prairie*boy

Swapped my tires from slicks to nokian mount & ground on the front and conti veritcal on the back for the commute this morning...was really hoping to make Christmas before making the switch but was sure happy I did.

Too much loose snow...the nokian was loading up and made life exciting; conti on the back was doing fine. Combination - extra 500g of tire and need keep rubber side down - added 10-15 minutes to my 30-45 commute... Things will be better tomorrow...there will be a track and the nokian will be right at home...

Prairie*boy

Thinking about asking Sanata for a Nokian Extreme 294 or the equvalent at MEC for days like today...but then there's the extra rim....

jimmibudd

a combo of snow and a drop in temps has meant some hardpack and loose snow... perfect for my winter bike!
i overhauled the rear hub, the headset, made it a ss, changed the chain, cables and cleaned it up... added the studs and its been waiting... its an old 91 cannondale mtb and even with studded tires it weighs in at just under 25lbs... it has been my main ride since mid 90's... the last few years its become a dedicated winter bike and it serves its purpose well!!
these last 3 days of commuting have been a blast!! we had a -35c windchill morning already too!!
the 46x18 gearing is pretty good so far... i think for the icebike race we have and for heavier snow i might pick up a 44 or 42 tooth chainring....

love those pics!! i should snap a few too...

congrats to 'riders!!

have fun and be safe!

jB

2manybikes

ViperZ

^^^

Love It!!

meaculpa

ViperZ - those are some great photos, it looks like a nice commute too.

effigy

ViperZ: Which gloves/shoes are you using?

ViperZ

Thanks!



For gloves I use a pair of The North Face Ski gloves (Patrol Work Glove). They are a modular glove made with leather and ballistic nylon. They have a removable fleece liner that can be interchanged with varying grades of insulated liner.




For Boots I generally wear a pair of Merrell Path Finders that are said to be good down to -20C, or something like that. I have ridden and played with them down to -36C for a few hours with out any problems.




I also wear a pair of Exustars for when I want SPD compatibility. They are good down to -10C they say, however I have also ridden down to -20C with them with out problems. Most times though I wear the Pathfinders

ViperZ

Well, after a full day of work, with it snowing to beat the band all day, I could not wait to get off work and ride home. However I had to stay late to finish work and then set up a Christmas Tree with a Co-Worker. By the time I got off work, I just wanted to get home and eat. So no pictures of the commute home, which was fantastic to say the least. It was still snowing sideways, I was feeling all Christmasy after setting up the tree, and I had Christmas music playing on my iPod on the way home.... Best commute I have had in a long time

So after eating supper, I had to go play for a bit. I took the Rocky ETSX out to play instead of the commuter. I have not put studs on this unit yet as I want to use it like this for a bit. It certainly does not have the Velcro like grip of the Rocky Wedge with the Spike Claws, but baby this full suspension bike is plush on the ruts and bumps! Totally silk carpet ride! It tends to slide around a bit more in the deeper snow, but it is very controllable, and keeps a person's handling skills sharp I'll keep riding it like this until I get around to getting a set of Spike Claws for it as well (if even)

It was a lot of fun to be playing in the snow with out having to be somewhere. Here are some pictures.


Picture with flash


Ambient flash


No Flash


The Weapon of Choice tonight