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What are you guys working on right now to prepare for winter riding?

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What are you guys working on right now to prepare for winter riding?

Old 07-22-18, 03:37 PM
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Obeast
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What are you guys working on right now to prepare for winter riding?

I am building a tricycle but it is only at the planning stage.
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Old 07-22-18, 05:19 PM
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I have been riding for many winters now, so my gear is very well optimized and what I am doing are minor tweaks. Since the last winter I added reflective patches to the ski gloves that I use at the lowest temperatures. I got a bike-specific 3-season (fall-spring) coat to replace a regular 3-season coat I used so far. That's about it.

Are you going with a tricycle to prevent slips?
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Old 07-22-18, 05:30 PM
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I am building my first disk brake bike, with the hope that I can stop a bit more readily in the Seattle rain.
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Old 07-22-18, 08:17 PM
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Ahaha, I just put my studded tires back on. But just onto the 26'' wheelset. I built up a 700C wheelset with touring tires this spring, so the 26'' tires currently exclusively will be used in winter with wider tires, preferably studded. Still had slicks on them which I want to move to another bike, thus swapping tires.
Other than that, I'm largely with 2_i, things are figured out mostly. Will likely add some very warm mitts to my clothing selection.
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Old 07-22-18, 08:26 PM
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I just moved south which should extend my season a good bit.... if that counts.
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Old 07-24-18, 05:19 PM
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a winter tricycle. that's intriguing. I'm trying not to lose my favorite winter stuff like my beanie & headband. still haven't taken the studded tires off one of my bikes. a plus (or minus) of having 3 bikes
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Old 07-27-18, 09:22 AM
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i'm feverishly shopping craigslist for something that will fit the 35C Marathon winters, and fenders and will hopefully have disc brakes... i'm not having any luck.

last year, i rode my GT Grade which fits the 35c tires but they rub on my fenders. i know i'll forgo the disc brakes, but i'm at a loss of being able to use my current bike or just getting some older POS that won't have discs but that i'll likely convert to drop bars too...aahh idk what to do.
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Old 07-27-18, 09:24 AM
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I'm pretending winter is a long way away.
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Old 07-27-18, 06:29 PM
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Riding to work lots. Playing a little soccer. Going to start doing a little bit more running.
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Old 07-27-18, 07:54 PM
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1)Got to get my fat bike to the shop wear I bought it for some annual maintenance that includes looking at the front bearing. It seems to have some play.

2)Finish studding the rear tire of my beater bike. The front tire was done when winter was winding down but there was still ice patches on the bike trails.
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Old 07-27-18, 08:38 PM
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My legs.
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Old 07-27-18, 09:56 PM
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I recently picked up a new winter commuter - an older Trek 950 Singletrack, with fenders already installed! I trashed my last winter bike and promise to take much better care of this one For commuting and winter road riding, I think I'm pretty much set.

Otherwise, I'm looking wistfully at fat bikes online. I don't think I'm allowed to get any more bikes for a bit, but it's fun to think about hitting the MTB trails in the winter.
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Old 07-28-18, 08:41 AM
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I got these trailer wheels from a thrift store so I am trying to figure out how to build a frankencargo bike of sort from it.

Originally Posted by 2_i
I have been riding for many winters now, so my gear is very well optimized and what I am doing are minor tweaks. Since the last winter I added reflective patches to the ski gloves that I use at the lowest temperatures. I got a bike-specific 3-season (fall-spring) coat to replace a regular 3-season coat I used so far. That's about it.

Are you going with a tricycle to prevent slips?
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Old 07-28-18, 08:45 AM
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I was quite unprepared for last winter, which was just freaking cold, then this summer is like superhot, which makes all the gears I used in the winter totally unsuitable. I am in the same feverish mode to buy stuff I need for this coming winter. Also, when it´s cold, one gets lazy so all the projects are just put on hold. Now that it is warm, I must motivate myself to complete all my projects because I know I just won´t get around to it when the temperature drops well below -10c.
Originally Posted by srestrepo
i'm feverishly shopping craigslist for something that will fit the 35C Marathon winters, and fenders and will hopefully have disc brakes... i'm not having any luck.

last year, i rode my GT Grade which fits the 35c tires but they rub on my fenders. i know i'll forgo the disc brakes, but i'm at a loss of being able to use my current bike or just getting some older POS that won't have discs but that i'll likely convert to drop bars too...aahh idk what to do.
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Old 08-04-18, 04:49 AM
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I put away the mtb in early spring, now I'm doing maintenance on it. I put a ton of miles on my road bike for the past four months, now it's time to ride some single track and gravel again!

I went 1x with my new drivetrain but I'm seriously considering going back to 2x, I miss that deep low for good cadence in deep snow. Also on the list is a new battery pack for my awesome Chinese Amazon headlight, Revtronic 1600 lumen Cree LED. The pack wasn't sealed against the weather, but the seller refunded me the price of the battery pack!! I'm also considering snow tires and maybe a tubless setup.

Anyone have experience with tubless around -20°c?
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Old 08-04-18, 04:52 AM
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Originally Posted by Obeast
I got these trailer wheels from a thrift store so I am trying to figure out how to build a frankencargo bike of sort from it.
You wouldn't worry about falling on ice. I only did that once last year, not fun.
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Old 08-05-18, 05:12 AM
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Originally Posted by 2_i
I have been riding for many winters now, so my gear is very well optimized and what I am doing are minor tweaks...
I too am well equipped for winter cycling. I start preparing for the next winter by putting away all my cold weather gear in one place as I gradually abandon pieces during the late winter / early spring, so I can find them as needed the next late fall and winter.
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Old 08-05-18, 08:06 AM
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I haven't done much for winter lately, but need to do some tuning on my winter bikes soon.

I have some generators in the planning, although I suppose I do some after dark riding year-around.
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Old 08-05-18, 07:15 PM
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just occurred to me that any bike maintenance is good planning for the winter when bike maintenance is less appealing to do, but more important to have done
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Old 08-06-18, 05:07 AM
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I've got a set of Schwalbe Marathon Winter Tyre - RaceGuard comming in the mail. Also considering buying a set of Jones H loop bars for my winter bike.
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Old 08-12-18, 12:20 PM
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Same here, I added a second Cycle Torch "Night Owl" headlight. I like these because I can charge them on the USB port of my computer, and they stay charged all week. They are apparently water-reppellant and cold reppellant.

I also had to replace my "Monkey-lectric" M-210 for my rear wheel, these illuminate the bike very well during the dark days of winter.

An added benefit is that both products tend to be on sale right about now
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Old 08-12-18, 04:56 PM
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Work on my tan as much as I can while I can. In addition to that I just bought pair of Bontrager winter boots that are an upgrade from my lower tier Specialized Defroster shoes. They were OK but not warm below 32-34 degrees. My next thing I need to consider is gloves. I have been using 45Nrth Sturmfist glover which have been pretty good but not effective enough for me below 32 degrees. I'm considering the Bontrager 2 layer glove/mit combo which looks pretty serious or perhaps bar mitts. Since I ride more than I bike I'm leaning towards the Bontrager duo.
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Old 08-12-18, 06:42 PM
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Winter? What’s this word you speak of?
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Old 08-13-18, 10:22 AM
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Originally Posted by Patriot1
Winter? What’s this word you speak of?
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Old 08-13-18, 10:50 AM
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If it were to snow tomorrow, all I need to do is check the tire pressure on the studded tire bike and go. Or if cold and no snow or ice, just ride another bike.
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