iheartbacon

It's going to start cooling off soon, by September I'll be wearing a jacket at night. Last year our first freeze came on my birthday in October. Despite the cold we only have snow on the ground for 4 to 5 weeks over the whole winter. We almost always get 2 ice storms. One in January, the second in February. Being out in the cold doesn't bother me and I know how to dress for it. What I am curious about is traction. In a car you just slide around a bit and either hit something or stop because you lost your momentum. What concerns me is going down on the bike in front of a car and the car not being able to stop in time. Also getting a serious injury just from going down. How do car free people handle the winter? Do you put studded tires on? Do you have a beater bike specifically for the winter? Put your bikes away until Spring? Do you walk everywhere or just when the road conditions are real bad? We also have cold and very wet Springs. The roads get oily and slick. We have free buses but I prefer the exercise of walking or riding my bike. Last winter I walked and it sucked because a simple errand turned into an all day trip.

no1mad 

You do know about the Winter Cycling Forum, don't you? All of the answers to your technical questions are readliy found there.

But we all deal with the elements based upon what we encounter. I see more ice than snow (usually), but not enough to warrant studded tires. I'll walk or take the bus or have the wife drive the Jeep.

enigmaT120

I ride in the winter. It's mostly cold rain here. Spring and Fall it's warmer rain. I drove my pickup the few times it snowed, though I now have knobbies on my Rocky Mountain and may try riding them in the snow next time. The Marathon Plus Tours were definitely not good enough for snow.

Artkansas 

+1 for no1mad's advice. It all depends on where you live. I used to live near Palm Springs. Winter weather there was tough. 76 degree days with snow-capped mountains in the distance. Unbearable...ly pretty. Here in Little Rock, things are milder, we get a couple of snow/ice storms in winter a few days of white stuff on the ground and morning temps that are in the 20s and 30s. So I do have a winter wardrobe. I ride all winter except when there is ice on the streets. Snow doesn't bother me much, but ice is too slick and its not worth the trouble of changing to studded tires. I'll just ride the bus for those few days.

Watch for the Canadians. They have winter riding down to an art.

Commodus

To answer the title, yes. But it doesn't snow very much of very often here.

howeeee

I ride all winter about 5 times a week,,I usually ride to this little town have a cup of coffee then ride back,,16 mile round trip,,sometime I ride a little farther.

I live in michigan and am 59 years old.

Smallwheels

Studded tires cost a lot but broken wrists and arms cost more. Spend $300 for a dedicated set of studded tires and wheels to swap on your bicycle when you need them or take the bus.

In my town the roads become icy and the ice lasts for months. I don't need to switch tires for a short period of time. Does that make me lucky?

Mobile 155

Yes all 11 days of it.

bkj

yes

Newspaperguy

I ride throughout the year. In winter, I use a beater bike, but winters here last just a couple of months. My winter bike has wider tires and I tend to ride a bit slower. The only bad days for riding are around the first snowfall of the year and whenever there is a major snowstorm. Those are times when driving wouldn't be much fun either. At the first snowfall, a lot of drivers haven't figured out how to deal with winter driving, so they slide around a lot. Accidents are most likely then. The heavy snowfalls are also hard because pedaling through a lot of snow takes a lot of effort. But the roads are usually cleared fast and then it's okay.

For those in Vancouver and Seattle, winters here are colder, but riding in a cold rain can feel miserable. Cold and dry weather is much easier.

charbucks

Actually, we mostly just huddle in our igloos and drink beer. Also, body heat

I'm all about the studded tires. Our smaller streets don't get plowed at all, and it's too cold for salt to be very effective. They do put sand and gravel on the roads sometimes, but ultimately the road turns into a rather uneven skating rink.

I put a studded tire on my front wheel and it makes a world of difference. You still skid from time to time on the back, but it's the front that'll make you go down hard. I'll probably put one on the back this winter now that I've proven to myself that I'll actually use it.

I also highly recommend fenders, and the kind that wrap all the way around. They help to protect your derailleur, not just your clothes. My friend had to replace his after just one winter of riding without fenders, and he said it would frequently lock up from all the ice and snow that got jammed in it.

All that being said, there are temperatures where I'm just too much of a wuss to ride. For me the threshold is about -15 to -20 (around 0 F), or the temperature where your eyelashes start freezing together, and when it's -30 to -40 (on both scales!), I do everything I can to avoid leaving the house.

gerv 

Yep... we do get some similar weather here. Although usually (lately...) not much. I usually get the bus when it's super cold or when the streets are a mess. That usually means I bike about 70-80% in the winter. Last winter was super warm here, so it may have been more.

Scheherezade 

3-4 months of frozen precipitation here in Minneapolis. I bike all year round. With proper gear, you are about as safe biking in winter as you are walking IMO.

ManPowerdTravel

I do, but I live in southwest Florida. This past winter was so warm, I never had to go beyond a pair of pants, a thermal shirt, and a light/middleweight jacket. :-p

CarFreeFam4

Well, I ride in the winter, but winter involves cold rain around here. I'm much more concerned with proper rain gear. It generally snows once a year here, and people panic. Everything shuts down, no one drives anywhere. It's actually my favorite day of the year to ride. It's absolutely silent, not a person to be found anywhere.

Smallwheels

I recall trying to drive to work in New Orleans on a very rare snow day in 1982. My car wasn't working well in such low temperatures and I wasn't at all happy driving on the roads. I turned around after three miles and went home. My boss was really mad at me. It worried me at the time but now as an older adult I would tell him off without a second thought. My life and my car are worth more than a days pay.

There is no snow removal or road sanding there. I do recall the city rigging some regular dump trucks to drop sand in some parts of town. They used workers with shovels to spread the sand. It wasn't very efficient.

Artkansas 

You are not alone. I think that's one reason why my on-time record at work is better than most motorists. In bad weather, the bus, the bike or my feet get me there. And if they can't, no one else is getting there either anyway.

wahoonc

Yes, however I avoid riding in ice/snow because the idiots around here can barely drive on dry pavement, reduce tire to pavement friction coefficients and all hell breaks loose, along with most vehicles. Good thing is that is only about 5 days out of the winter season.

Aaron

Roody

I ride 365 days a year jere in Michigan, where we get snow during 5 to 6 months of the year. I ride in snow storms and one of my hobbies is ice biking (riding on frozen lakes and rivers).

I do use studded tires. However, I don't need studdrd tires on my commute. It's only a block from my house to a main street, and main streets are plowed quickly. side streets, which are plowed only after 4 inches of snow fall, can be ridden slowly in the car tire ruts, or I just walk through the worst parts and push my bike.

In my experience, a bike can be used in any conditions that a car can be used. The OP worries about getting hurt on his bike. Most falls on ice will not injure the rider because the speed is slow. My son, OTOH, was driving a car that slipped on a patch of ice and hit a tree in a front yard. He was in a coma for weeks and has life-long damage to his body. If he had been riding a bike, he probably would have seen the ice and avoided the crash.

MyBikeGotStolen

yes, I do ride in the winter. If it gets REALLY cold, I will put on a pair of pants instead of shorts.

Sorry, like the other Florida folks, I had to do it.

I am in Northeast Florida, and I get wayyyyy too cold here and I am hoping to move farther south after I graduate from college. Major props to all you folks who do ride in the snow. I have seen snow once in my life, and its not something I would want to deal with for months at a time every year!

Newspaperguy

It's just a different set of challenges. I'm okay riding in snow and I enjoy the dry heat we get here in the summer, but hot and muggy summer weather does not sound like a lot of fun to me.

Roody

Snow is so beautiful. It transforms the world by covering the surface ugliness and showing the form beneath the surface. The stillness of falling snow is the most beautiful sound I know.

I'm glad I got to think about snow on this hot August day. I'm glad I live where there are hot August days as well as the snows of January, and red trees in October and trilliums in March. Riding a bike in all the seasons has helped me so much to get through this often ugly world.

iheartbacon

I'm going to put studs on in October and see what happens.

ironwood

I don't like to ride when its below about 14° F (-10°C).

I don't like salt and sand on the road.

I don't ride when the snowbanks eliminate the shoulders of the road.

I worry about being seen; both at night, and early and late when the low sun can blind drivers.

Stealthammer

Hell yes. I have an aluninum-framed Fisher Opie that has three sets of wheels including two different sets of Nokian studded tires for winter. I have a full compliment of winter riding gear and far prefer riding in bad weather than sitting in taffic while poor driver find new ways to clog up traffic routes. My bike is far more reliable as transportation than a car in winter.