Plus they have room to move.
I use skiing gloves and they work great except taking them off when your hands are sweaty is not fun. I guess they are designed to be put on once a day and not 5 or 6 times. by the middle of the day the liner tries to pull out the fingers . PITA to get back in when you are in a hurry.

Anybody tried this btwin jacket?
I'm looking for a jacket for winter that can cope with up to -20 and whilst I have tried it on in the shop and it seems very nice, I'm not sure how well it would actually perform.
My current coat is thick and uncomfortable on the road as I just sweat heavily inside it and then have to put it on wet when I leave work.
Unfortunately decathlon is the only good place I can find near me which has winter jackets in stock.

Genius - thanks, that looks ideal - How did I miss the trasmission database? Duh!
Much appreciated.

Anybody have any tips on avoiding the loose snow that grips on the rear tyre and tries to fill your shoes from behind? My mudguard carefull funnels it round - would a clip on help it get thrown off before it get to the 'down' part?
I'll try to get a photo of mine when I go out tomorrow if I remember - it is about -18 now so I will probably be in a rush to get going.

I'm waiting on a marathon winter to arrive in a week or two I hope. Had to skip work to make an emergency trip to the bike shop and pick up some offroad kenda tyres, which improved my grip no end. I'll be interested how the winters perform on snow as I have heard mixed reviews.

Can't use the mountain bike as the frame is damaged.
That pic looks like my bike when I unlocked it last night! it got buried!
I'd happily give skiing a go but the snow in the city is really inconsistent and I would have to walk the busiest sections that have been cleared!

Shit, that luck did me no good.
That was officialy the worst commute I have ever had.
Fixed was not a problem, I even prefer it to freewheel. The problem was the thickness of the snow and the piss poor tyres.
The paths were not cleared and the snow was deep enough that my pedals dipped in it each stroke. Of course that leaves you blind to what is underneath.
On my mountain bike last year I felt comfortable on fresh snow. Today I was scared to shit every moment of 30km. I came off numerous times 3 times really badly. Nice bruised on my thumb and shoulder as a result.
Add to that the fact the my spd's were constantly clogged so I couldn't clip in and my feet were left trying to grip on icy pedals.......
Now I have to think about what I'm going to do tomorrow.
Wiggle says that they will have studded tyres in one week. Plus the european shipping that leaves me probably two weeks before I can get some decent tyres.

Woke up this morning to about 4 inches of snow completely unprepared. All bike shops have sold out of studded tyres and it will be my first winter riding fixed.

Wish me luck

Maybe we should breed everybodies pictures together and see what the forum "child" would look like.

Not sure if it would work.

What do you look like through this face changer?
http://www.faceofthefuture.org.uk/

Pretty sure I measured everything properly. I just checked again - there is only about 13mm of clearance between the teeth of the current chainring and the chainstays. If I reduced to a 102mm spindle that would leave me with 3mm of clearance - is that enough?
Unfortunately I don't have a parts list as the parts are all no brand rubbish that it came with.

Just spent an hour measuring stuff on the bike and it is looking like it might be more complicated than I thought.
Not sure how I didn't notice it before but my chainline is already off plenty. The sprocket is 38mm off centre and the chainring about 51mm.
Is that normal? 51?

When I look at it, it isn't perfect but I read that there should only be a few mm difference.
I'm also fairly sure that if I found a chainring that matched the rear dimensions that it would foul the chainstays which leads me to think that the frame was built as a single speed MTB as sheldon suggestshttp://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainline.html
The space between the dropouts, however is 120mm, which I think is standard for fixed gears?

The bb shell on the frame is 68mm - does that mean it is an english thread? I managed to measure the spindle and it is about 122mm long.

So where should I go from here. do I have enough information to do anything? Should I scrap the bb, cranks and rear hub in an attempt to line up the chain or is there an easier solution?

The moral of the story is - DON'T BUY PIECE OF SHIT BIKES
Really I can't believe the trouble this bike has given me from the very beginning.

I am thinking of getting some new cranks to replace the crappy otp ones on my crappy SE draft.
How can I be sure to maintain the chainline?

From what I have read it's easiest to replace the BB and chainset to aim for 42mm. am I right?

If so how can I find out the BB size? the specs say only euro cartridge BB which doesn't give me too much info!

I don't want to take off the cranks yet as I don't have a torque wrench to replace them and I hear it is a necessary tool.

Ahh jag man...

Transport Secretary prefers to travel by Jaguar than cycle London's streets

How can you get 35 miles of fuel to a gallon?

Gave myself my first cut-throat shave today. Went well, nicked myself a few times but hopefully this will happen less with practise. Very therapeutic.

Nicks do happen less often and it gets more and more comfortable the longer you do it.

Head shaving?
http://www.headblade.com/

I got it out!
As usual the guy in the bike shop was less than helpful, in all my 5 problems I had so that is another one I won't go to!
I used the dremel cut off wheel route. I ground the wheel down to a smaller diameter, which took a while as they kept breaking but I really didn't want it to catch the frame.
Once it was small enough I slowly put it into the hole and hoped!
The bolt was crap - really soft and the wheel went through so fast I nicked the edge of the eyelet, a shame, but no significant damage. The bolt was so soft that when I put the screwdriver in the slot it gripped easily and out it came.
I replaced both bolts in case the same thing happens on the other side!

I guess my father is a fat white bloke with a nice bike. He loved cycling but only rides occasionally as he had a serious accident a few years ago.

I don't laugh at him because had it not been for him I wouldn't ride a bike.

I do however laugh at him for wearing full body lycra, which as a fat bloke.......just don't.

Might be able to dremel it - I just need to find the right bit. I'm sure I don't have anything small enough but I can check the local DIY shop.
I'm in Wrocław and I'm always at a loss for bike shops - they always seem to screw me over. I'm going to look for a dremel and failing that I'm oging on a bike shoop tour to find a decent place. Warsaw is about 3 times the size of this town and it has the Pruszków velodrome - I dream of living a bit closer!

Dammit - was just giving my bike it's monthly check - tighten all loose bits and stuff and I found that some of the bolts holding my rear rack were loose.

Easy job - quick turn........felt quite loose, a quarter further the head sheared off.

Damn, I am pissed off. it is completely flush with the seat stay and now I have no way to get it out. I'm gonna have to tie the rack on somehow until I figure a way to get it out.

I'm stuffed for tools here - What should I do? I guess you need to drill it and put a reverse threaded screw in. I'm fucked if I know I can get one where I am. I don't even know what it is called in Polish.

Piece of shit bike has cost me more in small parts than I origianally paid for it. Serves me right for buying cheap crap I guess.

I took primary position yesterday only to be reminded taht Polish drivers don't give two fucks about the road rules.
The road was being resurfaced in the oncoming lane, so I pulled into the primary to ensure nobody behind tried to overtake as I passed the planing truck only to have a car try to overtake the truck and drive in the opposite direction in my lane straight at me!
What an asshole, I had no choice but to pull onto the crappy gutter to avoid being hit.