Prepping the Old Gal for Winter
 

Last year I spent a lot of time at the gym riding a stationary and blaming the weather. While I enjoyed it and stayed in shape, I have a different plan for this winter. Since I have a foul weather bike and a fair weather bike, I'm going all out on the foul weather bike. Today, I installed some fenders that I picked up cheap at a second hand store. I never realized how difficult it is getting them things aligned properly. I have some weatherized REI panniers that will go on it also. The little black thingy on the rear of the rack is a mount for a second blinking tail light in case I get caught out after dark. The only thing left on my list are
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...99419c62d9.jpg
8 buck fenders
some all weather shoes. Ski boots won't cut it, I hope.

WOW... How nice... No excuses now your gonna get out there and ride... YaHooooo.

I don't ride in snow or ice but when its all muddy I like to take ArmorAll foam tire dressing and spray the entire bicycle with it for extra protection.

This bike looks really nice...

I don't know about spraying the entire bike with tire dressing, but I do hose it off with fresh water and reoil after almost every ride. The salt and sand gets into everything when it's wet out, especially when 18 whlrs fly by. I have to carry a hanky in a pocket just to keep wiping my glasses clear. But am I ever looking forward to it!

looks good! yeah, fenders are a joy to install ... ;-( where are you located? meaning, curious about your winter weather

I bought a pair of 'winter' cycling shoes for last season.
Mostly for wet protection over arctic cold,
but also great on dry days with temps in 40*s and 30*s.
Seattle has few days below freezing for daytime temps.

Riding PCH way north of the bay. No freezing unless you go inland, but lots of salty sea mists, sand and rain, and fast moving traffic that sprays it over everything.

I bought the Fizik shoe - on sale for about $125. Less than a year ago.
Artica R5 (fizik.com)
Your flat pedals, if used in winter, will offer you a wide range of choices in footwear.

keeping the extremities warm on chilled days is my biggest concern. Ski glove with liners fixed the hands, but feet were always the issue. I have 2 fendered wet/winter bikes, they get fewer miles as I have gotten older, call me wimpy.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c9c475c225.jpg
here's the fendered roadie, the other is a mtn bike.
Bought the rubber saddle from Selle Anatomica for true wet weather rides, not yet installed. Record heat and dry this summer, has me putting off the switch.

Seattle, huh, you know all about wet weather riding. The pedals are clip-less on one side and platform on the other. I've experimented with riding it in jump boots and it worked a lot better than I expected. I used to ride my MTB in jump boots for the ankle support. No one really noticed because most of the other riders were bundled up in shin guards, shoulder pads, etc. Just out of curiosity, what size frame is that sweet ride? I notice the long head tube and those have always fascinated me.

You are on to something….

Like it’s’ twin - 62X59.5 ctc, with 20cm headtube.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...632db20ab.jpeg
actually,…the Olympian with narrower bars and skinnier tires feels more responsive even with fenders than VentNoir with plush 27s. Love this 40 year old endurance frame.

Well, there is always the winter forum if you want to check the official prep list. If you will be riding in temperatures below freezing, then it may be a good idea to pull the cables, have a squirt through of WD40 or the like, to make sure you will be able to continue to brake and to shift once things cool down enough to freeze residual water in the cable housings. Otherwise you may have a one speed and be braking with your feet until you get to your destination. You'll never get all of it out, but once a year, just before freezing temps are projected, is a good idea. One degree below freezing may not gum up the works, but five degrees will.

My most important investment for winter riding last winter was clothes. Some heavily insulated full-length bibs, heavy-duty wool socks, a waterproof insulating jacket, and heavy duty long underwear. I made a little table of what to wear at what temperature.. as long as I followed my little guide the only downside was more time getting clothes on&off compared to summer riding.

The only time I could not ride was in icy weather, which sounds like you won't be having. I bought some studded tires toward the end of last season so unless there is a foot of snow I should be on it this coming winter.

snow tires with studs. they're kinda heavy, though.

Won't need real winter gear for CA coastal riding.

I got a second set of fenders, cut off a couple of maybe 10" pieces from the 2nd set and pop rivetted them to the existing fenders, thus making them longer. You obviously would cut off the silly little mud flaps which come on those fenders. To the bottom of those, I added mud flaps made of stair tread material to reach about 2" from the road. The mud flaps flair out to 4" wide at the bottom. I bolted those on to make replacement and adjustment easier. You'll have to fiddle around some to get that stuff just the way you want it. Plastic fenders respond well to careful reshaping with a heat gun.

For clothing, you want a couple pair of tights of differing weights for different temps. Pearl Izumi are good. For your top, thick poly undershirts, one SS, one LS. Craft are very good. Arm warmers of course. A couple LS jerseys of heavier than usual weight. For water, just a wind shell. You really don't want waterproof. You need to let the rain in for cooling. Voler wind shells are just right. Wind vest, too. This gear gives you many useful combinations, from SS undershirt, SS jersey, arm warmers and wind vest, to LS undershirt, LS jersey and wind shell.

For the feet, regular cycling shoes with wool socks are fine, with neoprene booties over. To keep the water out of your shoes, you buy dry suit leg seals, online or from a dive shop, and put them on your naked ankles, bell down over the tops of your booties, tights zipped down over the tops of the leg seals. Dry feet!

Gloves are the hardest thing. For cold rain, the best thing I've found are Giro 100 Plus gloves, though many folks like leather over thick wool gloves. There are many decent gloves for warmer rain. Craft makes the ones I've liked the best. I have 3 pair of their gloves of increasing thickness. One of the most important things with gloves is being able to get them on and off when they are soaking wet. They will be soaking wet. "Waterproof" is useless.

I've been riding in the PNW winters for 25 years and the above works best. I've ridden 75 miles in a steady 36° downpour with the above gear, except that I had winter MTB boots instead of booties, but that shouldn't happen that far south.

A heavy LS jersey is great if you can find one. Avoid anything "softshell." They look nice on the rack, but are useless for real riding as they absorb water. Get Hiviz or at least yellow stuff for your top.

Run serious lights in daytime, 300 lumen blinky in back, 200 lumen blinky in front.

Yep, I tried a pair of my wife's stretchies a few years back for under snow pants while working snow patrols and although they were tight, they worked. I now have several pair of my own that I wear under insulated riding pants. You're absolutely correct about wearing water proof gear. Unless your goal is to sweat off a few hundred pounds, you don't want to be wearing rain gear while exercising. On a few occasions I've worn gators to keep the splash from soaking my feet and lower calves, but I'm hoping these fenders do the trick. They're a lot longer than the el cheapo ones I had before that were only a few inches long and did practically nothing so I doubt if I'll be modding them.

Don't need the insulated pants, just the cycling tights. I prefer the ones without a built-in pad and wear my usual cycling shorts under them. One can wear PI AmFib tights in light snow around freezing and be all right.

The insulated pants are nothing more than tights with a liner like most wind breakers have. They breathe, are comfortable, and stop the wind chill factor.

a little snow isn't the end of the world....

https://live.staticflickr.com/8679/1...095a7d_c_d.jpg

but normally I only ride when the roads are cleared off.
Tires with an aggressive tread are useful too.

Steve in Peoria

Ooh, hate to have this discussion this early in the year but I noticed the daylight slowly diminishing each day as August comes to an end. Last year during lockdown, I was limited from my usual winter activities other than Zwifting, so I tried winter riding. Had most of the clothes from cross country skiing, bought a water proof pair of hiking shoes which worked well, face buff for the cool winds but I found winter riding more of a challenge than it seemed worth. Then, I noticed in the spring any bike I rode through the snow had way more corrosion than my other bikes which required a lot of maintenance in the spring to bring them bike to life.

Not sure I'll do that again unless I buy a true beater that I don't care about.

awww you can do it, we need the company! just do a little more cleaning during the winter

I'm sure I will when I get bored of Zwift after a few months. Under the right conditions I did enjoy it. Batstar and his video was what really inspired me.

https://vimeo.com/493956321

Wildwood - have you ridden the Fizik Arctica R5 shoes in the rain? How were they for you.? Just curious about your experience. For me they are plenty warm in the dry but every time I ride even on just wet roads or a light rain, the insides of the Arcticas seems to siphon water right in making my feet wet and cold.

Winterizing already in the frozen north? You must be someone who does Christmas shopping in June. I looked at the 10 day forecast in Las Vegas and there is not a day ahead where the high temperature will not break triple digits. I was looking forward to fall when it finally gets civilized so I can ride mid-day. I don't miss the slip-and-slide days I endured in the Midwest. It would usually be pretty nice at least until mid-October where I once lived but then it turns downright cruel.