Cycle Commute below zero?

[D C]

as a matter of interest how is traction, wear, rolling resistance on non icy non snowy roads?

I find that although traction on icy tarmac is tremendously better with spikes than without, normal MTB tyres have more grip on dry tarmac. I tend to take it easy on tarmac, especially when leaning into a bend as the spikes seem to keep the rubber off the road surface a little (think hob nailed boots if you are old enough to remember them)
I'm not sure about wear on tarmac as I use mainly on tracks and haven't done enough mileage, just a few hundred miles, to see any significant wear yet. The centre spikes of mine are now either a little bit shorter or they have retreated a little into the rubber, the outer ones show no sign of wear at all.

Rolling resistance is noticeably higher on tarmac though no worse than normal MTB tyres on snow and ice.
They are of course as the name suggests, ice tyres and not snow tyres though they work as well as good knobblies on snow. I'm pretty heavy but find that 30 front 35 rear gives massive grip for off road and better rolling than higher pressure.

They do have disadvantages if it's not icy but if it's freezing I wouldn't go out unless they where fitted.
I have three bikes so it's ideal to have these on one of them, I'm fortunate (apart from being older than I want to be) in that I only cycle for pleasure and exercise so can pick and choose.
Dave.

 

[Warwick]

A long time ago I lived in northern Sweden. I bought a cheap, secondhand bike with two gears working on a 3-speed coaster hub. They tyres were similarly poor. However, that bike did me proud on my commute on all surfaces, including snow. They didn't salt the roads up there, as it would still have frozen! They used to sand the cyclepaths which were extensive, away from the roads and very good. I must admit, once it got to -15C I gave up and took the bus until the spring. I wonder how well a Lithium-Ion battery would cope in those temperatures?

 

[georgehenry]

Happy Xmas all you Winter commuters. I had a pattern of four shifts to do from Monday 19th, finishing on Thursday 22nd of December before my Xmas break, with the start times all in the afternoon.

That meant four splendid 16 mile off road trips to work with 10 mile on road return trips. Additionally I ran some errands on the bike on the Monday that turned out to be 18 miles. So in the end I finished on Thursday evening with 122 miles under my wheels.

I have been commuting like this for a number of years now and am starting to get a more noticeable reaction in my knees and right hip, so in my 56th year I might be wearing out quicker than my bike!

But I do love it and get a lovely exercise buzz for the majority of my shift where I am required to sit down and concentrate with very little mobility involved so my bicycle commute provides much needed activity to keep me healthy and aids the concentration required in my job. Win Win.

My second electrically assisted bike (first crank drive bike), a Haibike Yamaha sDuro Hard Seven was bought on the 20th March 2015 and has now completed 5466 miles and looks like travelling over 6000 miles by its second birthday.

Is there a down side to all this commuting by bike? I don't do very much leisure mountain bike riding now, as I mostly have my mountain bike riding needs covered by my ride to work, and my ride to work inevitably means using the same tracks, so there is less variety than pure leisure riding involves.

However I am very lucky that the countryside between where I live and work can be ridden over 90% off road on great tracks so I should not complain.

 

[Mac_user82]

i was just wondering has anyone rode these tyres for a couple of hundred miles because i am thinking about purchasing a set for my commuting bike because my marathon plus are useless in mud & ice they are a complete waste of time and i have no confidence going out when it icey or below 5 degrees because of the ice

i commute about 12 miles one way on c roads and they are not the best roads and it seems that ice is always on them

Would it be possible for these tyres to see me through the whole of the winter because at the moment i want to go places but I am unable to because of the black ice and the last thing I want is to come off some where


"Thanks in advance"

 

[Andy Bluenoes]

Ive had the ice spikers on for a few weeks now, probably have done a couple of hundred miles now.
The weather has varied a great deal, some days its just sub zero, living out in the sticks, then for a few days its in double figures...British weather i guess.

The positive side is I do feel safer riding in the sub zero, not had any close calls yet, maybe that's because the tyres are doing their job? A lot of my run is quite muddy too, usually wet..and they help there I'm sure.
The negatives.....They do feel a lot heavier and slower going on normal tarmac roads, and make a bit of a noise. I tend to make my turns without leaning in to the corners, as I must admit, id be concerned I would come off, especially when its wet. Maybe because I'm quite new at bike riding, well for about 20 odd years anyway.

I'm going to leave them on now probably until March or end of Feb, the positives outweigh the negatives just enough for me to do that.

My run is just short of 15 miles, with the spikes on, on days where you dont need them, it adds a good 10 minutes to my time.

 

[georgehenry]

I could not get today off so topped the battery up and set off to work for one shift before having another two days off. The temperature on my Yamaha LCD display was showing 2 degrees, but the sun was shining and I did not feel cold. I took the camera so I could take a few pictures on the way. Crossing this field is the start of my usual off road route.

A track I use passes two sides of a Copse with this sign not encouraging you to enter, although I have crossed it before the sign appeared.

Another nice section passes a lake.


And then enters a lovely area of common land,

All in all the off road route is around 16 miles and I used 31% of the battery today, which is a bit more than normal, the least I have used being 25%. The 10 mile road return trip from work took 30 minutes. As the temperature was just below freezing I put on an extra layer but was actually too warm from all that effort pushing the pedals. I used 38% of the battery getting home which is a bit more than normal but might be due to the low temperature. I use Schwalbe Smart Sam Plus tyres with slime filled tubes all year round and have found them to be an excellent tough all round tyre.

 

[georgehenry]

A bit chilly this morning with -5 on the display for my 10 mile road trip. Used 37% of the battery. The road conditions were OK with a bit of fog here and there. I put a thin jumper on over my thermal top and under my wind proof cycle jacket and actually overheated.

 

[Birger Bulukin]

Canal towpath and ice!
If you slide into the canal do you then deploy your inflatable canoe?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Birger Bulukin]

Well, it was minus 2 when I left this morning, the first part of my route was down an untreated road, so took it quite steady.
Then onto the trans pennine trail, again quite icy looking, but it felt ok, so upped the speed a bit, but a fair bit slower than normal.
Then onto the bit I wasn't looking forward to...the canal tow path. Again, it was reflecting back a very frosty look, so took it a lot slower than normal.
No slips or slides so far.

Then onto the main road for the last 4 miles into Manchester, so got up to my usual speed.

Overall journey took around 10 minutes longer, but got there safely, and probably still as quick as the tram, and a lot more enjoyable.

I think I have the right layered clothes apart from the gloves, as I had two pairs of, well, everyday gloves on and my fingers were dropping off when I got to work. Cant buy any new ones yet as the Mrs has sorted my a pair out for xmas.

Think I will hold off on the winter tyres for now, although that view might change on my way home later as snow is forecast.....

Cold hands and fingers? I'm an expert on that due to my slender hands and thin fingers. Solution: Mittens, preferably wollen ones. And with windbreaker toppings. Mittens help the fingers to keep eachother warm.
Yes you have to get used to this, but braking and gear shifting is not that difficult. And living in the eastern part of Norway means that sub zero temperatures are quite common.

 

[LeighPing]

Most of my route is on tracks and canals and a bit of road, total 15 miles.

How long does that commute take you, each way?

@Pollmak

 

[georgehenry]

As a Winter commuter I concur in respect of mittens. I wear pound shop wool style gloves under my trusty waxed cotton motorcycle over mittens that I bought a long time ago and are still incredibly water proof and warm. They are starting to wear out now and don't seem to be made any more which is a shame.

 

[LeighPing]

As a Winter commuter I concur in respect of mittens. I wear pound shop wool style gloves under my trusty waxed cotton motorcycle over mittens that I bought a long time ago and are still incredibly water proof and warm. They are starting to wear out now and don't seem to be made any more which is a shame.

Yes, but all things need replacing eventually. The new style gloves are warm, cheap and showerproof. I've used them down to minus 5C so far. They're also touchscreen friendly.

I doubt if they'd be as waterproof as waxed mittens are. I carry a pair of large, black, thin rubber nitrile gloves in my rackbag. Just in case of a heavy downpour. Although, I've been considering getting a bike cape for that eventuality.

 

[KirstinS]

As a person with a severe immune disorder I wear powderless vinyl gloves all the time (i go through at least 20 pairs a day)

In the summer it's awful. But I love it in winter. No matter what gloves I used before my immune system went mental I'd get cold wet hands .....eventually

Put a pair of vinyl (or nitrile if you aren't me) single use gloves on underneath a set of crab hand gloves (on special at planet x right now btw) and you'll be warm and dry no matter what

The bike, the battery, themotor, and every other bit of you will be cold and wet before your hands are !

Edit - unless you have raynauds syndrome like at least one member I'm aware of

 

[2Lazy]

This is my first winter commuting on my ebike. It's a 7 mile round trip on cycle paths and quiet residential roads. So far so good. As someone else said earlier in this thread the cold crisp mornings are nice it's the wet and windy ones that aren't quite so inviting. I have an Ezee Forza running Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres at relatively low pressure (to soak up the bumps) and I haven't as yet found the need for specialist winter tyres. Keeping warm hasn't been a problem, I wear a warm parka jacket and on top of that a fluorescent rain jacket, a cheap pair of padded over trousers and a fleece lined balaclava. Cold hands were becoming an issue but I recently treated myself to a pair of blazewear electric gloves https://www.blazewear.com/heated-gloves/gt6-performance-gloves.html which keep my hands nice and warm. With all my cold weather gear on it's fair to say it's not the most elegant look (something akin to the Michelin man!) but it's kept me toasty warm through the most wet and cold weather we've had so far this winter.

 

[Gaz]

Also my first winter on an e-bike and it's been between zero and -4 all this week, and I'm still enjoying it. I'm wearing a big padded rainproof coat with cuffs inside the sleeves (great invention!) and was really pleased to find gloves that fit me (big puddies) in Halfords a few weeks ago. Or rather glove as my right hand doesn't work so it's in a pocket instead.
As others have said, cold and crisp is nice. Wet and windy not so. I won't be repeating Thursday before last when not one bit of me was dry and my bike light drowned itself on the way home.
I've had one slip on icy frost, but nothing to write home about.
My commute is only about 15 minutes, and the only thing that really suffers from the cold is my chin. I don't really like having anything around my face though, so it's a case of put up and shut up.
Definitely looking forward to warmer weather though.

Gaz