The Chainlink

I rode today. Did you?

Nice first ride in the COLD.

 

Views: 138532

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by tim de la motte on February 3, 2014 at 11:52am

JeffB - All we need 2 days of NO SNOW. However, it seems that won't happen until April, but still - you're right. Better than the train!

JeffB (7+ miles) said:

Can anyone remember the last time you rode on completely dry streets, or were not forced out of the bike lane at some point due to snow/slush?  Still prefer this to the CTA though.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on February 3, 2014 at 11:57am

I was glad I rode today, especially after seeing a bunch of Metra alerts in my email after I got to work.

I did try something different today. I got my second studded tire last week, installed it on my fixed gear bike, and moved the first studded tire and lights from the bike I had been using as a winter commuter. I rode the fixed gear to work today. It still needs some cockpit changes. I definitely need a shorter stem and probably need to raise it a touch.

Still, nice to ride...

Permalink Reply by Simon Phearson on February 3, 2014 at 12:27pm

It seems everyone who has them swears by studded tires. One question: how much resistance does it add to your ride, when you're going over dry or pretty clear roads and paths?

I've mused over getting studded tires, but since my commute is about 9 miles and probably about 95% of it is perfectly fine for my current tires 95% of the time, I've always figured that it would be more trouble than it's worth. I'd either be working harder a lot of the time for little or no appreciable traction benefit, or switching out tires/wheels from day to day. So I basically just take the lane and paddle my way through the genuinely impassable spots and accept that the sloppier days will take me a bit of extra time.

Am I just overestimating the effect?

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on February 3, 2014 at 12:40pm

I haven't had them long enough to truly gauge their effectiveness, but I recall that hair-raising commute home several Fridays ago when it warmed up and rained, exposing existing ice and adding a layer of black ice to many parts of my commute. A number of people reported falling on their way home. I gave up in Andersonville and tossed my bike on a bus, then had my wife come pick me up at the Howard street CTA station.

I have never bailed like that on a commute before. We haven't had another repeat of that scenario yet, and I hope we never do, but just in case, I have studded tires front and rear now.

Not that the specific tire matters all that much when you have a sample size of zero or one, but I got these:

http://45nrth.com/products/tires/xerxes

I bought the more expensive version (120tpi, folding bead), in part because my LBS had one another customer had ordered, then declined. I anticipate using them for several years, so the incremental cost wasn't that important.

Permalink Reply by djm on February 3, 2014 at 1:09pm

The Schwalbe Marathon Winter (studded) is noticeably slower than the Marathon of similar size and pressure that I run most of the year but a hospital visit is much slower.  I used to swap them more often but Ive found that I most need the studs when I dont expect to need them.  The additional effort helps keep me warm!

Simon Phearson said:

It seems everyone who has them swears by studded tires. One question: how much resistance does it add to your ride, when you're going over dry or pretty clear roads and paths?

Permalink Reply by Apie (11) on February 3, 2014 at 2:03pm

Compared to Ribmos or Conti tour rides, the speed of the Marathon winters 32's are barely if not noticable at all. They are definitely FASTER than the Tour Ride 38's.  I keep them at top PSI (85), and I have not taken them off since I got them at the end of Nov.  I don't feel OR hear them on clear roads.  I just hope they last for at least 3000 miles, but I'm not holding my breath.  I have about 600 miles on them now and I have not lost one stud. My average speed has stayed the same.

Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on February 3, 2014 at 6:05pm

Permalink Reply by Not too hip on February 3, 2014 at 10:04pm

There were a few people on bikes out here but they were walking them. My guess is that they did not have cars I drove. It is tiring to see the weather warm up only for it to snow and for it to turn into an ice pack that is not cleared. As much as you guys in the city complain about roads, this is where you are legs up. I don't ride in snowpack or ice on bad roads or on clear road with 2 lanes in each direction with no place for bikes.

Permalink Reply by Robert Underwood on February 4, 2014 at 8:58am

Good morning.  Nice ride this morning...  I left a little later so traffic on Clark was a little heavier but nothing crazy.  Had fire truck behind me for a second but it turned just before passing me.  Its a bit hard looking backwards and trying to figure out if you should pull over or not while hearing the siren approach.  I try not to stop until I know its going past me.  Otherwise I waste precious seconds not moving.  Lovely weather and just very slight north wind that I felt against me as I was heading north.

Permalink Reply by John Wilson 6.0 on February 4, 2014 at 9:09am

Oui, I did do that thing.

Permalink Reply by The Grizz on February 4, 2014 at 9:12am
My ride was pretty good, too. No wind at all. Winter is fun & all, but I am looking forward to not wearing so many clothes (chafing action on the inner thighs is crampin' my good times) & riding fast again.
Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on February 4, 2014 at 9:45am

Riding with no wind was awesome.

RSS

Groups

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service