Thoughts on buying beater bike for winter?

[Buzzinonbikes]

So my hilariously unpractical Spesh Langster (Steel 2010) can't take much more than a 23c tyre. Thinking of buying an old solid frame MTB with wider tyres to handle commuting this winter?

Only problem is I'm actually buying a brand new road bike in the new year so don't want to waste loads of money on this.

Or just man up and handle the skids and slips...

 

[DCLane]

I ran a 23mm tyre most days last winter - and reverted to the MTB when it was icy/snow only for about 6-8 of the commuting days.

My Raleigh Airlite 100 will be this year's winter bike, along with my MTB as needed. The MTB has 1.9" Land Cruiser tyres on rather than knobblies.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

I'm planning to carry on with my 23s on the single speed but trudge to work on the MTB when the going gets slippy.

 

[cyberknight]

Get an ebay special, plenty of hardly used bikes that can be converted for winter duties.
As long as its not a full suss BSO special who cares if it weighs a bit more as long as it ticks all the boxes, i picked up a giant iguana last year in VGC for its age and the tyres i put on it cost as much as the bike.

 

[Norm]

Get a rigid MTB as the beater exactly as you describe. The only possible downside is that you realise a £10 bike with pink paint, guards, panniers and no emotional ties can actually be a bit of a giggle, and you end up riding it all year round.

 

[amaferanga]

What's the problem with 23mm tyres in winter? If you're happy with 23mm tyres in summer then they'll be fine for winter.

 

[Norm]

Depends on the roads you are riding, ice studs and snow cleats are a reality for many and neither come in 700x23.

 

[Teuchter]

How much difference will the wide (unstudded) mtb tyres make on ice? I ask as someone who will ride in snow but grudgingly avoids riding on really icy days as I've come to grief on ice too often before.

 

[cyberknight]

From sheldon brown..
In the absence of studded tires for frozen lakes without a snow crust, slick tires are better than ones with miniature automobile tread because they give more contact surface, thereby reducing contact pressure
and slip.
So a wider tyre will give you more of a contact patch
This is my winter hack, conti travel contacts used currently so they have a central strip thats slick with a tread on the shoulders ..

 

[amaferanga]

Depends on the roads you are riding, ice studs and snow cleats are a reality for many and neither come in 700x23.

Not in the UK. Folk got all excited about them a couple of years back and then most probably didn't need them at all last winter!

 

[fossyant]

700 x 23 all year round, then a few weeks over winter using the MTB with Snow studs !

 

[Norm]

Not in the UK. Folk got all excited about them a couple of years back and then most probably didn't need them at all last winter!

As the temperature across the UK didn't get much above 2 degrees around the end of January, and East Anglia, for instance, had a week where it didn't get above freezing, I admire your bravery in riding that without studs but I wouldn't. So, for me, they are a reality.

 

[HovR]

I was riding on 23's most of last winter. I had a few scary moments when I'd look down and realize I was riding over ice, but I just kept it straight and steady - I didn't fall off all winter. I also have a mountain bike running knobblies in the event of snow, but we didn't really get much down here last year.

This year I'm running slightly wider tires on a new winter commuter bike (Peugeot steel road bike - 28 rear, 25 front), although I had no real issues last year.

 

[amaferanga]

As the temperature across the UK didn't get much above 2 degrees around the end of January, and East Anglia, for instance, had a week where it didn't get above freezing, I admire your bravery in riding that without studs but I wouldn't. So, for me, they are a reality.

I think in the last 3 winters there have only been 2 or 3 days when I didn't feel it was ok to ride to work on my road bike. Of course there have been times when I've had to avoid certain roads, but I've always been able to get myself to work and back.

The biggest problem in most of England is the complete incompetence of councils when it comes to clearing roads of snow. All they seem to do is chuck a bit of grit down and hope for the best instead of actually clearing the snow before it gets compacted.

I certainly wouldn't be riding studded tyres in East Anglia!

 

[black'n'yellow]

As the temperature across the UK didn't get much above 2 degrees around the end of January, and East Anglia, for instance, had a week where it didn't get above freezing, I admire your bravery in riding that without studs but I wouldn't. So, for me, they are a reality.

But you live in the 'arctic wastelands' of the Thames Valley, apparently..?? Hardly a 'reality' there, I would have thought...