BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I may have to get out the winter commuter and put the single speed away for a bit

Shouldn't it be the other way around, but away the commuter and bring out the winter single speed. Unless you only have one ridable bike like me.

Me riding the shitty bus is predicted for Wednesday.

Sounds like I need to accelerate my plans for another bike...

i got a couple of wal mart bikes i ride when theres salt on the roads that salt sure messes up your cables and chains a single speed with coaster brakes would be a good choice if it wernt for pittsburgh hills

Mr marv - my "commuter" has disc brakes and fenders. Single speed doesn't.

We've talked in previous years about how to keep the bike clean after a snowy ride. One leading candidate is to keep a gigundo squirt gun handy with which to hose off the drive train, then set it indoors to dry off overnight.

@Stu - that SO reminds me of Wisconsin, where you spend March thru May tracking wet, salty slush into the house after every outing. That might be about the only thing I disliked about living in Wisconsin. But, that was with boots, and unavoidable. Volunteering to bring a wet, (formerly salty) dripping bike into my home does not appeal to me. Nor does shoveling a path to the basement door, to brign it in there, rather than into the house proper. I'll keep looking for a better solution!

The best tip I've ever heard of for the wet salty bike is that of using a plastic children's sled, or something like it, as a parking pad to catch road drippings.

I need to get on this.

I'm happy to have a walk out basement.

If one is limited in space and places to clean you can spray off outside with a garden sprayer or do it in the bathtub.

I had a wet salty bike this morning... (rimshot)

Although after seeing the coming forecast I was pretty happy to be riding through the rain, considering it was relatively warm.

Don't forget that when it really gets snowy, shoveling is easier for cyclists.

...you can spray off outside with a garden sprayer...

ive been told not to use a spray with any significant amount of pressure behind it, as it might penetrate bearings and do more damage than good. also, your hose might freeze if you dont turn the water off!

http://store.thefountainheadgroup.com/QC/images/products/190265L.jpg

No significant pressure, no bearing issues. Just enough to rinse crud off. I will often carry one with me if it is muddy when I am riding offroad too, helps keep the mud from damaging the paint on the vehicles roof.

@ orionz06 would I find that in a hardware store?

Yes. I have 2 3 gallon ones. They make smaller ones that are like misters that I also have. I use them to apply a presoak to various things.

Hence the super-soaker. It likely has less pressure than a garden hose, and can be filled from an indoor faucet. Then bring the bike in to drip at room (or basement) temperature.

@Stu, I suspect the Super-Soaker can be used for far more interesting things in the warmer months too. My sprayers are boring in that respect.

Using it for bike purposes lets me get six or seven good months of use out of it instead of the two or three it might see otherwise.

I suppose you could get fancy and have two handy, one with a soap solution, one with a rinse. Suggestions welcome.

I saw it! SSSNNNOOOWWW!!! Not 30 minutes ago! For, oh, at least a minute before it turned back into drizzle...

@Stu,

Here are the two I use: http://www.autoality.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=247&idcategory=53

http://www.autoality.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=124&idcategory=53

For as dirty as the bike gets I have not found one to be much better than the other. The Meguiars will foam up out of the right bottle with the right setting, but that doesn't mean it is working better.

I will hit the bike with one of those and then rinse with water after a little soak, hitting some areas with a brush if need be. Most of the time our foul weather for commuting is a non issue, but for mud it is a lifesaver.

A small sprayer like this: http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=197513&pid=CSE_Froogle&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=202577

would be great for soap for ya

I hate road salt. well, at least on my bike and in the rivers.

Actually, I hate breathing it in when the roads are dry, but covered with a nice coating of it.

It's worse when the roads are wet and you get a nice fine spray,

It's worst when the roads are slick with glare ice, because the mind control rays bounce up underneath the tinfoil helmet liner.

I have no idea why I said that.

hah, made my day, dan.

I think there's a chance the salt would turn the foil/helmet combo into a battery, and explode.

There you go, trying to start another helmet safety thread.

It's snowing again! Grab bike & camera and get in on the latest Wheelset tag.

Beautiful night for a ride, just the right amount of snow to be fun without becoming a PITA... I actually thought about getting a picture of my tracks but didn't want to stop.

I took sidewalks most of the way home between the Strip and S'liberty & had a good ride on snow bike around 7pm (29'er, no studs). Dropped all motorized vehicles between 29th & Main on Liberty, and I was just crawling.

Riding home at rush hour last night was less than optimal. Taking the Jail Trail and coming through the park was wonderful, but the city streets around 5:30 were not in good shape. Ellsworth had strips of black ice, Friendship approaching Negley was icy, as were various side streets in Highland Park and Morningside. Throw in liberal amounts of traffic, and there were many places I rather would have been.

The only place I fell this morning was turning onto the 62nd St Bridge. (Got some spokes in my shin.) Outside of that it wasn't particularly bad, just had to put up with drivers honking at me because I wasn't using the shoulders containing unknown states of water.

@Reddan, do you ever use a bent trike in this kind of weather? With every tumble it seems like more and more of a good idea

@brian I had a very similar experience, but I wanted to stop off at the main branch library so I took forbes and then the fifth ave sidewalk. big mistake, it was stop and go the entire way, I was thinking I should have taken the jail trail the entire time. I then took ellsworth and opted to continue up to penn circle via shady to avoid the POS that is negley. also, after the thaw my rear rim has black sludge all over it.

@Pierce: I have not, but many do.

@dmtroyer: do you ever try Joncaire to get from Panther Hollow to the Oakland library? It has a wide sidewalk and only the last third is at all steep. I wait at the bottom if pedestrians are coming down, but its really not a bad option. Take a couple of right hand turns at the top and you'll be right at Schenley Plaza.

@pseuda yeah, that was part of my lament. there are also some stairs that lead up to the fine arts building I will try next time

i had a nice time on the way home last night. once i got off the trafficky roads. those were less than ideal, but at least people were moving slowly. lots of gridlock trying to happen, though.

then, on a side street, i almost bit it pretty good. i was in the tire tracks on a slight downhill and started pushing a little bit harder than i probably should have, and suddenly my front wheel decided it wanted to be a few inches to the left. managed to keep the rubber side down, but just barely. good times!

Last night on my ride home, a guy in a pickup passed me on Railroad (slowly, and with a lot of room), but then came to a stop about fifty feet ahead and rolled down his window. I was afraid there was going to be some kind of confrontation, but he actually was just offering to give my buddy and me a ride. We declined (because the snow was pretty, and also Rule 9), but I thought that was pretty cool.

I'm loving the snow! Getting used to sliding a little. My rides yesterday and this morning haven't been bad at all, fell once when I confused myself deciding to turn before or after the car coming, but otherwise it has been just lovely. I'm still pretty nervous, and moving really slowly, which means I need to plan more time to get places, but it isn't so tough as I'd worried it would be.

I had a great commute home. The slicks on my commuter made it really interesting. Once I got home, I switched to my mt. bike and hit Frick Park, which was AMAZING! Knobby tires and some low air pressure make a world of difference in the snow we had last night. Pictures taken with the crappiest camera phone known to man.

@RoadKillen - the far right tracks in the second pic are scary.

I tried riding and got to Liberty and Baum when I threw in the towel. The drivers had no idea where their lanes were and it was getting really slick.

I walked to Negley Station and took the bus where I had the same driver as in the morning. Once off in Edgewood the route I take was plowed and salted so I rode the rest of the way home.

@ Mick. Those tracks on the right are the ones I made. I almost went off the edge of the ramp, scary is correct.

I aced the logs though, which usually trip me up in good weather.

I feel lucky that my commute is short and uses (pretty much) only roads that are plowed first.

I wonder if the Jail Trail got salted today. If not we’re in store for some awesome ice.

i'll get to use my studs in the morning.

Crap, now I feel like I got some kind of stupid stomach bug, might not be able to go out and play. Grr.

I had to drive on Thursday, in order to be where I needed to be, when I needed to be there.

At a little before 7 p.m., I was stuck on the Bloomfield Bridge, heading towards Bloomfield. I was in the left lane, so I could turn towards town.

As I sat through light after light and watched cars creep through the light at Liberty, I caught sight of a cyclist, heading uphill on Liberty. From a distance, it looked like he might have been on the sidewalk, but maybe not.

The riding looked tortuous. By the time I could see him again on the uphill side of the intesection, it looked like he was walking. It took him what seemed like a LONG time to cross the width of the bridge.

It was so hard to watch! My hat goes off to whomever it was. I certainly would have racked and rolled, even if it took me hours longer to get home (and yes, even when walking) the cyclist was mostly keeping pace with the traffic. Cars were moving THAT slowly.

I went out to North Park last night and did a quick lap of the trails around 9pm with a couple of friends, just as the snow was really falling and adding to the couple of inches already down. Pretty awesome conditions right then. Beard icicles all around.

Swalfoort, I use the same terminlolgy when I don't ride- "I had to drive1" It is a mindset and a commitment.

@ helen and swalfoort. "had to drive" me too. interesting point helen I never thought of it that way.

Bump

Just for fun.

Snooooooooooow riding. Yes!

My little jaunt through downtown in an hour or so will be a minor test. A mile of Perrymont, with no lights and a lot of traffic, will be a different story altogether.

Wind will be a dealbreaker, though.

i was out a couple hours ago, it wasn't too bad, keep the extremities bundled up.

Riding in that wind will totally blow.

(pun intended)

This morning I was holding my usual 16-17mph pace on the jail trail on my way in this morning. A big gust of wind came and it immediately slowed me to 11mph. I had tailwinds the whole way home which was niiice. The snow wasn't bad today, it was just the wind. The snow is fun

YAY! Gotta pull out the old green bike and go out tomorrow, assuming the snow is still there!

i biked to the south side around 2:30, and it was either shit or hella awesome, depending on your perspective. on saline coming from junction hollow to the jail trail, the wind knocked me down to like 7 mph. i actually had to wipe the snow off my glasses a few times, because i couldn't see a damned thing. then on the hot metal bridge, i still couldn't see anything because the sky was filled with snow.

the sustained 15-20 mph winds was pretty sweet, but the thick wet snow really made it. it was one of those rides where i was constantly reminded how awesome my beard is.

ps i thought it was hella awesome. in the parlance of our times.

By 7 the snow, though still coming down, wasn't much. However, the wind... It may have been the first time I've needed to pedal going _down_ Fifth toward the Birmingham Bridge just to keep going forward...

I am of the less is more school of maintainece

I try to do as little as possible. I don't clean my chain every 100 miles (someone I overheard on a group ride). I don't necessarily clean the bike off after an off-road or winter ride. I will so as not to drag too much dirt/mess around but not otherwise.

my take on salt etc.

Cbruch may not agree if you ride around limestone - but -

I've found the simplest way to deal with salt, water, rain, and just about anything for your chain is 30w oil.

Phil Wood tenacious oil (that is probably 70w or 80w) is GREAT!

for free lube :

Go to your local gas station look in the trash cans, no need to dig, for a can of whatever someone else was using for their car's motor. There is always a little left over.

5-20, 10-40 whatever it is put that on your chain and no worries, mate.

It won't generally wash off, and will protect the chain from just about everything.

As to cables - use lined housings, and if you can find them - I haven't been able too recently, nylon coated cables. I haven't tried yet, but probably somewhere that sells snowmobiles.

Also new cables are cheap enough, <$5, that a rusting cable is really no big deal. Just replace it before it rusts completely through, although that does take some doing.

If you are riding in snow using rim brakes - make or buy a disk wheel cover - it helps keep snow and ice from building on the rim and on the wheel between the spokes. I wouldn't put one on the front, unless you get a partial (half coverage) because the wind can cause steering issues.

Got a picture of the latter? Sounds like it could be a nice DIY project.

it seems similar enough to what they use on thier bikes for polo.

http://bostonbikepolo.wordpress.com/sick-wheel-coversand-how-to-make-them/

also on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfoAJicjNJc

Yup. Exactly the same thing. Motor oil is a hell of a lot better than wd40, and it's perfectly fine, I'm just a snooty snob who likes what I use and doesn't mind doing a bit of maintenance. Although I'm about to start using heavy weight oil on stef's chain because she gets the thing so gross so quickly that i half believe she's doing it on purpose. Easy way to keep your cables nice all winter if they aren't sealed it to get a spray can of triflow and squirt some in each end of your housing every few weeks in the winter (I like to do the same for any moving parts, like the guts of your derailleurs & pedals once a month or so in foul weather) keep the water and salt out and everything stays much happier.

I do ride my bike on purpose and it happens to get dirty.