Winter cycling basics

[RealClanZ]

I ride my bike in the winter with summer tires no spikes or anything its great fun to drift but yeah i am a badass

[edgey1333]

holy shit u got some setup.. i just deflate my tires a bit and slap on my hood on my winter coat, thats bacis for me

[vedranre]

Very nice winter bike and a cool video! Schwalbe Marathon Winter are amazing tires! I'm glad so many people are interested in winter cycling. I just posted a video response for a winter commuter bike I built a couple of months ago - please approve the video response and check it out. Keep riding and stay warm!

[mattsnow81]

For winter, I bought a 50 $ used MTB, fenders and front and rear lights. That's it. No need for studded tires and all! And it gets to below 0 Fahrenheit often here.

[konstantinodinec]

Я хочу сам прошиповать резину саморезами !!!

[felixsavvy13]

Why do you recommend bedders over gloves? What's the difference?

[MILOminatisch]

hehe ..

thats a fu*** overkill and not a basic equipment ;)

[dwcubatch83]

I've tried studded tires and non-studded tires in winter. In winter, you just need to slow down especially on slippery conditions. You can safely bike in winter without studded tires. With studded tires, you tend to become over-confident and won't slow down, until you find out these tires do have limitations. I have been bike commuting in winter without studded tires. Just deflate your tires down to 25-27 PSI for more grip and lower your seat post a bit so your feet touches the ground easy

[44jug]

For God´s sake! BASIC???? what's that? a bike or a christmas tree?

[naulty3500]

or you could use zip ties which work fine.

[EvidenceOfBeing]

@naulty3500 absolutely! plus they're cheap; and if you use the fluorescent zip ties, they'll increase your visibility.

[BikeStyleSpokane]

zzkokko, your comment about wool is actually incorrect. Its magical property is that it wicks sweat and keeps you warm even when it's wet. Fabrics like cotton have the problem you describe, but not wool. I swear by my SmartWool base layer, which can take days and days of riding with some sweat without ever smelling bad (another magical property).

People kept warm with wool for thousands of years, long before the invention of technical fabrics.

[zzkokko]

teknikal underwear and goretex type top layer is best to keep you dry. Wool is ok but your sweat make it wet and then its cold. wool is good betwien those synthetic under and top layer.

[adamu328]

dinotti lights rock.

[DonKofAK]

There are so many people riding mountain bikes around Anchorage, Alaska in the winter it's not at all remarkable unless the rider has no lights when it's dark. In recent years, the really big tires have become common; I suspect they're slow summer and winter, but steady all the time. Studded tires are nice, but not essential. Ride with skill and care!

[Axbent]

@DonKofAK studs are non essentioal only in arctic climates where its cold all the time, if u get thaws there will be ice, and thats only possible to ride on with studs! the store bought ones are ok, but I reccomend adding some taller screw in around the edges. Wide tires are not good if you need suspenssion, narrow better for traction tru wet snow.

[spysonic]

I ordered those tires.I cant wait to use them this winter here in Amsterdam.

[hallmonitor98]

how did you mount those flash lights?

[robhingston]

safer the walking , innit

[TheAllSeeingHamster]

Nice... I use my bike to commute to college, even in the snow, but i just use regular ATB tires.. I didn't know there are snow tires in the market.

[hallmonitor98]

those flashlights are a good idea

[downfader2]

Good stuff! Just proves you dont need to invest in cycling specific clothing to ride a bike.

Here in the UK we're not supposed to use anything other than red and white lights, amber is used for indicators, and red has to be facing rearwards. I suppose its always worth checking your local laws before investing :-)

[nickbubblehead]

Thanks for your reply. I hope you keep riding, no matter what the weather is. I cannot say that I am as tough as you as I am kind of a fair weather rider. None the less, cycling is very important to me and will always be striving to make it the center of my life. When I see videos like yours, it shows that I am not the only crazy one here.

[TheAtomicDon]

I commute to and from work outside of Buffalo, NY and currently it's 16 degrees and feels like -1 ! With about 6 inches of snow. It's the shit! I leave from work in a half hour.

[nickbubblehead]

Wow, you are so hardcore towards winter cycling. I don't I be that motivated for that kind of riding. I think you should a video on your motivation to do this. Great job on the video. Great idea on the flashlights. There is a new bike light on the market that rocking the bike industry. Magicshine. 900 lumens, less than $90 shipped. Where do you ride?

[stopglobalswarming]

There is a car tire company that makes rubber wtih ingrained walnut shell fragments, which surface and act as traction aids, then fall out and leave "siping" holes. I wonder if this could work for new bicycle tire style.

[paulsviplist]

I use my leather motercycle gloves on my bicycle when it gets cold and they keep my hands and fingers nice and warm.

I also put a coat of mink oil on the leather to make them water resistant.

I use my motercycle leather jacket under a bright color waterproof wind breaker that zips up high on the neck to keep warm and give me protection.

But I moved to Florida so now I am free from all that hard Northern cold city life.

I give you 5 stars on the video.

Good job.

[stopglobalswarming]

Never forget the Subway Sandwich baggies for oversocks!

[stopglobalswarming]

I wonder if you can make your own studded tires with shortened thumb tacks and cheap knobbies.

[fhussain44]

I doubt that would last more than a few miles!

[BeeRich33]

homemade winter tires are the bomb. Stainless metal tapping screws from the inside, and a layer of rubber to protect the tube.

[surredneck66]

@fhussain44 i make my own studed ice tires with short screws and drill them into the tire from the inside out and put hot gule and duck tape to keep them from popoing the tube with the head they work grate

[Rapmastac1]

@stopglobalswarming You can make your own cheap studs using screws, really strong ones though. They will wear down and once you screw them all the way because of the wear, you will need to replace the whole tire. You would need a barrier between the tire and the tube though.

[rayd888]

@stopglobalswarming

bikeforums -dot- net/showthread.php?369227-Stud­ded-Tires-Make-your-own-in-7-e­asy-steps

[remster159]

@stopglobalswarming and mangle the inner tube haha

[andrwplsn89]

@stopglobalswarming you can make them with screws just look up home made studded bike tires

[stopglobalswarming]

What camera are you using?

[fhussain44]

Flip