Winter cycling tips

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cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
decided to car it today its binning it down, i dont mind wet or cold but my circultion in my hands is poor , yesterday did club run in the dry even though i had 2 pairs of gloves on and was sweating both hands were white to the second finger joint
 
Wider tyres are more forgiving in difficult conditions, eg water filled potholes, dark roads. Mudguards keep you clean and dry on wet roads. If your bike cannot take these you need a winter training bicycle or as I like to call it, a bicycle.
If you wear special cycling shoes, they may be too tight for warm socks and feature mesh and vents. Get some more suitable winter footwear .
 

Smudge

Veteran
Location
Somerset
My Brasher hiking boots do me for winter cycling. They are waterproof and warm with thick socks, they have tough thick soles and being suede and textile reasonably light. They're also comfortable to walk around in when i get off the bike. None of my winter cycling clothes are cycling specific. I wear jeans, t shirt, fleece and a softshell jacket. For winter gloves i wear insulated and protection work gloves. They look and feel like ordinary gloves but are abrasion resistant. I know from experience, if you do have an off, your hands are often the first to touch the tarmac.
 

Smudge

Veteran
Location
Somerset
Bear in mind that if you are taking a layering approach to clothing you need the ability to carry layers that you are not wearing. This may mean you need extra storage capacity. You aren't going to be able to shove a jacket into your little underseat wedge bag.

I'm covered on that as i usually have a backpack on. When i dont use one, i have a Decathlon foldable backpack in one of the frame or seat bags.
So i start off layered up, but sometimes have to remove some clothes.
 

Gravity Aided

Legendary Member
Location
Land of Lincoln
I only use knobbies or studs on snow, but I'm in the Northern U.S., and can count on a month or so of dry packed snow in spots. I also do more mountain biking in winter, off road. For some of the time, when the snow's too deep to ride in, I use a trainer indoors. I tend to worry more about wet leaves than I do snow.
 

roubaixtuesday

self serving virtue signaller
Clean the bike after every ride, clean the chain after a wet and dirty ride.

Always amazed by these suggestions. If you do nothing other than long weekend rides, maybe, but as someone who does a ten miles each way commute, I'd spend far more time cleaning than riding if I followed this. And who cleans their bike in the dark on a cold and wet evening?

My tip on this would be almost the precise opposite:

Lube the chain after a wet ride.
Replace the chain after 1500 miles, and cassette if it slips on the new chain.
Clean the bike at the vernal equinox.
 

roubaixtuesday

self serving virtue signaller
Other thoughts:
  • Liner gloves are great. Make far more difference than you'd expect.
  • Always have spare front and rear lights.
  • It's never as bad out as you think it is, and always better than a turbo or the gym.
  • Puncture resistant tyres (I use Marathons) - swapping a tube in sleet is grim.
  • Icy back roads: only with studded tyres.
  • Get a waterproof with long sleeves and wide cuffs so the rain doesn't pour into your gloves.
 

Smudge

Veteran
Location
Somerset
Of course, winter cycling isn't much of a big deal to me, as i dont ride in the rain, ice, snow or after dark.
Those that do will have far more needs for their bikes and clothing.
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
Always amazed by these suggestions. If you do nothing other than long weekend rides, maybe, but as someone who does a ten miles each way commute, I'd spend far more time cleaning than riding if I followed this. And who cleans their bike in the dark on a cold and wet evening?

My tip on this would be almost the precise opposite:

Lube the chain after a wet ride.
Replace the chain after 1500 miles, and cassette if it slips on the new chain.
Clean the bike at the vernal equinox.

When I was commuting daily over a longer distance I'd wipe the chain with a rag before putting the bike in the shed at the end of each day. Then I would maybe clean the bike every other weekend properly. Chain replaced when worn and cassette when the new chain slipped. I'd keep spares on hand so I could replace at the earliest need.
 

rivers

How far can I go?
Location
Bristol
Always amazed by these suggestions. If you do nothing other than long weekend rides, maybe, but as someone who does a ten miles each way commute, I'd spend far more time cleaning than riding if I followed this. And who cleans their bike in the dark on a cold and wet evening?

My tip on this would be almost the precise opposite:

Lube the chain after a wet ride.
Replace the chain after 1500 miles, and cassette if it slips on the new chain.
Clean the bike at the vernal equinox.

My bike gets a wipe down every day in the winter. It gets grimey, but by giving it a 5 minute once daily over means that when I give it a thorough clean once a month, I don't have a month's worth of dirt, oil, mud, and who knows what else to chisel off my bike. And I'm pretty much cleaning and lubing my chain every day at the minute because it won't stop raining.
Even my winter bike is a nice bike, and I want to keep them looking and running that way. A few minutes a day to do quickly clean off most of the muck does that.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Of course, winter cycling isn't much of a big deal to me, as i dont ride in the rain, ice, snow or after dark.
Those that do will have far more needs for their bikes and clothing.
Well, that's fine for those who either don't work or work out in the boonies where they can car to work without wasting half the time stopped in queues and don't mind wasting all that pay on cars and fuel and shoot and have time to replace the lost exercise.

And I'm another who thinks a little tread helps bite through the autumn crud and find grip where slicks would skid. I've held stuff upright you wouldn't believe. Don't think I'd go full knobblies though.
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
And I'm another who thinks a little tread helps bite through the autumn crud and find grip where slicks would skid. I've held stuff upright you wouldn't believe. Don't think I'd go full knobblies though.

I'm not sure about how much the tread will make a difference the cynic in me says probably not that much. Wider tyres with a larger contact patch though - absolutely - especially when you run them at a lower pressure for extra grip.
 

Smudge

Veteran
Location
Somerset
Well, that's fine for those who either don't work or work out in the boonies where they can car to work without wasting half the time stopped in queues and don't mind wasting all that pay on cars and fuel and shoot and have time to replace the lost exercise.

And I'm another who thinks a little tread helps bite through the autumn crud and find grip where slicks would skid. I've held stuff upright you wouldn't believe. Don't think I'd go full knobblies though.

Everyone cycles in different ways and i acknowledged that in my post.
I'm just a leisure cyclist, i only cycle for enjoyment, and only when weather conditions suit me.
 
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