Black Ice | WEDGE ISSUE WARNING
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You guys are cycling studs, riding in those conditions. My arbitrary cut off is 32 and I've been re-thinking that this year.
#30
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go for it. your odds of regretting it are 50/50 hehe. it's like buying a car, always be willing to walk away. meaning, if it's truly horrible, just stop & got home
Last edited by rumrunn6; 01-11-22 at 04:50 AM.
#31
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BTDT x2
Long story from before I moved to a home office: we had slushy snow falling on frozen & untreated roads, I was happily biking home from work on the shoulder of a county road without a clue how bad the roads were. After 6-8 miles, I was coming up to a red light and put a foot down, my boot slipped out, and I barely stayed upright. Then I noticed cars where locking up, spinning, and sliding on the road. I quickly rerouted to the longer route on separated bike trails.
Winter tires on a bike a amazing!
Long story from before I moved to a home office: we had slushy snow falling on frozen & untreated roads, I was happily biking home from work on the shoulder of a county road without a clue how bad the roads were. After 6-8 miles, I was coming up to a red light and put a foot down, my boot slipped out, and I barely stayed upright. Then I noticed cars where locking up, spinning, and sliding on the road. I quickly rerouted to the longer route on separated bike trails.
Winter tires on a bike a amazing!
Last edited by Hypno Toad; 01-11-22 at 07:31 AM.
#32
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Personally, I don't ride on frozen lakes. Also, this year I've been riding mostly without studs, favoring wide (43 mm) gravel tires at low pressure. This is where Hypnotoad and I differ. Both of us go down now and again. On Saturday it was warm (in the 20s) and I went down emerging from a driveway and hitting something in between thick slush and hardpack, just as I cornered onto the street. I don't think that was a studs vs. no studs issue - the whole corner of frozen stuff gave way and the fault was mostly my inattention. Just a bruise on my hip to show for it.
And yesterday it was colder.... (graph is in °F, high temperatures are of course the time it takes for the Wahoo to cool down after I leave the house). No studs on the tires. Not one in the saddle either really. It's not so bad when you know how to dress.
And yesterday it was colder.... (graph is in °F, high temperatures are of course the time it takes for the Wahoo to cool down after I leave the house). No studs on the tires. Not one in the saddle either really. It's not so bad when you know how to dress.
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BTDT x2
Long story from before I moved to a home office: we had slushy snow falling on frozen & untreated roads, I was happily biking home from work on the shoulder of a county road without a clue how bad the roads were. After 6-8 miles, I was coming up to a red light and put a foot down, my boot slipped out, and I barely stayed upright. Than I noticed cars where locking up, spinning, and sliding on the road. I quickly rerouted to the longer route on separated bike trails.
Winter tires on a bike a amazing!
Long story from before I moved to a home office: we had slushy snow falling on frozen & untreated roads, I was happily biking home from work on the shoulder of a county road without a clue how bad the roads were. After 6-8 miles, I was coming up to a red light and put a foot down, my boot slipped out, and I barely stayed upright. Than I noticed cars where locking up, spinning, and sliding on the road. I quickly rerouted to the longer route on separated bike trails.
Winter tires on a bike a amazing!
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#34
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Personally, I don't ride on frozen lakes. Also, this year I've been riding mostly without studs, favoring wide (43 mm) gravel tires at low pressure. This is where Hypnotoad and I differ. Both of us go down now and again. On Saturday it was warm (in the 20s) and I went down emerging from a driveway and hitting something in between thick slush and hardpack, just as I cornered onto the street. I don't think that was a studs vs. no studs issue - the whole corner of frozen stuff gave way and the fault was mostly my inattention. Just a bruise on my hip to show for it.
Hope your bruises heal up quick ... I always hate those hip bruises waking me up at night when I roll on to 'the wrong side'.
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At the train station in my town, I have on occasion had friendly competition with cars to see who can get to the stop sign at the parking lot's exit at the top of a hill. When there's snow or ice on the street, I can easily beat a car, which is invariably spinning its tires and going nowhere. I'm not sure if the drivers understand that it's not a fair fight!
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If you have the right clothing, the cold is nothing to fear. I've been out in minus 20 F and come back sweating (which could be a problem in itself!
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#40
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The clothing I wear in the winter is waterproof, and also wind-proof. SOmetimes my eyes water though!
#41
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I rarely have issues with watery eyes (goggles fix that problem). Seeing where you're at, how much snow dump did you get in your area? We got about a foot in my town from yesterday's storm.
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We haven't had *any* snow lately.* I can see the odd flake now, but we've had no accumulation for a couple weeks. I'm hoping it stays that way so I can go out on the lake again... the last few days have been above freezing, so it may take time to re-freeze to a safe depth. If I see ice fishing, I feel safe.
*I'm about 40 miles NW of the City.
#43
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chuckled at that one, last winter i rode on a river that looked a lot like the ones shown here, and all was fine if i kept the bike vertical enough for the studs to properly contact, and yes, veeeeeeeery carefully put a foot down.
a real laugh riding on that river, almost like glass in places.
rode on a frozen skating canal as a kid, but most of the ice had been skated on and slightly snowy, so it wad doable.
going back 45 years probably.
a real laugh riding on that river, almost like glass in places.
rode on a frozen skating canal as a kid, but most of the ice had been skated on and slightly snowy, so it wad doable.
going back 45 years probably.
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#44
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Ponded water that freezes is super hard studs will scratch it but not get much grip. I encounter that mostly when riding on a creek and going under a bridge that keeps the ice clear of snow. Also a big problem in the spring during the nightly re-freezes.
Freezing rain is similar in its hardness to pond ice. Maybe its not so much the hardness as the uniformity. Other types of ice have a jagged texture where grip can be found.
With either of those types of ice you have to be super careful with any kind of side sloping on the road / path. Gravity pulls you to the low side, trying to steer against the pull will make the front tire slip out. Sometimes I'll just let it carry me off into the grass. Many times that isn't an option because the low side has curb, railing or pile of snow so I just come to a stop before trying to get out of the hole.
I like breaking frozen puddles, but you need be be careful doing that. If the ice is really thin it just shatters. But at a certain thickness you just carve a channel the same width as your wheel. Its like riding in a really narrow rut and the wheel will fight any attempt to steer which can throw off your balance. Not much of a problem on a short puddle, but beyond about a bicycle length you could get into trouble.
One of my fav kinds of ice is refrozen slush, grippy and makes a nice popping noise.
Freezing rain is similar in its hardness to pond ice. Maybe its not so much the hardness as the uniformity. Other types of ice have a jagged texture where grip can be found.
With either of those types of ice you have to be super careful with any kind of side sloping on the road / path. Gravity pulls you to the low side, trying to steer against the pull will make the front tire slip out. Sometimes I'll just let it carry me off into the grass. Many times that isn't an option because the low side has curb, railing or pile of snow so I just come to a stop before trying to get out of the hole.
I like breaking frozen puddles, but you need be be careful doing that. If the ice is really thin it just shatters. But at a certain thickness you just carve a channel the same width as your wheel. Its like riding in a really narrow rut and the wheel will fight any attempt to steer which can throw off your balance. Not much of a problem on a short puddle, but beyond about a bicycle length you could get into trouble.
One of my fav kinds of ice is refrozen slush, grippy and makes a nice popping noise.
Ice really does have so many different textures doesnt it?, and now that Ive been using studded tires for winter commuting, its less mental work of having to be ultra observant of what the surface is and going with experience what traction you are going to have for a given tire situation.
I like to see the comment about off camber situations and ice, and just letting the bike go with the camber sometimes , ie not leaning, and just let yourself go until you get to snow or textured ice or whatever where you can get some grip. You learn that downhill and cross coiuntry skiing, there are times you just dont fight it and go until you come to a different surface, no point in putting in turning input or leaning, just like with skiis, cuz you'll be on your arse fast.
what ive found interesting is that with friends I ride with, some have no instincts for this stuff, and its hard sometimes to explain to someone stuff who didnt goof around on bikes as a kid where you learn all about crashing and sliding out, and this stuff stays with you--well, I guess some people just dont have the aptitude and never learn, but those of us who loved doing it as kids or as adults, it certainly makes like easier on two wheels for sussing out traction and instinctively knowing body language to use for given situations.
Last edited by djb; 01-16-22 at 09:15 PM.
#45
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Completely slippy and "greasy" as I call it, and the most workout I ever get riding to work. I haven't ridden on as many tire combos as you, but a few, and its always been just plain hard and a heck of a workout.
Riding in this stuff certainly adds to my tally of not putting a foot down while getting a serious front end push and big understeer and maintaining power to keep moving so the understeer finishes and you keep going.
tomorrow we are supposed to be getting 15-25cms and a high of -5c so it probably is going to get greasy.....
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what ive found interesting is that with friends I ride with, some have no instincts for this stuff, and its hard sometimes to explain to someone stuff who didnt goof around on bikes as a kid where you learn all about crashing and sliding out, and this stuff stays with you--well, I guess some people just dont have the aptitude and never learn, but those of us who loved doing it as kids or as adults, it certainly makes like easier on two wheels for sussing out traction and instinctively knowing body language to use for given situations.
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#47
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If figure all the times ive crashed on two wheels has gone into a database in my brain that hopefully helps not repeat the same crash, touch wood.
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I hope your brain's database is better than mine.
#49
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#50
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Also, been there, done that ... and I've got it on YouTube (of course I do! )
https://youtu.be/p58OCgvqDgo
https://youtu.be/p58OCgvqDgo
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