Icy roads

[Crankarm]

^^^^^ What he said. You need studded tyres in winter if riding on ice or snow. Plus lots of warm clothing, use lots of layers, base layers, wind/waterproof jacket, thermolite tights, Polartec fleece hat and neck warmer(s), warm windproof gloves possibly with thermal liners, winter cycling insulated Gortex boots with several layers of thick socks. Common sense really.

 

[GrasB]

I would not use studed tyred on tarmac, no grip as they are designed to grip ice, not smooth surfaces.

.. My Marathon winters grip no worse than an heavy tread MTB or trekking tyre on all surfaces. The only reason I don't ride on them most of the winter is that they're as slow as your typical heavy tread MTB or trekking tyre. Personally I'd LOVE a tyre like the Ultremo Aqua 23-622 with studs.

 

[al78]

.. My Marathon winters grip no worse than an heavy tread MTB or trekking tyre on all surfaces. The only reason I don't ride on them most of the winter is that they're as slow as your typical heavy tread MTB or trekking tyre. Personally I'd LOVE a tyre like the Ultremo Aqua 23-622 with studs.

I agree MW's are fine on bare tarmac but I find them poor on snow more than a couple of inches deep. The snow gets compacted and rutted by motor vehicles which then crumbles under the tyres resulting in a lot of squirming about, so much so that I am scared to go above about 10 mph. In addition, the snow periodically sticks to the tyre covering the studs and the tread making it almost as useless as a slick in such conditions.

Perhaps I need some of these.

 

[Andrew_P]

I am still dithering over the studded tyres for my Boardman CX. Looking back at last year I commuted almost all the way through, except for 8 days in Feb. This is on 700x23c Tyres on my Roubaix. I have either had the sense to re-think, lost my mojo or have been scared by all the off's on black ice both on here and BR. Perhaps soloution be to stop reading forums!

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I am still dithering over the studded tyres for my Boardman CX. Looking back at last year I commuted almost all the way through, except for 8 days in Feb. This is on 700x23c Tyres on my Roubaix. I have either had the sense to re-think, lost my mojo or have been scared by all the off's on black ice both on here and BR. Perhaps soloution be to stop reading forums!

I only found Cycle Chat after I fell on ice last year ... at least if I have an off this winter I'll not feel singled out by the adverse weather.

 

[ufkacbln]

The thing with ice is that it is unpredictable.

My wife commuted through two winter seasons and in the third hit a piece of black ice and broke an ankle

It is how you feel, and you are the best judge.

Wimter tyres helep, consider protection in padded clothing and / or helmet if you feel that way inclined - even give in on the bad days and catch public transport or drive.

You need to assess your own risk and act accordingly.

Me- I have a recumbent trike and that with winter tyres in unbeatable for ice and snow

 

[Norm]

Me- I have a recumbent trike and that with winter tyres in unbeatable for ice and snow

That chain is slack.

@gavroche, Ice studs are fine on dry Tarmac, the Marathon Winters, for instance, are meant to be a winter tyre, not specifically an ice tyre, and they'll also cut through wet leaves to provide some sort of traction.

 

[ufkacbln]

That chain is slack.

A recumbent problem....

 

[GrasB]

A recumbent problem....

But the chain isn't slack. It's just with that amount of non-drive chain there's much more nominal droop!

 

[doctornige]

Had my Allez shod with Gatorskins completely let go on a country road yesterday morning. It was a very low speed incident, but I mangled a skewer and scraped my arm. Bit of tights damage too. It was a real eye opener.

 

[mattsr]

I would not use studed tyred on tarmac, no grip as they are designed to grip ice, not smooth surfaces.

That's simply not true. I am running Marathon Winters,700x35, on my bike at the moment. No ice or snow yet, and they work just fine. Plenty of grip.