How To Bike in the Winter [open discussion]

[joe]

What are the best ways to bike in the winter? From clothing to road conditions, it's a little tougher and it intimidates some people.

Share your knowledge, or specific questions, and we'll make this into a definitive "How To" about biking in the winter in Toronto!

[Tory]

just get 700*somethingElse I'd say... Plenty of hybrid tires will fall into that category.

If you don't have the clearance I'd say you're out of luck.

700*23 is a fast road tire size/dimension... not intended for conditions requiring tread.

Tread is over rated IMO anyways. I road 700*23 on my fixie last winter, few treks in white out conditions they were fine. Lose fluffy snow may be the only place you need tread in the winter.

If we groomed the streets instead of plowing, I would opted for skinny tired for sure.

My only issue was 3 falls on black ice all at stop signs because of my dependency on a front break.

This year I am not doing the same cause I am more paranoid and have opted for lower to the ground cross country bike. I do not believe traction is any better, but, I am lower to the ground, using platform pedals, and geared to go much slower and have a full set of brakes. The new set up is mostly peace of mind, but will handle pot holes and other bumps better.

Bikes work quite well on uniform packed snow.


Benjamin Watts said:

Anyone have tips for tires?
I am riding on 700 x 23 Continental Slicks and it is a nightmare!
I am having trouble finding anything in Toronto that is of that size but comes with some grip/tread..
A point in the right direction would be awesome.
Thanks!

[AnnieD]

This is my first year cycling through the winter. I took it one day at a time, always expecting to stop when the weather got worse, and just kept going. I think I might have reached my limit now, though, at least until a thaw gets rid of the big lumps of ice on the streets near my house.

Clothes: Merino wool long underwear, long-sleeved undershirt, and socks. Booties over my shoes. Two more layers on top (one a fleece hoodie), then my spring rain/wind jacket. Rain pants, sometimes with sweats over the long underwear, sometimes without. Horrible gloves (must do something about that). Thin blaklava under my helmet.

Lights: Magnet powered lights on my front and back tire. Regular lights on my back panier and handlebars (front light has been falling off ^%*curses*@$ ). MEC Turtle lights on the front and back of my helmet, with spare batteries in my panier. LOVE the turtle lights. Bought some extra for my dog's collar just 'cause they're so cute.

Winter gear: Panier that converts to a backpack, with extra rain cover, plus a rigid panier, also with rain cover. Haven't used the rain covers yet, but since I sometimes bike with a laptop, I like having them. Regular tires. Wondering if I'll need a new bike in the spring, and then I'll call this one my winter beater???

Changes to my biking: Started off biking at little ol' lady pace because *everyone* told me how slippery the roads were. Experienced various conditions biking through Queen's Park: sheer ice, sheer ice covered with a thin layer of snow, lumpy ice, lumpy snow covered ice, and biked through some pretty thick snow on side streets and never slipped. Started biking a bit faster. Got my back brake, which was barely functional, fixed and on my ride home, forgetting about my new, ultra-sensitive rear brake, I braked hard on a side street and my rear wheel locked and I fell - towards the middle of the street. Glad there were no cars behind me because I don't trust their ability to stop. Now I rely mostly on my front brake (not quite as sensitive) and use my foot, and try to coast to a stop more slowly.

I ride mostly on residential streets and pull out of the way whenever there are cars behind me. There's no room for them to pass, and I'd rather take a bit of extra time and know that if I fall, there's no one behind me to roll over top of me. I've also found that on slightly wider streets, cars will pass too close which makes me nervous if what up until then had been a fairly clean street suddenly develops a big lump of ice that I have to ride over just as the body-space challenged box of metal is passing.

I'm taking a break and waiting for a thaw so that the icy lumps on the side streets can melt. I had to walk my bike the last 3 blocks home yesterday because the icy lumps made riding impossible. I don't want to buy studded tires when my regular tires were doing fine up until now. For those with a little more experience - are these lumps here to stay until spring, or is there usually a thaw that takes care of them for a while?

[joe]

I do a lot of the same stuff as you Annie... especially regarding sidestreets (as I mentioned earlier in this thread)... I don't mind my trip taking a little longer... I don't trust cars stopping on ice, and they still pass too close on major streets even though there is even less room due to the snowbanks.

I've found a pretty good system for gloves which may help you out though:

GLOVES: Up to about -10 Celcius, I use a combination of those tight wool gloves you can get at drug stores or dollar stores (often available in vibrant colours), as well as leather driving gloves. My hands are large, so the cheap wool gloves are very tight and provide a good insulating "base", while the leather gloves do a fantastic job of blocking the wind and cold, while still allowing for easy finger-bending for braking, etc. Once the temperature drops below -10, I pair the wool gloves with some of those heavy duty skiing gloves... even warmer, but it cuts down on finger flexibility quite a bit.


AnnieD said:

This is my first year cycling through the winter. I took it one day at a time, always expecting to stop when the weather got worse, and just kept going. I think I might have reached my limit now, though, at least until a thaw gets rid of the big lumps of ice on the streets near my house.

....

[joe]

Hey guys,

I came across a good winter cycling article in the Montreal Gazette yesterday:

This is the time of year when people start calling me “brave.” I know what they really mean is “crazy.” I’ve been cycling around Montreal, winter and summer, for 18 years now, and I am happy to say – knock wood – that I have never once had a serious accident. If you know what you are doing, cycling in winter is not that dangerous; it is somewhat dangerous. But so is winter driving and winter walking. For me, it is dangerous to take the métro more than a few times each winter, because it is so hot and depressing down there that I want to kill myself. (More dangerous to your health than all of these, of course, is sitting on your butt eating junk food all winter, but I digress.)

Cycling is my preferred method of transportation. Yes, I can afford a car, but every time I rent one in winter I remember why I don’t want to own one. All that shovelling, the hassle of parking, the gassing up all the time – who needs it? I think getting a little sun and wind on your face in the winter keeps you sane. And yes, it feels better not to pollute....

Check it out for yourself (it's quite detailed), but the key advice points are:

- Get a winter tune-up.
- Dress for it.
- Tires.
- Accept the fact that your lock will freeze, and deal with it.
- Slow down.
- Stick to the main streets and take your place on them.
- Light up.
- Get a leather bike seat.
- Oil is your friend, not WD-40.
- Don’t white-knuckle it.
- Assume all drivers want to kill you.
- Leave the bike outside.
- Don’t trust the weather man or lady.

[Jude]

Hello All, we are looking for any organization, or certified individuals, to help us educate seniors, school children, and any one interested in bicycling. We are hoping have couple of free seminars in Toronto. Please contact via this blog or email. Anyone's help is much appreciated.

Thanx so much

[Cabal]

I've been biking in the winter for 10 years now, here's my advice to add:

1 - For me the most important thing is to protect my nose, throat and lungs from the cold air. Otherwise I'll get a persistent dry hacking cough, runny nose, etc. You can use a variety of face shields, but most seem to have holes or mesh to help you breath. These do nothing but protect your skin, because they still allow you to breath cold air in. Instead try solid flannel face/neck wraps. They protect your neck & face skin, but also help to warm the air you breath in. Make sure you get a loose fitting one that creates a pocket infront of your nose and mouth that will allow you to suck in air and not feel restricted. Buy like 5 of them (6 bucks each at MEC) so you cycle them through your laundry loads and not use the same snotty one all the time. Also, getting a wrap means less tight fitting layers on your head, which will sometimes give you even more pronounced "hat head" hair.

2 - In deep slush/snow/ice, deflate your ties to the lower PSI range (specified on the side of your tire). For example, my 26"x1.5" tires can go down to 30 PSI. At 30 PSI I'm practically squashing my tire when it contacts the road. This means TONS more traction and you feel very safe, even on black ice. The major downside is you have a lot more rolling resistance to fight when you come back onto dry pavement. This will affect your topspeed.

3 - Carry napkins in your pocket. When you get to your destination, you'll feel much better if you blow your nose and get rid of the snot.

4 - Use full fenders on front and back. You'll keep you and your bike much cleaner and drier. Fenders weight almost nothing, and hardly affect your aerodynamics. Considering the heavy rain we seem to get all year now, better to keep the fenders on all the time?

5 - Even with full fenders, my feet still get super wet. If I have a long ride, I put plastic bags on my feet before I put my shoes on. Helps keep heat in and keep your socks dry.

6 - I try to stay OFF side streets, they are more hazardous to me because of their compacted snow and ice which never seems to go away until a mass melting. I prefer to bike with traffic on main roadways, because at least there's dry pavement. In the winter, cars drive slower.

[Tory]

I agree that side streets can be more hazardous I have had troubles with them because of my lack of rear brake and skidding my front wheel.

Which brings me to the second point.

I would advise against relying heavily on your front brake in slippery conditions if you have a rear.

Chances of falling skidding the front wheel >>>>>>> chances of falling skidding the rear.

[joe]

Looking back at old January posts on the Blog, I found this one from January 2006 about winter biking tips sent out by Cyclometer:

- You will conserve the most amount of heat by covering your head. A toque or balaclava will do the trick. Remember to cover your ears and adjust your helmet to fit properly!

- A helmet cover reduces wind chill & protects from rain/snow.

- Waterproof, warm hiking boots are good for the winter, cycling "overbooties" or plastic bags over your socks can help with waterproofing in the rain, but be careful in the cold. Plastic bags can make you sweat and wet feet are cold feet!

- Make sure you have a good, warm base layer against your skin. Never wear cotton because it absorbs moisture and will stay wet when you sweat. Wear synthetic fibres like polyester or polypropylene or if you prefer natural fibres try silk or wool.

- A thin waterproof shell that will block wind and rain works very well. Add more layers underneath for colder days.

[Psyminh]

Hey Joe and everyone,

I've been biking year-round for a while, including 10 years living in Montreal which was a real adventure. I'm with Jay - I stick to the main roads, since they are usually clear of snow and ice unlike the slushy, scary, icy side streets around my house (Bloorcourt Village). And I always try to travel at a speed that I'm comfortable with, knowing that if I break suddenly I'll be able to stop without wiping out or skidding.

For keeping warm, it's true that you don't need many layers since you'll warm up, though it's important to have something to break the wind (not to break wind, you cheeky monkeys). Most important is to keep your hands and feet warm and dry, since when these get numb you're in real trouble! I wear waterproof boots with gaiters to keep my feet/legs dry, big MEC gloves for my hands (sometimes double layer there too), and a face mask for when it's really cold and my face goes numb. Everything's available at MEC, of course ;-)

[Bonnie anderson]

I have been riding in the winter in Toronto for many years, and the most important thing is the clothes you wear. As my father in law says: "There's no bad weather, only bad clothes." It's an investment to buy the right clothes, because in the end it saves you hundreds of dollars to be able to bike year round. I do a lot of my shopping at MEC because I find they have what I need. I bought one of their bike jackets a few years back, which was the best thing ever. That jacket allows me to ride in the coldest days and be toasty. I usually have to unzip, even when it's been the cold days of -25 and under! I wear two shirts under the jacket, nothing too heavy, and both are wick-a-way, meaning they help to get the sweat away from you and into the fabric. You do have to wash them a lot, but it's worth it. I never wear cotton, because cotton holds the sweat and takes for ever to dry, and therefore, you freeze when you stop riding. I bring a change of clothes with me to work, and change as soon as I get there, so I am out of my sweaty clothes. If I don't, I get cold. I ride in from Victoria Park and Kingston Road area, and by the time I get to Greenwood, at the farthest, I am toasty. It is important to start off a little cold, cause if you don't, it means you have too much on and you are going to be so hot and therefore, because of the sweat, you will get cold. I have silk long john's that I wear and MEC bike pants that are fabulous. My feet and hands tend to get cold, so I have the MEC booties that you wear over your boots, that protect your boots from all the salt and slush, and add a wind resistant element, and a water resistant element, that help keep my feet warm and dry and saves my boots from being destroyed. Good gloves are an essential.

The worse time to ride the bike in the winter is during rush hour, when on street parking is not allowed, so the right lane is open to traffic. Because of on street parking, ploughs aren't able to really plough that lane, which is fine, when cars are parked there, but is a killer when they are not and the roads are full of snow and ice and we have to share that lane with drivers speeding to get home so they can sit in front of their tv's for longer. I try to stay away from streets like that during rush hour. The rest of the time, I find the major streets to be the best to bike on because they are the first ploughed and taken care of the best. I usually ride down Kingston Road and then take Dundas across. I drive extra defensively and not as quickly after snowfalls, or during them. So far in all the years I have been biking in the winter I have only had two falls--both my fault---one crossing the DVP on Gerrard and the other coming down Kingston Road. Both were avoidable and both have taught me a lesson.

I am a woman in her forties, so if there are any women out there reading this, please, get on your bikes and ride. It's not as bad as you think. It's actually a lot of fun and the best way to stay warm, really, that there is. It's better than standing and freezing to death waiting for the streetcar to come, or jostling with all those crowds on the subway, or sitting in traffic. There's no better way to go.

Thanks

Bonnie

joe said:

It's a good way to start, Peter. :)

If you dress for skiing like I do... it involves layers - and that's perfect for biking - because you can add or remove layers as needed.

Another similarity to skiing is that if you're not cold when you start, you're wearing too much. It's good to start out being chilly, because your body heat will bottle up in your winter clothes and keep you warm.

I start out cold and am usually toasty warm 5-10 minutes into my ride. :)