phantomcow2

Well i think all of us in the Northeast of the US can agree, winter has come.
At what temperature do you say it is simply too cold to ride?

Machka 

Don't know ... I haven't encountered that temperature yet.


... and I've ridden at -40C/F.

rajman

While I think you are definitely way tougher than I am, Machka (my personal best ride is -21 celsius), I have found that it is remarkable what I have been able to do.

I used to think that I wouldn't want to ride below 5 celsius or so, but last year I rode through february and march in Toronto and got used to it, going down to about -5 degrees.

This year I have been pushing the envelope to where -10 doesn't seem like such a big deal. I'm not certain I'll get used to -20, even for a short ride, but you never know.

I have definitely been enjoying it, but I have one comment. Don't even try the really frigid conditions without the proper equipment - see the what I wore today thread for suggestions. I was caught a few times with inadequate gloves and/or socks for a sudden drop in temperature. Definitely a miserable experience.

Roody

I wonder at what temperature would the machine itself give out -- the metal, plastic, rubber, lubes, etc.? What would be the first component or substance to go? Would uneven contraction of different materials be a factor -- like metal bolts in carbon fiber, or whatever?

I mean a standard or stock bike.

Machka 

Well, at about -20C/-4F things start to freeze up. Basically, I've had to pick a gear within the first half hour out there because that's the gear I'll be stuck with for the rest of the ride. And at about -30C/-20F, the brakes start to freeze up too. I've done a few rides with only one brake, and that one only working half-heartedly at best. I have developed the habit of stopping with my feet!!

I clean as much of the lube off my bicycle (chain and things) before it gets cold, and if I use any it is a light spritz of WD40 or chainsaw oil (rated down to -40). But lube inside the bicycle (like in bearings and so on) does get pretty stiff when it is cold. Your bicycle will move like an old tank!! So I guess I'd say that the lube is the first thing to go ... it'll be the first one you'll notice.

So far, I have never had anything break off, but I have talked to others I knew in Winnipeg who have told me their plastic bits have snapped at around -30C/-20F to -40C/F. One friend of mine had plastic downtube shifters on one of his bicycles, and snapped the shifter right off. So I'd have to say that plastic would be the next to go.

But then most Canadians know about plastic ... think back to Christmas time as a child. Your parents load up the car with presents and make the drive out to Grandma's house in -30 to -40 weather. When you get to Grandma's house, your parents will tell you to wait till the presents thaw a bit before opening them, because the plastic parts can snap.

Rubber gets hard, but then you'll be riding with slightly flattened tires anyway so that'll add to the flexibility.

As for metal, that part of the bicycle will be just fine. Metal isn't affected by temps like -40. You'd have to get much colder than that! After all, airplanes tolerate much colder temps. It will, however, be very cold to the touch and you shouldn't try to lick your bicycle. You're tongue will stick!!

mascher

My rule of thumb was that colder than -25C was pushing my luck, but I've done it fairly routinely for the few weeks it's that cold daily here.

One day at about -30C with 30 or 40 km/h winds at night, one of those clear black sky nights where the normally not visible stars are pinpricks of white, I realized why I had this rule of thumb - when you can't feel your hands enough to know whether or not you're braking until the brake engages, it doesn't feel very good. And I've got a pretty short commute, maybe 8 or 9 kms.

I've only had to deal with that once though. The worst was a half an hour of throbbing and squelching pain in my hands and feet as they came back to normal inside. I couldn't remove my gloves or boots, and just stood there for about 15 minutes.

My commuters are always sluggish though, so I kind of can't tell how much cold affects the grease.

I've heard people complain of seizing freewheel pawls, but it only happened to me when it was frozen I think.

Biggest problem for me is brake cables, though I had some luck last year, running little rubber sleeves at the ends and filling them with chain lube lasted the winter.

I also have indoor bike parking at work though, so my bike is dry to start both ways.

fruitless

Someone I work with told me that somewhere in the -50s he tried riding his bike and the tubes shattered, he is an honest man and I believe him.

Machka 

I've heard people complain of seizing freewheel pawls, but it only happened to me when it was frozen I think.

I'm a little hazy on certain aspects of my bicycle mechanics, but would that basically turn the bicycle into a fixed gear (direct drive)?

If so, that has happened to me on a couple occasions on very cold days.

sers

i park my bike in a bike cage that's located one of the parking garages at my work. while it's warmer than outside, i'm pretty sure that my tire pressure drops enough to make the ride home more sluggish than the ride there, since i keep my bike indoors overnight. Temps have dropped into the low 20's F as of late.

Daily Commute

Although I'm a big fan of gears and the free wheel, a fixed wheel starts to become practical in temperatures signifcantly below 0F. The fixed wheel frees you from a lot of stuff that can freeze.

On the thread's topic, my coldest ride was -1F/0F/+1F depending on which web site I looked at. My biggest weaknesses are my fingers. I keep buying better gloves (most recently from a ski shop that assued me the gloves would be fine sub-zero F), but in <15F weather, I have to stop every 10 minutes to warm up my fingers.

Albany-12303

When I take my Nishiki (with Campy Free-Hub) into the cold (less than -5 C), my rear cassette begins to move forward without any resistance, almost causing me a few face-plants. Could be a lock-ring thats affected by the cold.

My other bikes dont have this problem.

Joe1946

I rode today with temps in the 20's with 15-30mph winds and got too hot because I should have left the vents open on my Giro Ravine snow sports helmet. Snow blew off an open field onto the road I was on and I came to a stop because there was no shoulder there and a cement truck was coming from behind and a vehicle coming the other way. While I waited for him to pass I built up so much heat that my Uvex Supersonic S goggles fogged up and after I wipped them dry they still fogged up so I rode without them on. I was also using a PolarWrap mask that works great but was like a sauna when I stopped.

I am sure I can ride at 5 below with no wind and that is as cold as I have seen it in the last ten years here in central NJ. People asked me today if it's too cold to ride a bike and I told them it's not the cold but the clueless drivers on the road that I worry about . I am sure most of you winter bike commuters know what I'am talking about.

Joe

chipcom 

When 'little willy' gets froze to your shorts, it's too cold to ride.

Pampusik

I noticed that at about -42C/F, lubricated parts start to freeze up, tires readily go flat, and brakes become completely useless.

chuckfox

I have not found my lower limit. So far -5F actual is no problem, still able to shift, brake etc. The shifting is slower, but still ok. I've not noticed any material failure problems and my winter bike has made it throught three winters now of commuting every day. That said it's a pretty nice mountain bike, with a titanium frame and Shimano XT componentry. I've heard about frozen pawls in freewheels, my understanding of what happens is the pawls don't engage the freewheel due to the grease thickening/solidifying so the bike is in "neutral" you can turn the pedals, but they don't turn the wheel--but, I've never experienced that problem.

Below about 20F gloves don't cut it for me and I switch to lobster style mittens, then my fingers are fine. On my feet I wear boots with 800gram Thinsulate and I use those huge spikey BMX pedals. I'm actually pretty comfy even at -5F. My commute is 6 mi one way--at the slow pace I ride this time of year it takes about 30min. So far no problems with little willy freezing to my shorts!

Dutchy

If it's wet then 8ºC for me. Thankfully that only happens on a Winters morning. I have ridden in -2ºC and that is too cold, my ears and face were numb.

Living down here the cold is the least of our problems, the Summers can be quite hard though, and they seem to be getting hotter. If you don't ride in 35º+ then you won't get much daytime riding done for a few months. Skin cancer is a major concern here.

And as for all those people that ride in that mysterious white stuff......FORGET IT!! Are you insane?

CHEERS.

Mark

GGDub

That's the beauty of riding in very-sub zero temps, there's no such thing as a wet ride. -39c is my record. No freewheel locking, but the derailleur won't move and the layer of frost on the rims makes the brakes useless. BTW, your lockring has nothing to do with the freehub seizing, it just holds the cassette on there.

sydney_b

I'm not sure. This last week it's been -18/-22 C, and it's been ok so long as I've good layering. My commute isn't that long though -- only about 6.5 miles. However, with all the snow we've had and ice, I can't go very fast, so the trip takes me 45/50 min instead of the 30/35. My bike is performing OK, although I'm not shifting much, basically set it to the desired gear as I leave the garage. Brakes are still working ok as far as I can tell.

dobber

For me it's not so much a physical limitation (I've done the commute at -20°F) but psychological. It's pretty easy to succumb and cross over to the caged side at o-dark thirty on a crispy sub zero morning.

Corsaire

Any temperature is good to ride as long as these two factors are in place:

1) Right bike for the road
2) Proper gear for that weather

It's not bad weather, but wrong gear and clothing.

Corsaire

SaskCyclist

I think it is too cold to ride when I compromise my safety. I have the gear and the brass balls to go to the coldest mother nature can dish out (here that is around -40). But if on that fatefull morning, if there are other extenuating circumstances that seem just too risky I will bus it. Last year the low was -34C. This year was -29C so far and I have made a few improvements in my gear and so I hope to make it all the way through to spring.

As time passes, the colder it gets I find the following components start to disfunction in this order.

1)Rear derailler freezes up.
2)Prawls on the free wheel are sometimes stuck engaged or disengaged depending on howwhen I need to stop.
3)no flexibility (suspension) in the tires
4)Front derailler freezes up.
5)Brakes are useless.

So I would say that cables are affected first, followed by lub, then plastic, then rubber. On the real cold days I only use what is absolutely necessary because stuff tends to break.

librarian

So what can we do about pawls being stuck? I finally realized what was happening when I was pedaling and nothing engaged. It happened a couple of times yesterday (20 degrees) but they always clicked in again. It made me real skittish about standing when I was climbing the bridge on the way home.

thenathanator

ooh... that explains it. This is my first winter to be out and riding. It was below freezing today, I went out about 3 miles and on the way back my bike felt like it was slowing down. It didn't even occur to me that my bike could be freezing.

alanbikehouston

When I was around 14, and living in the "Great White North", I used a Schwinn Typhoon to deliver papers at 5 a.m. when the temperature was ten below zero. A simple one speed bike with coaster brakes worked well at that temperature, as long as the road had been plowed.

But, living in Houston, my blood has gotten thin. This afternoon, the "Real Feel" temperature outside is about 25 degrees with winds of 15 mph to 25 mph. Somehow, I'm thinking I won't be riding today.

Saturday, a "heat wave" should bring temperatures back above fifty degrees...that I can handle.

2manybikes

1) clean most of the grease out of the freewheel or free hub, clean it until the pawls are quite clean. This means taking the freewheel or free hub apart.

2) Ride a fixed gear bike.