Winter commuting
I realise I have lucked out.
I decided back in September / October that this was to be my first time commuting, come rain / shine / 6 ft snow, all winter. So far so good.
Over the last couple of months I've learned more bike maintance than in the last 30+ years of riding. I've realised that washing my bike late on a cold evening is not a good idea (looked much better but everything froze solid). I've got the cold licked (stopped wearing my 'nice' ski jacket back in December). However i'm still having some issues that i'd like to hear your idea's / advice about.
1) Dirt -- I've read articles dealing with cycling sweat in floridian summers but i've found nothing on dealing with dripping clothing, coating in road grime. I'm lucky I have space at work to hang up my coat but it's disgusting. There's no way it could share a closet with anyone else. How does anyone else deal with this.
2) Flats -- end of last season I made the switch to 1.5" skinnies on my 26" rims, however everytime there is snow (grit) on the roads I'm getting punctures. Currently these are happening at a rate of 1 a day. Is this just road grit combined with my new tires, or am i missing something?
Any advice for dealing with these conditions will be appreciated.
Thx
tom
1) Full fenders with mud-flap, every bicycle store worth it's salt should have a set.
2) More air-pressure, glass could be stuck in the tread feel around carefully for it, kevlar tires offer good protection from said glass, make sure you aren't damaging the tube when changing the tires.
more pressure?
Must admit I was assuming less. Holes are occurring in different places around the wheel so i'm assuming it's not trapped glass (i'll double check though). If kevlar tires really work how much should i be looking to spend? My LBS was saying something about 'non-sticky' rubber, were they just trying to sell me something?
Why not switch back to wider tires for the winter commute? I ride my road bike with 700x30 tires on it most days that I don't anticipate it being super slippery out and it's been fine, although when there is fresh snow, I have a more difficult time navigating the streetcar tracks since they are less visible. On the more slippery days, I switch over to my 29 which has 29"x2.1" tires and those can handle anything!
In both situations I ride with a removable seatpost mounted rear fender and a velcro on front fender on my downtube to catch most of the muck from the front tire. I still get some splash but it's not too terrible.
This is also my first winter of serious, daily commuting to school (6km each way) so I'm learning more and more about my bikes as the winter trudges on. ****
Go for the full coverage fenders, front and back.
Tire liners and a larger tube size 1.5-1.75 will reduce tire puncture.
If there is a self serve car wash on your way spray down your bike once a week and re-oil the chain before you ride off.
This is nothing a MEC Shopping Spree can't fix.
.
Seems like a lot of $ up front, but you'll get your wear out of these items; and better yet, you'll stay dry.
PS - If you don't have fenders, get them! ($29)
Well it depends what sort of punctures you're getting...
read on
Narrower tires are preferable for real winter riding... when there is snow or slush covering or partly covering the road, narrower tires will give you a better chance of cutting throught he crap and hitting the traction-filed pavement underneath.
THe one situation where this is not idea is streetcar tracks - my experience as a courier in TO for one winter tells me that wet tracks will suck your wheel in from two feet away. Simple solution - either avoid most streetcar tracks, or make sure you cross them at a steep angle. Very fat tires are less likely to go into the space between the track and the road, but they have to be quite wide.
In dry conditions I found my road tires stayed out of the traks as well as my 2.1" mtb tires.
Hi Tom,
Congratulations!
I shop at Cyclepath Danforth. From there, I have fitted out my Trek 3700 hardtail with:
1) "Flinger" full vinyl fenders, front and back. Very light, excellent coverage. Cost around $29.95 for the kit, including mounting hardware. Took about 1 hr for me to install.
2) Specialized Nimbus Armadillo kevlar lined medium grooved road tires. No flats since last November. Cost $60 each. Took me about 1-1/2 hr to install myself, the kevlar bead is very difficult to get around the rim. But I havn't had a flat since.
3) I use an out-of-the-way washroom at the office, a pump room at my other job, and a boiler room at the temple. I have wire hangers hidden in each, and hang my riding gear over a waterproof surface to drip dry. Usually takes me about 20 mins to transition from rider to business casual. When I build in time, I can appear as if I just arrived in a luxury auto, or fresh off the TTC.
It's been a fantastic winter for riding in Toronto...that will change tomorrow and for the rest of February!
Keep the rubber down!
Brian
I use thin tires 105mm on my 26" MTB rims ever since I lagged behind in the ride for heart with my thick threads. I do find they are better at cutting through slush and snow. Thick tires would be slighly better on days like today (the little storm of feb 26th) where the tires don't reach the road anyways.
I got kevlar reinforced slick Specialized tires. One flat in the summer due to a glass shard. I made sure to search for it on the inside before replacing the tube. No flats at all this winter going over rough ice and debries.
As for clothing some mec bike pants that go over the boots, strip that down and keep a change of clothes at work. Hang stuff to dry, it does get really messy even with fenders.
I gave up on cleaning the bike since I am lazy, just been spraying the chain with canned lube from MEC, it's a life saver. Next time around i will wash it with chain cleaner as well.
Anyways, this storm today was a great ride at 6:30 am and no traffic around.