Greg Werker

Question for cyclists / bike commuters: How worried are you about frost & ice? I love cycling to work, and have fairly fat tires on my mid-tail cargo bike (not electric… just slow). But I’ve fallen and broken a bone once on black ice (plus once on wet leaves when I stupidly took a corner way too fast).

Maybe I’m just clumsy, because I see plenty of cyclists out there. Vancouver frost might be particularly wet and slippery? Or am I being too cautious?

Any tips or ideas?

#cycling
#bikingtowork

Nov 18, 2022 at 5:39pmWeb
Show threadDan Marshall Nov 18, 2022
@gwerker Studs help alot but aren't needed every day. I have a winter beater with studs for when the ice gets to be too much. Partly you also kinda have to become an expert on ice in all its different forms which just takes experience. Best advice: when icy, don't try to stop or turn.
Show threadGreg WerkerNov 18, 2022
@danmarstp I've thought about putting together a winter beater with studs. Does it wear out the studs to ride on bare pavement, e.g., if my 6km ride only has a couple icy patches and the rest is dry pavement?
Show threadDan Marshall Nov 18, 2022
@gwerker they do. Carbide studs last longer. Bigger issue is salt (at least here in Minnesota) and not wanting to wreck a nice bike with corrosion.
Show threadGreg WerkerNov 18, 2022
@danmarstp This is helpful, thanks! I have an older bike I could retrofit, so not too worried about wrecking it over time. And we use a lot less salt here than in Minnesota since our winters are much more mild.
Show threadThomas Guyot-SionnestNov 18, 2022
@gwerker @danmarstp Good studs are made of tungsten carbide and will last very well on pavement. I've been using Schwalbe Marathon Winter tires for years and haven't had issues with studs directly, but my first to were the cheapest model and studs pierced though causing flats (I've been reassured by mechanics that they have never seen that and it must have been a bad batch, nevertheless I replaced them with the highest quality now, Winter Plus, but haven't worn them as much yet.
Show threadThomas Guyot-SionnestNov 18, 2022
@gwerker @danmarstp You can also buy spares Schwalbe studs and replace them if you lose some. Sometimes the rubber around gets damaged and studs will not hold well in place but as long as you have about two third of your studs you should be perfectly fine. I've rode with less than that on the cheap/bad ones as my issues was the rubber underneath, not on top...
Show threadGreg WerkerNov 18, 2022
@dermoth @danmarstp Super useful, thanks. I am going to look into this.
Show threadJohn MooreNov 19, 2022
@gwerker On nice straight roads you should be safe at steady speeds, with no braking or turning on the icy bits. (When I was younger it was quite fun to arrive covered in frost.) But wet, muddy, twisty lanes have made me suffer.
Show threadTrevor NicholsonNov 19, 2022
@gwerker i have the benefit of being in nyc where they plow and salt fairly quickly. With that being said, I usually don't bike during snow or icy conditions