Cold bike ride

[Number_35]

This was last Sunday, on the Red River trail. About -30 C, which isn't that bad, but with a howling north wind on the outbound leg. Lots of snow drifting across the trail, and not a lot of others out. Wanted to take more photos, but my phone froze up. The wind blew me home, which was great. Plugged in the phone, which after a few minutes showed a thermometer and a partly-filled arc. It did come back to life after half an hour or so.

 

[slo town]

You are a brave man! I'm going to head out on my Seven Axiom road bike in about 30 minutes. I'e been waiting for it to warm up. It's "only" 51F right now.

Can breathing super cold air like that harm your lungs?

Scott

 

[SZR48207]

studded bike tires?

 

[Number_35]

You are a brave man! I'm going to head out on my Seven Axiom road bike in about 30 minutes. I'e been waiting for it to warm up. It's "only" 51F right now.

Can breathing super cold air like that harm your lungs?

Scott

Scott, it's way better for me to get out and make the best of it than to hibernate.

As far as cold air and the lungs, that's a great question, and one that's been debated for decades here. I ran or cycled to work through 35 or so winters here, with no apparent I'll effects. When it's really cold, I wear a neoprene face mask, which traps outgoing air and warms the incoming cold air.

Many a co-worker would see me coming in with icicles dangling off my beard and brows and would say something like "How can you do that?" (if they were polite, or something else if they weren't), and I'd reply something like "Hey, who was happier to get to work today, you or me?"

It was a department of good and eccentric people, and the winter running and cycling was my contribution.

 

[Number_35]

studded bike tires?

Yes, carbide studs - not cheap, but they were a must after my wife had a nasty fall about four years ago.

 

[SeaJay]

-30C/-22F is plenty cold enough. I suppose it needs to get down to at least -40C/-40F to be really cold in your part of the globe.

 

[BISCUT]

I'm jealous! I have been a waste of a human! Is that a Surly Ice Cream Truck? Can't tell. I have a Trek Farley 27.5. I bought a new set of rims and tires to keep studded after falling....a lot!!! It was fun though. Did you add the studs yourself? I did not find it an enjoyable experience.

I have 2 ft of snow on the ground and you have inspired me to get 8psi in my fatty tires and get it out for a spin. Thanks for posting.

 

[slo town]

An image from my GoPro ride today, a nippy 55F. I actually waited for it to warm up before heading out. You brave the weather far more than I do!

Scott

 

[mrsilv04]

I throw in the towel at 33 degrees on the bicycle, and move inside and ride on the rollers.

I've ridden the motorcycle down to 8 above zero.

 

[Number_35]

-30C/-22F is plenty cold enough. I suppose it needs to get down to at least -40C/-40F to be really cold in your part of the globe.

I don't like the cold, and I don't know anyone here who does, but this is where I live, so I try to make the best of it. In spite of the jokes ("At -20 we put on a sweater"), it takes a lot of getting used to. When winter first hits, it takes awhile to adapt.

During our year in NZ, we thought the winter was balmy (when a cold day was 4 C [40 F] overnight, with a high in the afternoon of 12 C [54 F], while all the locals thought it was cold. We were certainly underdressed compared to the locals. But we met an older couple who had emigrated from Norway some 20 years earlier. I asked them if this phenomenon, whereby one thinks it's mild because it's way warmer than home, goes on indefinitely. They said no, it had taken them about two years to acclimatize to NZ's mild winters, and then they too felt the cold.

I'm jealous! I have been a waste of a human! Is that a Surly Ice Cream Truck? Can't tell. I have a Trek Farley 27.5. I bought a new set of rims and tires to keep studded after falling....a lot!!! It was fun though. Did you add the studs yourself? I did not find it an enjoyable experience.

I have 2 ft of snow on the ground and you have inspired me to get 8psi in my fatty tires and get it out for a spin. Thanks for posting.

Good eye! It's a Surly Pugsley Necromancer, which is not dissimilar. NY Engineer is our BITOG Surly expert, and will know the exact differences.

I bought the tires (45Norths) already studded. I have transplanted studs though, on Jr's bike. He wore out a studded tire, and I was able to save c. $100 by replacing it with a stud-capable unstudded tire and moving bunch of studs over to the new tire. It's not fun, but I do have the tool for it, which makes it doable.

Enjoy your ride!

An image from my GoPro ride today, a nippy 55F. I actually waited for it to warm up before heading out. You brave the weather far more than I do!

ScottView attachment 45256

Gorgeous road, but those narrow shoulders would scare me as a cyclist.

 

[NYEngineer]

-30... Man, Chuck. Not sure I could do it. Its currently 18 degrees F here on Long Island. I will go out and do about 12 miles on the beach on my fat bike today. We just don't see temps like yours here. The ocean keeps us warm.

Biscuit, FYI... Chucks Pugs is Surlys early design at fitting fat wheels when 135mm hubs were the norm. The wheels get laced offset so the drivetrain will clear the tire. It is a genius design.
I have an Ice Cream Truck which was designed later on with a 197mm rear hub which, like your Trek is laced symmetrically like a conventional bicycle.

 

[BISCUT]

An image from my GoPro ride today, a nippy 55F. I actually waited for it to warm up before heading out. You brave the weather far more than I do!

ScottView attachment 45256

It's a hard life at 55F in February! I need to send you a picture of the fatty in the snow ....

Jokes aside, looks like a great ride Scott.

 

[4WD]

It's a hard life at 55F in February! I need to send you a picture of the fatty in the snow ....

Jokes aside, looks like a great ride Scott.

HaHa … I’m sure the youngsters here will be excited when they wake up to fresh snow..
I‘ll just be reminded of cold places my job has taken me … and dead landscaping …

 

[BISCUT]

-30... Man, Chuck. Not sure I could do it. Its currently 18 degrees F here on Long Island. I will go out and do about 12 miles on the beach on my fat bike today. We just don't see temps like yours here. The ocean keeps us warm.

Biscuit, FYI... Chucks Pugs is Surlys early design at fitting fat wheels when 135mm hubs were the norm. The wheels get laced offset so the drivetrain will clear the tire. It is a genius design.
I have an Ice Cream Truck which was designed later on with a 197mm rear hub which, like your Trek is laced symmetrically like a conventional bicycle.

I've had a fatty for about 5 years. Something I've never done is had it out on the beach. That is something I have to experience. So far snow and ice, and some light rides in the woods with the kids. Main tires are 27.5 Barbegazi 4.5's non-studded. I'd think they would be ok on a beach in winter.

 

[NYEngineer]

My brother has Barbs on his bike. They work great on sand.

-30. Chuck is making me look like a punk.

 

[y_p_w]

Yes, carbide studs - not cheap, but they were a must after my wife had a nasty fall about four years ago.

Does it really help all that much? Studs don't do that much unless there's ice. I haven't used studded tires, but I had these studded shoe covers that would keep me from slipping across an icy sidewalk. I've heard some people do it on the cheap with cheap boots and screws.

I find it interesting that a lot of the companies that make studded car tires also have studded bike tires.

 

[Number_35]

Does it really help all that much? Studs don't do that much unless there's ice. I haven't used studded tires, but I had these studded shoe covers that would keep me from slipping across an icy sidewalk. I've heard some people do it on the cheap with cheap boots and screws.

I find it interesting that a lot of the companies that make studded car tires also have studded bike tires.

There is a lot of hard-packed snow on the roads and trails here, which is pretty much like ice to ride on, and there's a lot of actual ice. There will be a lot more in a few weeks when we start going through late-winter's freeze-thaw cycles. Overall, they're a big help for our conditions here.

We had a good ride this afternoon, about half on a river trail. The trail was mostly packed snow, but did have some bare ice too. I was glad to have the studded tires.

I've used the Yak-Trax slip-on stud thingies for shoes and boots - they're good on ice, OK on snow, and not good on bare pavement, and of course have to be removed when going indoors.

The worst are safety boots - the very hard oil-resistant soles make them treacherous on ice. I've added sheet metal screws to improve the traction.

 

[y_p_w]

There is a lot of hard-packed snow on the roads and trails here, which is pretty much like ice to ride on, and there's a lot of actual ice. There will be a lot more in a few weeks when we start going through late-winter's freeze-thaw cycles. Overall, they're a big help for our conditions here.

We had a good ride this afternoon, about half on a river trail. The trail was mostly packed snow, but did have some bare ice too. I was glad to have the studded tires.

I've used the Yak-Trax slip-on stud thingies for shoes and boots - they're good on ice, OK on snow, and not good on bare pavement, and of course have to be removed when going indoors.

The worst are safety boots - the very hard oil-resistant soles make them treacherous on ice. I've added sheet metal screws to improve the traction.

I had a pair of Yak-Trax but never used them outdoors. They seemed kind of slippery on carpet, but they were brand new and hadn't been roughed up. I understand they're best on hard packed snow. The ones I used were Get-A-Grips, which had these carbide inserts in a rubber cover. Once I got planted on ice I remained planted.

I thought that tire studs don't exactly do that. Aren't they really there to just break up the ice and not necessarily to dig in.

As for for the cold - the coldest I ever had to deal with riding my bike was where I'd put on arm warmers and leg warmers. I think I had a wool bike jersey too, although it was kind of itchy.

 

[Number_35]

I had a pair of Yak-Trax but never used them outdoors. They seemed kind of slippery on carpet, but they were brand new and hadn't been roughed up. I understand they're best on hard packed snow. The ones I used were Get-A-Grips, which had these carbide inserts in a rubber cover. Once I got planted on ice I remained planted.

I thought that tire studs don't exactly do that. Aren't they really there to just break up the ice and not necessarily to dig in.

As for for the cold - the coldest I ever had to deal with riding my bike was where I'd put on arm warmers and leg warmers. I think I had a wool bike jersey too, although it was kind of itchy.

I'm not exactly sure of the mechanism by which the studs work, but they certainly improve traction dramatically!

-30... Man, Chuck. Not sure I could do it. Its currently 18 degrees F here on Long Island. I will go out and do about 12 miles on the beach on my fat bike today. We just don't see temps like yours here. The ocean keeps us warm.

Biscuit, FYI... Chucks Pugs is Surlys early design at fitting fat wheels when 135mm hubs were the norm. The wheels get laced offset so the drivetrain will clear the tire. It is a genius design.
I have an Ice Cream Truck which was designed later on with a 197mm rear hub which, like your Trek is laced symmetrically like a conventional bicycle.

You're absolutely right - the rear wheel is offset, which looks weird, plus the one chaintube has a weird kink and offset bend in it for clearance.

Funny thing, I stripped down both bikes last summer and took the frames in for powder-coating. The powder-coater's dad has a machine- and auto-electric shop on the same yard, and when he saw the Pugs frame, he said he noticed the one chaintube was bent, and said he could straighten it in a press if I wanted. Uh, no thanks, it's supposed to be that way! I'll try to post photos of the interesting rear wheel and frame.

As far as temperature, 18 F (c. -8 C) can be absolutely miserable if it's cloudy and windy, plus you would have way more humidity there. Even when the RH is relatively high here, when it's this cold the air will not hold much moisture in absolute terms, so it always feels dry. We rode on the Seine River this afternoon, and were sheltered from the wind in the river valley. The sun was out and very bright, and even though it was cold (around -25 C/-13 F), it was delightful.

 

[NYEngineer]