BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

DON'T remove your full fenders. Road salt is your bike's worst enemy, and a seatpost fender will not keep it off your bike. If you don't have room under your current fenders for a bigger tire, don't sweat it too much--I rode most of last winter on 28mm road tires. The only thing that really stopped me was the ice that regularly form on the Hot Metal Bridge.

I also stick with wax lubes for my drivetrain. Yeah, they wear off much faster, but they also don't pick up as much gunk when you're riding.

i would say in general, my bike doesn't change much for the winter. full fenders are a must for me. i just have a mountain bike for the especially terrible condition days, and then i just go slow.

I didn't even think of the road salt, was just more worried about the snow and ice building up underneath them.

I'm more worried about being able to ride in snow and ice, or more accurately dealing with drivers in snow & ice. Dealing with salt: Cleanup with a garden hose in the basement every once in a while, with a complete overhaul when it gets warm.

Traction: I unicycled all over the SUNY Geneseo campus (Western NY) for four winters, and made do with little more than softer tire pressure, about 20# instead of the usual 50#. Go slower, dress warmly, read the road surface each second, and be careful.

I've never had any issues with snow or ice build up (even with tight clearance between the tire and fender). And even if some snow builds up, it's nothing a good kick can't dislodge.

Oh, add a mudguard to the front fender, too.

Another thing I do: clean the bike daily. At my current job, I have access to a hose in the loading dock, so as soon as I get to work, I hose off my bike and quickly towel it dry. When I get home, I dump a bucket of water on it before bringing it to the basement. This goes a long way in keeping things running.

Cars are the biggest issue when riding in snow. The few times I turned back last year were because traffic was just too much for me to deal with (especially since I have the option of working from home).

does anyone have any clothing suggestions for riding nowadays? i want to keep doing my leisure/exercise rides well into the winter, since i no longer commute to work.

i usually do about 25ish hilly miles, and i'm going to be working up a decent sweat. i want to be comfortable so i don't use weather as an excuse not to exercise.

Go with wool and layers. Unless it's well below freezing, I find a wool base layer, a short-sleeved wool jersey or shirt, knee or leg warmers, arm warmers, wool socks, thin balaclava, and a convertible jacket/wind vest will handle just about anything. Unzip/remove things as you warm up (ideally, BEFORE you get really sweated, but I've yet to master that trick), put things back on as you cool down.

Wool's nice, because it keeps you pretty warm even when it's soaked through with sweat or rain. And it smells significantly less funky than the plastic jerseys tend to.