Mods to Combat the Ice & Snow ....

biker_joe

Ok So what are you folks doing to combat the Ice and Snow ??????? ( besides Turb os ! )
Bike / Wheel / tyre mods ? Lower PSI etc ?

I was think of fitting larger tyres 28mm + on the Road Bike and lowering the PSI....
anyone using 28mm find them grippier ??

I don't have a MTB or Tourer. so not an option for me ... will have to get an MTB for next winter ....

Biker Joe

Morgan

Reading the title I thought "What's Lumen going to do about it?". I can't see slightly wider slicks having much effect if you're actually riding on ice.

How about some nice spiked tyres?
http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/c1-1212-spikes.html

Lumen

Morgan wrote: »

How about some nice spiked tyres?
http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/c1-1212-spikes.html

AFAIK there are no studded tyres available that will fit on a low-clearance road bike.

Nokian A10 is available in 32mm and it actually 30.5mm wide, according to this.

I tried to fit my 35mm Marathon Winters on a Kinesis Racelight TK, which is fairly audaxy with long reach brakes and full mudguard clearance, but there was no way they would fit. Not even close.

edit: in my own experience, tyre pressure is everything. At 35mm the difference in grip on snow and ice between 30psi and 50psi is massive, although I doubt you could get away with 30psi on 28mm tyres, unless you go tubeless or find some tubs in that size.

blorg

Wider tyres do help, even going from 23 to 25 as I did at the start of the winter helped. Wouldn't ride that on ice mind. 25 to 35 on my commuter also helped. I am cycling my mountain bike at the moment simply as it has the widest tyres I have but don't think knobs help any on ice, slicks would be just as good. It's the width rather than the knobs. Knobs do help on loose snow. Studs help on ice.

biker_joe

Me thinkin I will have to get a hartail MTB for weather like this in the future ........

Biker Joe

jwshooter

iv a new set of BF goodridge All terrains on my landrover ,it permanent 4 wheel drive with traction control.
iv had a few skids in it ,the bike stays under the stairs untill this cold snap is gone.

Lumen

biker_joe wrote: »

Me thinkin I will have to get a hardtail MTB for weather like this in the future ........

A cyclocross bike is also fine, although Raam managed to crash his one this morning.

kona

Well,

Take off your 700c wheels, bin em. Replace with a nice set of 26" Sunn S-types with some nice Hope hubs.

Take off your rim brakes. Bin em. Replace with discs, 203mm up front and 180mm at the back. 4 pot callipers if you feel flush:D

See that horrible fork? Bin it. Get a nice set of 150mm Marzocchi Bombers, try get the TST function. Set em to 150mm.

See that scaldy rigid carbon frame?:P Bin it. Get a nice Kona Stinky Frame, smaller the better.


See those horrible scrawny tyres, scrap em. Get some nice Nokian 2.3, or some Maxxis. Id reccomend Nokian.

See those scadly drop bars and shifters? get a nice Hussefelt bar and stem, then ditch the shifters for some nice XT. Stick a nice Saint Hollowtech chainset and a bash guard.

Now your ready!

:pac::pac:


Or just take a crappy tyre. Some woodscrews, a old tube and duck tape. Screw in the woodscrews, line the tyre with the tube and duck tape. Now youve studded tyres:cool:(yes it does work!)

biker_joe

That conversion looks quiet expensive .... I am off to woodies to get some wood screws, what size do I need ?

kona wrote: »

Well,

Take off your 700c wheels, bin em. Replace with a nice set of 26" Sunn S-types with some nice Hope hubs.

Take off your rim brakes. Bin em. Replace with discs, 203mm up front and 180mm at the back. 4 pot callipers if you feel flush:D

See that horrible fork? Bin it. Get a nice set of 150mm Marzocchi Bombers, try get the TST function. Set em to 150mm.

See that scaldy rigid carbon frame?:P Bin it. Get a nice Kona Stinky Frame, smaller the better.


See those horrible scrawny tyres, scrap em. Get some nice Nokian 2.3, or some Maxxis. Id reccomend Nokian.

See those scadly drop bars and shifters? get a nice Hussefelt bar and stem, then ditch the shifters for some nice XT. Stick a nice Saint Hollowtech chainset and a bash guard.

Now your ready!

:pac::pac:


Or just take a crappy tyre. Some woodscrews, a old tube and duck tape. Screw in the woodscrews, line the tyre with the tube and duck tape. Now youve studded tyres:cool:(yes it does work!)

Lumen

biker_joe wrote: »

That conversion looks quiet expensive .... I am off to woodies to get some wood screws, what size do I need ?

Instructions here (scroll down).



Not sure it would work too well with 28s though!

blorg

Lumen wrote: »

A cyclocross bike is also fine, although Raam managed to crash his one this morning.

A mountain bike is substantially better, you can go wider with the tyres. Definitely feel more stable on the MTB compared to my cross bikes.

You don't really need suspension for cycling on ice though, unless you mean ice like this:

Lumen

blorg wrote: »

A mountain bike is substantially better, you can go wider with the tyres. Definitely feel more stable on the MTB compared to my cross bikes.

No question a MTB is more capable, but I haven't come across any conditions (other than deep soft snow) in which a suitably equipped cross bike is insufficient for the task.

The biggest problem I've had is descending through slushy ruts, but that's more a skill issue - I'm equally crap in deep mud.

edit: equally, I imagine a cheapo Carrera Subway singlespeed would probably do the job with the right tyres.

el tel

[

Morgan wrote: »

Reading the title I thought "What's Lumen going to do about it?".

LOL. Me too

Gavin

Thought we'd get some real mods here. Kona's nails are good as are zip ties around the wheel. Not much use with rim brakes though

kona

Gavin wrote: »

Thought we'd get some real mods here. Kona's nails are good as are zip ties around the wheel. Not much use with rim brakes though

Zip Ties would just rip off? They would work in soft snow though, but Imagine trying to get momentum in that stuff:eek:


Also nails are handy if you get hit by a car:pac::pac:

The tax man

While I could hardly stand on two feet on roads and footpaths,I was amazed to see a good few people out on bikes today. Some on roads that were fine for cycling but others on sheet ice and pedalling away without a care in the world and no helmet to boot.:eek:

BostonB

Saw very few bikes outside the city center. Though saw one guy ripping through the park on a serious looking MTB with very fat knobbly types. Going at a good pace too. Considering the roads around me are like an ice rink. If you could find a route that was on grass or thin snow most of the way. You be ok.

Problem is theres ice under some of that snow.

Capt'n Midnight

Now's the time to take the plunge and get a proper trike.

Greenman

This my solution for snow and ice, you can't beat a trike.

thebouldwhacker

I saw a tandem trike over Christmas. Gotta say it looked pretty cool, in a trike kind way....

DualFrontDiscs

Greenman wrote: »

This my solution for snow and ice, you can't beat a trike.

+1, though I left the parking brake on last night and this morning the calipers and discs were frozen solid! Pouring hot water on didn't help either. Had to tell someone I couldn't get my bike to start!

DFD.

BostonB

Where did you get your trike from?

Greenman

BostonB wrote: »

Where did you get your trike from?

Longstaffcycles.com

Here's one the sporty minded.

Home:Ballyhoura

Greenman wrote: »

Longstaffcycles.com

Here's one the sporty minded.

Unbelievable (here is a bigger picture, I mean huge!) Disc brakes on Zipps...wow! £5,500

And on their other three models there seems to be two brakes on the front wheel. Mad stuff altogether

Here (apparently free - £0 when added to cart) here (£950) and here (£750)!

tomasrojo

DualFrontDiscs wrote: »

+1, though I left the parking brake on last night and this morning the calipers and discs were frozen solid! Pouring hot water on didn't help either. Had to tell someone I couldn't get my bike to start!

DFD.

I was thinking about your Christiania bike the other day because of the ice. Tricycles do seem a good choice in icy conditions.

biker_joe

what about getting some adult stablisers for the trike effect ? where can I get those ?

Biker Joe

Lumen

biker_joe wrote: »

what about getting some adult stablisers for the trike effect ? where can I get those ?

Here.

They might need modding as they're only specced up to 26" wheels.



edit: ooh, more here for 700c wheels.



It says "Recommended for light adults or children with a little balance.". How's the diet going?

biker_joe

oh they are the job !!! ha ha ... might take some getting used as I have n't used a set in over 30 years !!!

Diet ? which diet is that Lumen ? be more the cornering I would be worried about ... very slow into the corners on those
yokes !!

Biker Joe

Lumen

biker_joe wrote: »

Diet ? which diet is that Lumen ?

biker_joe wrote: »

Anyways .. weight now is 78.9 Kg .( just 6ft ).... below 76 Kg will do for March, help chase those climbers up the hills ...

Boards never forgets. :pac:

kona

Lumen wrote: »

Here.

They might need modding as they're only specced up to 26" wheels.



edit: ooh, more here for 700c wheels.



It says "Recommended for light adults or children with a little balance.". How's the diet going?

That derailleur is one change from disaster

Golfanatic

Morgan wrote: »

Reading the title I thought "What's Lumen going to do about it?". I can't see slightly wider slicks having much effect if you're actually riding on ice.

How about some nice spiked tyres?
http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/c1-1212-spikes.html

never thought of that, you could prob make your own with small nails hot glue gun and worn out tyres and puncture resistant tyre tape? and does reducing your tyre pressure really work (i know it works on a car) and how much? lets say
110 psi what do i go down to?

blorg

Golfanatic wrote: »

never thought of that, you could prob make your own with small nails hot glue gun and worn out tyres and puncture resistant tyre tape? and does reducing your tyre pressure really work (i know it works on a car) and how much? lets say
110 psi what do i go down to?

Reducing tyre pressure makes a huge difference but you can only go down a certain amount before you risk pinch flats. To go lower you need wider tyres. I would put the back down to the minimum manufacturer listed pressure and stick the front down a bit under that. The front doesn't have as much weight so can actually go a fair bit lower and is in any case more important for grip when it comes to staying upright. I have 35 PSI on the back and around 20 PSI on the front at the moment (MTB tyres @26x2.1.)