Ice cleats while riding?
 

Just wondering: has anybody successfully used ice cleats or similar (on their shoes/boots) *while* riding a bike? If so, what kind worked?

As a bit of background: My town is covered in ice, and it seems that it will stay that way for the foreseeable future. I'm fine on the bike (Nokian Extremes rock), but when it's time to get off and get on my feet, it's a bit challenging. Parking the bike and getting into the office...grocery stores...pretty much anything, requires walking on thick, rutted ice.

Getting off the bike and then putting them on is not much of an option, since the bike parking areas are covered in the same thick ice...I've already had one spill and a few near misses trying to park the bike. Bonus if said cleats can help while putting a foot down at an intersection, since that's sketchy as well.

I'm wondering if I might be able to ride while wearing YakTrax or something similar. FWIW, I'm using flat pedals with (plastic) clips and straps on the bike, along with regular winter boots.

Check the Rate My Treads site. I got myself one of the Hush Puppies listed there. Eventually I hope to get a pair of Windrivers that seem to be available only inside Canada.

have Stabilicers to put on my regular shoes , but haven't been high on the coast range where it was black ice, when I wished I had them .

snow, overnight, is mostly gone now..

years ago, I too was fine on the bike with studded tires, one winter ir was icy enough at seal level, that the sidewalk, on my feet, was sketchy..


supposed to be raining and 31f tonight..






,,,,

ahhh, sounds like you have some of that freezing rain?

Do you ever wear the Stabilicers with jogging shoes and do they work well?

An old friend / co-worker who is blind turned me on to Stabilicers. I started with Yak Trax, but found they sux. They fall off way too easily, and the wiry bits fall apart. The Stabilicers have been bulletproof, and go on/off easily enough, and STAY on. I feel like a walking Subaru with them. My friend used hers so much, she learned how to replace the cleats herself.

Have not had occasion to combine using them with a bike commute, however. My WAG is that they would work fine, given my winter bikes have ordinary MTB pedals with no cages. Might take a little practice stepping off the NDS pedal to put a foot down at a stop.

I've a pair of older running shoes that I've put 1/4" screws onto the soles for running on ice. They worked well for a few hundred dozen miles but they wear out quickly because the steel is too soft. However, putting a few of the on strategic spots on a pair of shoes for riding should work fine since you're just putting your foot down for traction and not running on them. Using 1/4" size you could easily take them off after the winter and they'd still be fine.

Old, I don't jog.. just walk.. but they do sell a kit for those that do...

Maybe your competition spiked sole Track shoes will do you well. then...

I have flat (non-MTB specific) trekking pedals on my bike. When dangerously icy, I wear spikey Icebug shoes.

Although you can remove the ‘bugweb’ I never do.
I only wear the pair outdoors. Once I get to work or back home, I change them for regular indoor shoes.

It works for me.

I just bought a pair of Korkers today.

https://www.atmosphere.ca/product/331899061.html#331899061=331899062

I haven't tried them yet.

A few years ago when I was still working, ice cleats were a must when everything was covered after a heavy ice rainfall. I was slipping and sliding all the way to the garage to get my fat bike. Since my bike had studded tires, all the slipping stopped as soon as I started riding. At work, after locking the bike, the slipping and sliding started again until I got inside.

After that day, I wore ice cleats while pedaling and it was good.