Greg WerkerNov 18, 2022

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

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 threadThomas Guyot-Sionnest
@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.
Nov 18, 2022 at 7:50pmWeb
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.