Anyone been brave enough to cycle in this cold snap

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cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
I also suffer from terrible Raynauds, but have discovered an expensive, but magic solution (when under a thick winter outer glove)

https://www.blazewear.com/our-gear/gloves/active-glove-liners-black
I have found that those magic gloves they sell in corner shops are brilliant as glove liners.
I havent been riding at all this week , the floods we have had have frozen leaving patches on my commute where the road was a sheet of ice .Glad i chose not to as we had some havey snow overnight that left even the main roads dodgy as there was hardly any traffic to keep it clear so i would defiently have hit the deck if i had tried .

Oddly my hands are worse driving the car even with gloves on my fingers have been going white !
 

roubaixtuesday

self serving virtue signaller
Looks good. They appear to be quite bulky for liners, do they need extra heavy outer gloves?

They are fairly bulky in general, and have *very* bulky cuffs, where the batteries are kept. You may find you can't get them inside a cycling waterproof sleeve. Lots of people seem to complain about being able to operate gears or brakes with bulky gloves, but I've never had a problem.

You need windproof outers, ideally waterproof, and the more insulation in the outers, the more effective the heating.

I use them with full on crab claw outers (planet X) when subzero; but they're still very effective with normal fingered outers which I use when it's cold but not freezing. They are remarkably effective - a 20 minute descent of the Cat and Fiddle in the snow was fine on medium setting.

Ideally, you'd have the outers a size larger than your normal gloves, but I've got very big hands, so can't do that.

I've been using them for about 5 years and the elements don't last forever - two winters of commuting use is a reasonable expectation IME. I'd guess they'd last much longer if just used for weekend rides and the like.
 
I had a strange cold extremities moment last night.
Went home the long way, around dusk, around 1.5hours. Tons of clothes (inc winter boots + mega socks), judged about right;
but nearly home, when I turned into my estate, the lack of grit made me slow down a lot, trying to stay in the tyre tracks in the dark, dodging shiny bits ... just 5mins of this and my feet dropped off a temperature cliff! I was glad to get through the back door.

This morning was OK - sunny, a mere -9'c with windchill, roads clear but lots of flooding to look at ^_^
 
Too right, every Sunday without fail, don’t get time in the week.
573232
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Just below freezing at 11:30 when I went out. Canal frozen over. Unfortunately, some areas are still rather boggy due to the increased foot traffic due to 'lock down walking' - made a right mess of a number of paths, and what was grass is just mud.

Bike is pretty filthy with frozen mud. Glad of the Ice Spiker Pro's - at least people can hear you coming.
 

mythste

Guru
Location
Manchester
Just below freezing at 11:30 when I went out. Canal frozen over. Unfortunately, some areas are still rather boggy due to the increased foot traffic due to 'lock down walking' - made a right mess of a number of paths, and what was grass is just mud.

Bike is pretty filthy with frozen mud. Glad of the Ice Spiker Pro's - at least people can hear you coming.

Pretty filthy? This was all frozen on solid on Sunday. Had to get a bowl of hot water before I could clean. Madness. (But how an Orange should look this time of year IMO!)
 

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SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
I tried a turbo once and it made me realise how much the sense of freedom and connection with nature and the elements is central to why I love cycling.

I decided I'd rather be out in the sleet than in a garage on the turbo.

Agreed, a turbo trainer would bore me shitless - I just can't see the point of fake "cycling". Either go ride a real bike, or do something completely different instead. I also like the fresh air and scenery that can go with cycling, nondescript urban utility trips aside. I draw the line at getting sleeted or rained on though, except if I get caught out in a shower. There is a limit at which the unpleasantness of the weather outweighs the pleasantness of the actual riding. When I get to that point, the bike gets put away.
 
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