Snow riding

[bonker]

Had a fun ride in this morning. left the fixed road bike at home and went MTB, tried to do as much off road as possible and was surprised by how well the bike coped in the conditions.

I have an old ladies MTB ( Specialised expedition?) with massive knobbly tyres as I rarely ride off road. What has surprised me is the massive variations in snow riding. Not just todat to yesterday or earlier this year but from road to common, back road to big road.
There is a real skill to reading the surface. One major faux pas was deciding not to wear specs, I have some great Transitions which would have cut down the glare and made seeing the surface much easier.

Only problem was being hassled by a dog in Epsom.

Any tips??

 

[szygy]

I also used the MTB for the first time in years yesterday, it also has big 3" tyres, and the only thing I checked before going out was that the tyre pressure was nice and low (20psi). Riding over the snow was really fun, but the sheet ice covered in snow really took some concentration.
Regarding the dog hassle, how about keeping a few squares of laxative chocolate handy to distract them?

 

[subaqua]

Had a fun ride in this morning. left the fixed road bike at home and went MTB, tried to do as much off road as possible and was surprised by how well the bike coped in the conditions.

I have an old ladies MTB ( Specialised expedition?) with massive knobbly tyres as I rarely ride off road. What has surprised me is the massive variations in snow riding. Not just todat to yesterday or earlier this year but from road to common, back road to big road.
There is a real skill to reading the surface. One major faux pas was deciding not to wear specs, I have some great Transitions which would have cut down the glare and made seeing the surface much easier.

Only problem was being hassled by a dog in Epsom.

Any tips??

depends on the size of the dog.

you could just run it over

seriously though, yes reactolites or transitions are superb for riding as they adjust automatically. i loved riding through virgin snow but riding on snow covered ice was not fun.

 

[Gareth]

Regarding the dog hassle, how about keeping a few squares of laxative chocolate handy to distract them?

I do like that idea, to get your own back at unruly dogs and their owners.

 

[mcshroom]

I've been riding on snow on my mtb for the last week, and it's hard work. Great fun though.

Next week may not be as good as the snow has part thawed and frozen again making it a lot icier

I do like that idea, to get your own back at unruly dogs and their owners.

But how many of these unruly dog's owners will pick it up after them

 

[Gareth]

I've been riding on snow on my mtb for the last week, and it's hard work. Great fun though.

Next week may not be as good as the snow has part thawed and frozen again making it a lot icier



But how many of these unruly dog's owners will pick it up after them

I was thinking more along the lines of it taking 20-30 minutes to work, and their living room carpet.

 

[ThePainInSpain]

Regarding the dog hassle, how about keeping a few squares of laxative chocolate handy to distract them?

Chocolate is actually a poison to dogs, so better to give it to the owner...........

 

[LizardEye]

Any tips??

I love riding on the ice and snow - it's as different to normal riding as skiing is to walking.

Once you've got some nice knobbly tyres, you basically chuck the normal rules of riding out of the window.

Main thing is to make sure you stay upright, no leaning into corners.

And forget about using the front wheel to steer. Best way to change direction is to swing the back end
round with your hips.

The front wheel is mainly for keeping balanced, so don't worry about it swinging around as long as it keeps you up.

And the back wheel can slide around loads without causing any real problems so you can forget about that.

The other important thing to to keep your top half relaxed. You need to rely on instinctive reactions
when your hitting bumps etc so you need to keep your arms and shoulders loose.

I find it helps to tell myself that I'm not going to put my foot down. Your brain then takes that on board and
works around it to make sure that you stay on the bike.

I'm going out tonight for the sheer fun of it. Lets hope it lasts till March!

 

[scouserinlondon]

I rode in today on 32mm bonti slicks and it wasn't wise. The main roads were okay but the back roads at the start of my commute were still bad. Drivers were very good as I was in primary all the way to be on a bit of dry road. If I ride home tonight I'll put knobbly tyres on but think I'll leave the bike to be honest.

 

[scouserinlondon]

I rode in today on 32mm bonti slicks and it wasn't wise. The main roads were okay but the back roads at the start of my commute were still bad. Drivers were very good as I was in primary all the way to be on a bit of dry road. If I ride home tonight I'll put knobbly tyres on but think I'll leave the bike to be honest.

Actually Is it worth dropping some air out of my slicks to get more contact with the road?