ericcc65

I just changed jobs and now I'm going to work a mere 2 mile ride from home! I live in Colorado, so previously I liked to bike in summer and one reasonably warm winter days. But now I'm thinking I'd like to bike year-round and let my daughter, who's turning 16, mostly have my car. It's a really short commute, but that means making it through some snow days. I can make it all on trails/sidewalks. It does go through some busy sections (the company is in a mall).

I've been thinking just a cheap mountain bike would be sufficient, maybe put on studded tires over winter. I have a reasonable commuter bike now, but the tires are 700x32c, I don't think they'll work for snow days. Given how short the commute is I'm thinking I won't need different clothes (although I tend to sweat like a pig). I'm thinking of platform pedals and just wearing my work clothes while I bike. For that reason I was thinking of maybe a cheap 3-speed IGH. But that might be overkill.

Thoughts?

Darth Lefty 

The climate stuff says you have average daily highs well above freezing and 4-6 snow days making less than a foot a month Nov-April. That says to me you have a morning ice and afternoon slush to ride in for a few days after a storm. Sound right? So you still want your "3-season" bike ready to go probably half the time.

Assuming you can just put fenders on the present commuter bike or it already has them for 3-season duty.

What would you get for a stud bike? I have ideas but I'm sure they are pretty ill-informed because I don't live in the cold and wet. Mine would be a full rigid single speed, made of aluminum and carbon, possibly MTB sort of thing, with modern well sealed bearings and hydraulic disc brakes. But that's not cheap. Cheap is a 25 year old chromoly mountain bike that you stick in about the right gear and never shift and oil it very frequently

pdlamb

On a two mile commute you can ride whatever you want. MTB or gravel bike would have more clearance for studs.

I'm not clear on how much snow and ice you'll be dealing with; does the ice stay on the ground from December 1 through March, or does it melt or sublime within a few days? If the latter, you might want two wheel sets, one with studded tires, so you could switch them out quickly.

If you're surprised by a freak snowfall (one that doesn't have the weather forecasters in a tizzy for three days before it hits), you could commute on foot. If your workplace is open.

BobbyG

I was a daily commuter in Colorado Springs. I eventually bought a cheap 2nd set of wheels for $20 each (even the 7-speed rear) and mounted the studded tires on them. Then on snow days it was a quick 5-minute tire swap. if you get a bike with rim brakes make sure the rims are close in width. I added barrel adjusters to my bike's brakes and a quick twist on each adjusts the brakes. A quick switch would preclude IGH or coaster brakes, but conventional gearing would work...and if you had friction shifters, you wouldn;t even need the same number of gears, provided the chain size was the same.

At just two miles, almost any bike will do...especially if you plan on riding in office clothes and want to avoid sweating. An upright bike with a step through would work, and platform pedals.

In fact, a folding bike would really fit the bill. They're small usually upright, step-through and nimble and fold to fit in a car trunk when need be, or if you need to stow it under a desk. Kenda makes inexpensive 20-inch studded tires, and probably others do too.

I have a 7-speed used 2007 Dahon boardwalk folding bike I bought that would be terrific. I converted it to more of a road bike with bull bars and wider gearing, but as it came, it would be fine for 2 miles.

But even if you didn't have snow capability, a 2-mile walk is only 40-minutes, which is what my 9-mile bike commute usually took me in the morning.

Also, if it is the Town Center Mall in Aurora, CO, there is bus service all over the place (although reduced service for Covid). On snow days you could ride it for part of the distance, if not all, depending on where you live. A folding bike would also make the bus easier as you can carry it on folded.

ericcc65

That's right.

Yep, my current commuter does have fenders. It'll be just fine for non-snow days.

I've thought about a single speed, but if I'm wearing work clothes it is a hilly 2 miles and I could end up sweaty, which I hate. So I'd probably like a few speeds. I guess I could get a single speed with really low gear ratio though.

ericcc65

That's a great idea and a good reason to not go the IGH route.

It's Southlands Mall, actually.

ericcc65

Snow definitely melts quick in Colorado. We get a lot of sunshine, even in winter. But that also means ice, so I think this is a good idea. Two wheelsets, the studded ones for the few snow days.

BobbyG

Looks like a few bus stops by Southlands Mall, but they seem to all head west along Smokey Hills Road...not a lot of coverage.

Korina

The best thing about a short commute is making it longer.

The second wheelset sounds eminently practical. ::scurries off to close Denver CL bike tabs::

Maelochs

I'd definitely look for an old rigid MTB. Those things are tank. If you have a triple and seven or eight in the back you could use the same bike year-round---get three wheelsets---studs, knobs, and skinny MTB slicks.

You could ride in work clothes I guess .... if your job involves you getting warm at all, reheated old sweat is not an aroma most find pleasing, and if you are going to be in and among people .... Also, slush kicked up from the wheels would soak your shoes and lower pant-legs. You wouldn't need to wear spandex, but I'd bring paniers (or more likely, a big gear bag or gym bag slung lengthwise over the rear rack and bungeed down) so I could have spares .... also, if you go in in the cold and come home in warmer weather or vice versa you might like having a place to store your coat. I have had good luck with a cheap giant-sized gym bag----it lasted for a couple decades, fit everything, had a couple compartments so I could segregate wet and dry, and had both a shoulder strap and handles---easier to carry (and less bike-centric conspicuous) than a pair of panniers.

Anyway .... I vote for a '90s-2000s rigid MTB.

ThermionicScott 

N.B.: Pigs don't actually sweat.