Riding in the Winter

[snowman]

For those of you that ride a lot in the winter, do you do anything special to your bikes to get it "winter ready"? If so, what?
I assume a lot of riding is limited to road stuff.
I am concerned about the road salt destroying my shocks and cranks and am considering purchasing a cheap, used hybrid to beat up on.

BUT, I'd rather not spend the $$$ and am hoping I can use my current bike (Sugar) without destroying it.

Any help is appreciated,
snowman

[Tim]

Forget the road! Get yourself some studded tires and head out to the trails, or frozen lakes and rivers. The local snowmobilers pack the trails near me and they're fun to ride on. The studs give a great grip on ice, although deep snow is still pretty much unrideable.

I kept my first mountain bike and now use it as a dedicated winter bike. It's a pretty simple beast anyway and I switched over to a 1x7 drivetrain. I found my Rapidfire shifter gummed up in the cold (below about 10 degrees F) so I switched to a thumbshifter with full housing, which works well.

Tim

[AA]

Sometimes riding on the road is the only option due to deep snow. I use my regular road bike in the winter with clip on fenders and wash/wipe it down after every ride. My FS mt bike has also seen plenty of road salt and as long as you clean it fairly often it wont hurt it. I would recommend some studded tires (Nokian 296). Riding in the snow when it is 10 deg you will be sweating your ass off, riding on the road in 10 deg your freezing your ass off.

Dont poo poo road riding, if you get some road miles in in the winter you will be in better shape come the good weather. Better shape = ride longer = more fun

[CouchingTiger]

I agree w/ AA. If the roads are dry, road riding is a good bet. For offroad, seek out places where others have been and the trails are packed. If we get a good snow followed by some decent dry weather (and maybe warmer temps) that attract walkers and other activity, the trail will get packed down. Follow that up with a cold snap and boom, you got hardpack trail. Foot traffic is enough to get it packed to ridable though snowmobile trail is the best.

Unfortunately, with more than a few inches of unpacked snow it becomes really tough going off piste.

In regards to studs, really, they only work well for pure ice riding. If you are riding snow or packed snow (not snow packed into ice), big fat tires at low pressure are the way to go. It's all about float and footprint. Those old superfat Geax 2.25" tires were awesome snow treads. Light weight is also an issue for snow riding as it isn't EZ.

Gee, w/ all this cold weather I wonder if the Concord River is frozen yet ;)

-Couch

[knucklebuste]

If you really want a good workout, road ride on something like this. I'm serious, I do. I don't like road bikes. I think they look gay and are uncomfortable as phuck. But that's just my opinion.

[johnbigbooty]

Depending on where you live, the Cape might be an option, too. Most winters the Boston-and-west snowfall misses Miles Standish and Otis.

[jsb2dc]

I usually go down to the Cape about once a week during the winter. Trail of Tears is great too. I wish it wasn't two hours away, I'd ride there more often.

As for riding up here, Georgetown/Rowley gets a fair amount of snowmobile use, so it's rideable virtually all winter. I post rides for Georgetown all winter on the North Shore NEMBA list.

Studs are great for ice rides (20+ mph on ice is a scream!) but for the rest of the time the widest tires you can fit in your bike will be the best. Don't worry about the weight, think of it as a weightlifting workout while riding your bike. A couple of years back we had a lot of ice at Georgetown and I rode on my home-made spiked tires for about six weeks straight. I was much faster and way stronger on climbs when the spikes came off the bike. I started blasting up climbs that I hadn't even made before. It's good training.

[titus1]

Been riding through the winter (commuting) for years now. Half road/half off-road through the blue hills. Have never done anything special to my bike for the winter, just a bit more care and feeding/cleaning and add some lights for that night ride home.

Never used studded tires, but after two dumps last year - a particularly cold and nasty winter here in Boston- will put a studded Nokian 296 upfront.

Biggest piece of advice: dress in layers and never wear cotton. Also, despite how warm your core may get, beware of frostbite on the extremities (ear lobes, tip of nose, etc)

Keep the rubber-side down.