atallen223

Hello everybody!

I recently moved to a far west suburb of Chicago from Phoenix and I would really like to continue to ride in the winter. I am basically looking for any tips that people can provide. For example do people still use normal road tires or do they tend to use thicker tires or mountain bikes to get around? Is there anyway to cope with such short days?

John Wilke

The way the long range weather prediction is sounding, you'll mostly have to deal with cold temps and darkness, with the occasional snowfall. You can ride just about everything on a MTB, so wider tires are suggested for snow packed roads. Studs certainly help with any ice you may encounter. I'm not well versed on the current LED lighting available, but there's lots of options in that department. Isn't there a winter biking section here on BF? Look for tips there as well. Have fun!

https://www.bikeforums.net/forumdispl...Winter-Cycling

tiztim

As a southwesterner, you have a lot to learn. https://bikewinter.org/ The chief lesson is dress. Dress light, paradoxical as it seems. The enemy you have is over-heating and sweating. Sweaty? You're doomed. Wear layers and open your dress so that sweat evaporates. You can easily bike comfortably at 35º. My lower limit was 20º. Wind is your enemy, it saps your strength and, of course, going fast into caold air is a disincentive. Keep your head warm with a cap under your helmet or a baklava in colder air. Don't wear anything constricting that slows the flow of warming blood. Gloves should be loose, avoid insulation compressing your fingers. Best collection of gloves I know of can be found at REI. Bike shops not so much. Mittens are best if you can handle brakes/shifters with them. Knobby tires are good. Studded tires are awesome. Studded tires in front: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04Zp4aApzZo . or both https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-75W...eature=related Have fun.

3bluebikes

atellen223, throw your bike in the car and join us sometime. here is a link to current ride schedule.
https://www.elmhurstbicycling.org/rides/currentRide.aspx

Hiro11

I live in the Western suburbs. Midwinter, temperature is not the issue. I've ridden when it's 10 degrees outside and been sweating after a few minutes. Slow and slush are the issue, they usually makes road riding very challenging if not impossible. Snow/ice takes away the shoulder, makes drivers skitish and obviously makes the road slick. Riding on the road can be fine if you have a bike with studded tires and fenders that you can clean with a hose afterwards but you simply can't use a 16 lb, carbon wheeled wonder bike with skinny tires. Darkness compounds these issues, I wouldn't ride in the dark alone if I could avoid it around here.

There's lots of MUPs around here including he Prairie Path, Great Western and Fox River Trail. These can be great to ride on and get you off the road. I usually ride on the Prairie Path as long as possible into the winter on a bike I purchased for this purpose. After a few weeks of snow and cold temps, the snow generally gets pounded and refrozen into ice on all paths. This can make them impassable. Also, your bike is going to get completely filthy and gritted. Long story short, unless you're pretty intrepid and willing to get your gear dirty, riding is tough in Chicago in the winter. But you could have probably guessed that. I tend to run and swim a lot in the winter around here.

hubcap

I live in St. Charles and ride year round regardless of weather. 30 miles round trip M-F. I have commuted in windchills as low as -20s F. The temp isn't a problem, just dress for it. Heavy snow on unplowed roads that are rutted with automobile tire tracks is a major challenge though. Derailleurs will freeze up in snow and slush, particularly if your bike sits outside for any length of time.

I outfit two of my bikes in winter with studded tires and recommend you do the same if you plan to ride after we get precipitation and it is freezing consistently at night (obviously that time has already arrived this season...it was 7 deg F yesterday morning when I started riding).