rumrunn6

no I was just writing "generally"

gecho

One of my Ice Spiker Pro tires has a folding bead BUT its also tubeless ready which negates the folding being easier to mount thing.

gecho

A side benefit of switching to my Edge 800 is accurate gps traces. I can't believe how much worse the accuracy is of current generation Garmins compared to one 3 generations old. I'll do multiple loops of a fat bike trail where each pass is within inches of each other and my Edge 830 will have differences of a dozen meters in position.

The responsiveness of the old 800 touch screen is much better than the new ones too. No having to swipe 5 times to change screens.

rumrunn6

1st ice

MinnMan

Winter conditions have been slow in coming in the Twin Cities metro. We had one icy weekend and then a return to dry conditions. We've had some moderate cold, but even that is backing off. It's supposed to get up to 50°F on Wednesday. Based on the forecast, we should still be on road bikes for at least another week. Unusual luck.

gecho

Breaking that kind of ice is satisfying, but you need to do it with caution. After you break through, the ice pushes against both sides of the rim affecting handling. If the ice is somewhat thick your wheel will be locked into the channel and won't be able to steer which can throw out your balance. Basically you are in a rut the exact width of your wheel.

gecho

Its been warm enough the past week that the roads are wet every day. But not warm enough to melt the roads down to the point that I'd want to go without studded tires. Even the side streets are in good condition, mostly just stud friendly packed snow / ice no loose snow, ruts or brown sugar.

Pretty much back to starting from zero for the fat bike trails we groomed. What hasn't melted completely is glazed and icy. We might see the last of the above freezing days starting this weekend along with some fresh snow.

gecho

Side streets are just starting to shift towards the kind of glossy ice that is more of a challenge for studs. Also getting more rut channels worn mostly to the pavement. I caught the edge of one of those in March after it was hidden by fresh snow and wiped out at a pretty good clip.

One annoying thing about riding with studs on clear pavement is that you don't want to be cornering aggressively with them. So I still do the kind of awkward lean body while keeping the bike upright turning, which requires going slower.

Mud sprayed all over the bike so I had to do a clean and relube again. I use one of those hand pump chemical sprayers filled with hot water to spray off the bike outside.

Hypno Toad

Oh man .... I can think of many early winter rides relearning this! Lean into a turn summer-style, bike gets squirrelly, pucker up, and with a little luck ride outta it

MinnMan

The ice made a dramatic reentrance overnight in the Twin Cities. A small amount of snow falling right around freezing - everywhere the cars compacted it, it became glare ice. I didn't have the presence of mind to take photographs. I also didn't anticipate that the small snowfall would create such icy conditions, and so the studs were not yet on. Did OK anyway on 43 mm Terravail Cannoballs at about 32 psi. Wide tires at low pressure are surprisingly sure-footed even on fairly serious ice. BUT definitely would have been happier with studded tires. They are mounted now, as it looks like the ice will stick around.

I had a nice metric century group ride on road bikes Saturday. I'm glad we got that in before the road bike season ended.

rumrunn6

that can take you down. so many kinds of ice. broken granular ice can be not so bad w/o studs, w/ some gravel tires. but admittedly, it's rare

gecho

First taste of miserable cold with temperature dropping through out the day. Was -16C around noon with strong winds, with it falling to -25C tonight. Tomorrow its getting up to -15C and the wind will be lighter so I should make an effort to get out as I haven't been out in that temperature yet this season.

I did some additional testing on my DIY heated gloves. On high they will get to 185F, but low and medium provided much more usable temperatures. I put together a pair of new controllers which will give me more control over the temperature using a dial instead just 3 settings.

Hypno Toad

Wet snow this morning and a high temp of 14°F tomorrow .... It's time

MNBikeCommuter

I have yet to add a fat bike to the stable, but had the hybrid with studs out yesterday, and was glad I did on some local stretches. Unfortunately, the new chain I put on doesn't like the cassette, so a couple of gears were giving me more problems than the roads. I was fearful I wouldn't find a 9 spd replacement any time soon, but it's supposed to show up later this week!

I'll tough out the skipping and give it a go this afternoon. That 14F is looking optimistic at the moment. The current is to not make it out of the single digits. I will have to go look at my clothing chart to see what might work.

MinnMan

My commute in Minneapolis this morning was at, I think, 8°F. Fortunately, it's a short commute (less than 2 miles). I had the bar mitts on, but it still hurt for the stretch directly into that 20 mph wind. (What's that thing they call "wind chill" at 8 °F air temperature and 20 mph wind?)

MNBikeCommuter

I think the politically correct term these days is "feels like" temperature. They said the wind is supposed to die down a little this afternoon but I don't think I'll notice a difference from the estimated 17 mph and the current 20 mph. It's at least more sheltered around here than out on the open prairie of western ND where I grew up.

Hypno Toad

OK, we will not see 14°F .... or maybe we did it at midnight, and it's been sliding towards 0 all day. Today's ride, per Garmin. And on topic, SO SO SO HAPPY I mounted the studs yesterday!

rumrunn6

those #s are inhumane

rumrunn6

dry nite. got the road bike out on a regular route. interesting riding in the city for a change. the aromas & sounds, wood fires & food cooking, Christmas music playing in the distance & even holiday church bells ...!

rumrunn6

tik toc, time is running out! once this trail gets snow it turns to ice & the pavement isn't clear again until late March. BFRT Acton - Chelmsford


good for 20 miles at 43 degrees