Originally Posted by
scottfsmith
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The idea of having all the extra hassle of another bike has kept me from going that route, you can spend a lot of time cleaning one bike before it is worth it to get another which you need to get the fit adjusted, keep lubed, tires maintained etc etc. I do have an extra set of wheels with studded tires but they only take a few minutes to swap in. Plus I only want to run studs when I absolutely have to, I hate the ride quality.
Fit - a one time deal. Lube - pack bearing with a ton of marine grease while they are clean. Done. Chain - see my post above.
My carless days living in snow country (Boston and Ann Arbor), I rode at least 5 days a week, 3 to 12 mile each way commutes all winter, always arriving home after dark (and usually leaving n the dark). Being able to just park the bike, shed all those clothes, shower and eat was a blessing. Bike would be ready to ride the next morning. (Well, i might have to slide the wheel forward to get chain slack back.)\
No, that bike was nothing I would ever want to post a picture of here but it did its job as my basic transportation well. In fact, on the worst snow day I've ever commuted, I arrived at work 20 minutes late on that 12 mile commute. I was one of the very few who showed up at all. Coming home I laid the bike down three times. (2 mile gentle downhill. I could stay up as long as I could stay in the tire rut in 6 or more inches of unplowed heavy coastal New England snow.) Put it away as usual and rode the next day,
I've had snow clog up freewheels so the chain just slid over all the cogs I wasn't riding all the time on my one and only derailleur snow excursion in 50 years, (Left the house in good weather and that kind of serious snow isn't supposed to happen in Portland, OR.)