Not prepared for the winterness

[ufkacbln]

Here is the answer:

 

[Mickthemove]

I have just invested in a "winter bike" ie a specialized tricross with fat 32mm tyres and full mudguards etc, very comfy to ride in comparison to my boardman on 23mm , but heck, its is very cumbersome on the fat tyres!

Do i get anything for joining thi "N+1" club??

 

[Frood42]

I have just invested in a "winter bike" ie a specialized tricross with fat 32mm tyres and full mudguards etc, very comfy to ride in comparison to my boardman on 23mm , but heck, its is very cumbersome on the fat tyres!

Do i get anything for joining thi "N+1" club??

Only if you have at least three bikes
.

 

[mattsr]

I'm on my 23mm Open Corsas all year round. Honestly, people make too much of a meal of tyres for winter. Drop your pressures a bit, and learn to read road surface. As for enhanced puncture protection tyres - pfffffft!

No "pfffffft" about it. Being carless and therefore totally reliant on my bike, the Marathon Pluses that I ride on are essential. I can set off for work and not worry about a visit from the puncture fairy. And I tried Marathon Winters last year for the first time- again, they got me safely to work on country lanes that were like an ice rink, without a slip. Reading the road surface is all well and good, but sooner or later you will get caught out. Of course, if you don't completely rely on a bike for transport you can probably pffffffft away, but if there is no alternative, go for the safest and most reliable option.

 

[VamP]

Marathon pluses are NOT 100% puncture proof. Good luck trying to fix them by the roadside in sub-zero temperatures. I can fix my corsas in 5 minutes in the dark and with frozen fingers. If I get a puncture, which I haven't in over 7000 miles now.

As to the other point - I do have a car - I also NEVER drive if I have a riding day planned. Whatever the weather.

 

[mattsr]

Marathon pluses are NOT 100% puncture proof. Good luck trying to fix them by the roadside in sub-zero temperatures. I can fix my corsas in 5 minutes in the dark and with frozen fingers. If I get a puncture, which I haven't in over 7000 miles now.

As to the other point - I do have a car - I also NEVER drive if I have a riding day planned. Whatever the weather.

I know they're not 100% puncture proof, but I've been using them day in, day out, since September 2009 and I have yet to suffer a puncture. Which is good enough for me.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Marathon pluses are NOT 100% puncture proof. Good luck trying to fix them by the roadside in sub-zero temperatures. I can fix my corsas in 5 minutes in the dark and with frozen fingers. If I get a puncture, which I haven't in over 7000 miles now.

You're right, they're only puncture resistant. However, since I started using M+ tyres I have never had a puncture (over 24,000 miles) and I've never met a user who has had one.

The only reason I carry a pump and repair kit nowadays is to help non-M+ users!

GC

 

[VamP]

I have fixed two punctures on my wife's M+ tyres. N=1 does not equal universal experience. Still, I am glad you are as happy with your tyre choice as I am with mine.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I have marathon plus tyres on all my bikes, 25s on the road, 28s on the Sirrus and 35s on the old Felt, then a spare set of wheels for the Felt with 35 winters on them. I will ride in all conditions apart from deep snow, might have to get myself some snow tyres next.

 

[MrGrumpy]

700cx25 Bontrager Race Lite Hardcases on my fixed, no sign of skittishness whilst commuting yet, I'm not expecting any until it gets a lot colder and we start seeing frost and frozen puddles. On last Sunday's ride there was one climb that the local farmer had covered in half an inch of mud, I was tending to spin up the back on that climb, but apart from that no problems.

of topic but bought one of those tyres to try on my fixed and thus far actually quite impressed to the point I may now replace the front with one. Done nearly 300 miles on it and not one cut which is unusual! Not the grippiest tyre but its not any worse than the Rubino Pro 3 folders I was running!

 

[downfader]

Had the old brown lycra moment this morning going in. Set off and it was both mild and damp out on my side of the Itchen. Few cars had any real ice on them, just a touch of frost (cue David Jason joke). Over the water and into the 5th mile near to work and both the temperature dropped with noticeable ice on all the cars. I turned out of a junction at slow, almost walking speed and felt the back wheel properly spin out. Luckily my right foot slipped off the pedal and managed to save myself.

Got half a mile further and did the same turning in the opposite direction!

I've been running Bontrager hardcases, 28s. Run at 80psi.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

of topic but bought one of those tyres to try on my fixed and thus far actually quite impressed to the point I may now replace the front with one. Done nearly 300 miles on it and not one cut which is unusual! Not the grippiest tyre but its not any worse than the Rubino Pro 3 folders I was running!

I've been using them for several years now and they've been excellent, I had a bad year last and had three punctures in about 4600 miles, I normally don't get any or maybe one in the course of a year. I've never had grip problems with them, apart from when riding on sheet ice, I'm confident enough of them sticking to chuck the bike into the left turn here http://goo.gl/maps/V6a3B at about 20mph.