BobbyG

I may have outsmarted myself.

After more than a decade of crampy hands and sore thumbs, two months ago I converted my 22-year-old straight-bar mountain bike commuter to drop-bars.

It has been wonderful! My hands and thumbs feel great, even after extended rides...and as an added bonus, thanks to the new modified riding position, the bike's longer cranks don't seem to aggravate my hips either. (Shorter cranks were to be my next modification.)

And without the weight of the jungle-gym, inboard bar-ends plus aerobar arrangement I had bodged together over the years for varied hand positions, the bike is now livelier and more responsive than ever, even with, heavier studded snow tires.

Four winters ago I bought my first pair of studded snow tires and discovered that while ice is no longer a hinderance, three inches of fresh snow is my limit, above which forward progress is slowed by half, making commuting impractical.

Well, yesterday there was 3-4 inches of fresh snow, and a light schedule at the office. Traffic was a mess, so my co-workers were going to be late, but I, unbeholden to the major traffic arteries, decided I would bike and be there closer to normal hours.

Hereclitus said "No man ever steps into the same river twice." And those of us who commute in winter know, "No man ever rides on the same winter streets twice." Due to sun, shadow, temperature and precipitation road conditions can vary wildly.

Under the fresh snow were icy ruts...too many to be made by traffic, and in places where there could not have been traffic. They must have come from some weird freezing.

When planning the drop-bar conversion I was worried that the new, lighter, narrower drop-bars would not provide enough control in winter conditions, but a couple of previous snow days proved the new bars and riding position just fine, but with a little more kick-back in the icy ruts, and yester morning's commute was almost nothing but ruts.

There was plenty of fresh snow in which stability was bettter, but the going was slower. In fact, my average speed for he 9 mile ride was almost half my normal 12-13 mph...and at a 7.5mph average speed, the usual 40-minute ride took 70 minutes.

But my hands and thumbs felt fine, and I enjoyed every minute of the ride.

When I saw the streets were merely slushy by lunch, I even rode the mile-and-a-quarter to the grocery store to pick up a few items.

We decided to leave early to avoid rush hour and falling temps, which also meant I could ride home before dark.

With the Suomi Nokian W-106 snow tires, tire pressure is key. 65psi max for dry pavement takes the weight off the tire's studded shoulders. (I recently did 70psi and was even happier). 32psi presents more studs to the street for better grip on ice. And the minimum 22pis flattens the tire out for better grip in loose snow.

With the streets wet, and the increasing presence of ice, due to the falling temperature, I chose 32psi and headed home. It was the right choice, and I was "flying" home at an average speed around 11mph...until the last three miles.

I live in hilly Colorado Springs, and my ride home is uphill. One of the great things about the studded tires is I can ride uphill on glare ice (and more importantly stop downhill in ice). But on the back streets I take to avoid traffic, the unrelenting rutted ice was still present.

I persevered, manhandling and hustling my heavy mountain-bike-based commuter homein 59 minutes.

And without hand, thumb or hip pain I was free to concentrate on just how fatigued I was. My muscles didn't ache, they were just tired. Once I walked into the house I was keenly aware of just how close I was to bonking.

I compared in my mind how riding with the new bars compared to riding the old straight-bars in similar conditions speed-wise, and I decided I wasn't any slower or faster...

...I was just older.

And the slight instability of the new bars, and the extended ride times left me exhausted.

I will be 58 in January and for the last couple of years I have felt my strength and stamina begin to wane ever so slightly.

Be that as it may, I am still miles ahead of my non-active peers, and I can't imagine ever allowing myself to be so sedentary voluntarily.

So while I was able to eliminate any hand, thumb or hip issues for now, I opened myself up to riding in conditions right at the limit of my endurance.

"A man's got to know his limitations..."

I think I found mine, and they're exhausting.

delbiker1 

Whenever I am doing physical activity in cold temperatures, upon going indoors to warm temperatures, my body and brain go into a sort of shut down mode. Fatigue sets in quickly and if I sit or lie down right away, I zonk out hard. When I awake from this stupor, hunger is strong and my body is telling me to get fueled and more fluids into my system. I usually feel better upon waking if I get fuel and fluids before the crash.

jppe

Great post! Good for you for experimenting and finding something that works well for you. Just curious, what’s the width of your tires? I’m trying to relate your pressures to my gravel bike tires.

How many seasons will you get out of the snow tires? Have you ever flatted in the snow? I can’t imagine changing a tube in the snow.....

Jim from Boston

I have previously posted:

Jim from Boston

Hi @jppe,

I’m not particularly familiar with winter cycling in North Carolina, although, Since all my winter cycling here in Boston is in on paved and relatively well-tended roads, I bought my winter beater road bike that allows 30 C tires, the narrowest with studs that I know of. Unlike many subscribers, I keep the tire pressure up to the near maximum, around 60 to 80 psi.

A flat tire is probably one of the most likely catastrophes particularly peculiar to winter, and devastating to a commuter to get to the job in time. I have posted to this thread,"Emergency Winter Cycling Kit?" In my experience a set of Marathon Winter studded tires last several seasons, andRidden mostly on bare, but often wet pavement.

big john

I used to ride off road motorcycles and one time we were riding in a motorcycle park in sub-freezing temps. I got a rear flat, made it back to the truck and started to remove the tire to patch the tube. The tire was quite stiff due to the temp and when the tire lever slipped, I punched the sprocket, hard. Miserable experience that I'll never forget.
After that I always worked on the wheel with the sprocket side down.

BobbyG

The tires are 26x1.65. I would say i use them no more than 30 days a winter, almost all commuting, which is 18 miles round trip. Now in their 4th winter. Never had a flat, still have all the studs. At this rate they'll last many, many seasons. I assume they're like automotive snow and ice tires in that if they were used in hot weather they'd disintegrate. If I had a flat below 25F is probably have to call for a ride, or depending where I was, catch a bus.