Do you bike in bad weather?

[Ryland]

I have a dedicated winter bike, I don't like riding in heavy rain or cold rain but the -10F weather the other night that I went out for a ride was not bad, I should have had more then a flannel shirt on over a T-shirt but I ended up staying pretty warm.
I ended up getting carbide stud, studded tires because I'm a sissy and I do not like falling down on ice, for the same reason of not liking pain I also have a very bright red blinky rear light that I use any time it's dark or there is traffic, I also tend to turn my front light to blink if it's light out and there is traffic, more so if the sun is low in the sky where drivers might not see me otherwise.

[RobertSmalls]

When it gets really cold out, my Wh/mi goes through the roof. It's partly due to thicker air, partly due to increased viscosity and rolling resistance, but there's also a huge increase in frontal area when I start dressing in layers. Plus, roads around here aren't neatly cleared all the way to the curb in winter.

It's slow going, too much cold air stings my lungs, and you really have to share the road with cars. Hence, I have a rule: I hang up my bike in the basement upon the first snow accumulation, and it stays there until spring.

[Angmaar]

I don't bike in the winter. It doesn't make financial sense to buy studded tires and better gloves compared to the gas cost. Maybe next winter...

[sid]

Not if I can help it. But here in Florida, a thunderstorm can kick up pretty quick. Since I usually do 60+ mile rides, I spend a lot of time dodging thunderstorm and get caught more often than I like.

[bdesj]

To prevent frozen hubs from spoiling your fun:
Winterizing Your Freehub
Disclaimer- where I live, that isn`t necessary, so I haven`t done it myself. Sounds reasonable enough to me, though.

I ride year round- drove to work five times last year and now I`m going to try one more time for that magical 100%. For my area, we occasionally see zero F, usually a few snow storms per year in the 6 to 8 inches range (hardly any this year), feet of snow maybe once per decade, pretty bad winds in the summer, not usually too windy in the winter, generally very low humidity. So much for weather stats- my commute is only 3.2 miles each way with very little traffic. If it were longer, I`d drive when things got nasty, but for 13 to 20 minutes (depending on me as well as on the conditions), I can manage just about anything. The toughest for me is when we get deep snow to plow through or when rutted slush gets the quick freeze treatment. The most unpleasant IMHO is riding in the rain. Good thing it doesn`t often rain around here. Then again, if it did rain a lot, I`d probably have some kind of rain gear.

Angmaar, I agree that some times the equipment needed to make bicycling in bad weather pleasant costs more than it saves. I just get a thrill out of utility biking, and from trying out new bike stuff, so even if it costs me more than I save (and it does), I keep at it. If I didn`t like it, I`d be driving. Also, if you REALLY want to save money at it, google will find you home brew methods for chains or studs and you can bundle yourself up pretty well with more or less the same clothes you use to shovel your driveway. Or you can just drive when the weather is nasty and nobody will think any worse of you for it

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by bdesj

To prevent frozen hubs from spoiling your fun:
Winterizing Your Freehub
Disclaimer- where I live, that isn`t necessary, so I haven`t done it myself. Sounds reasonable enough to me, though.

Thanks for the awesome link!

Originally Posted by bdesj

Angmaar, I agree that some times the equipment needed to make bicycling in bad weather pleasant costs more than it saves. [...] Also, if you REALLY want to save money at it, google will find you home brew methods for chains or studs and you can bundle yourself up pretty well with more or less the same clothes you use to shovel your driveway.

It doesn't get cheaper than zip-tie snow tires:

[bdesj]

You`re welcome.
I bet those zip ties work pretty well as long as the bike doesn`t have some kind of rim brakes. Or if the snow is deep and heavy enough that you don`t need brakes, I guess.

[skyl4rk]

I don't agree that specialized equipment is needed for biking in winter. A normal commuting bike with fenders and lights is all you need. You can get through heavy snow without studs, just try to follow car tracks.

The one piece of equipment that I was always looking for is a facemask that directs exhale breath down away from my eyeglasses. I had a lot of problems with fogging of glasses and would have liked a full facemask or even full helmet with goggles to deal with cold wind. I found some facemasks (wool, neoprene) that were OK, but what I really want is something like an animal skin with fur that is cut to fit the face, with eyeholes cut into it, and tubes leading down to about the base of the neck for fresh air and exhale air.

We get a lot of high wind blizzards here.

[Piwoslaw]

I have a facemask (fleece with windstopper) which I use when hiking in the winter, but it doesn't have enough airflow through it to be good when exercising, so I haven't even tried it when biking.

My biking clothes are the same as my hiking clothes: membrane pants and jacket with a hood, warm hat, fleece and warm undies if need be. And warm gloves with windstopper - that is key. Hippo Hands would be a luxury And, of course, a helmet.

[Angmaar]

Originally Posted by bdesj

Angmaar, I agree that some times the equipment needed to make bicycling in bad weather pleasant costs more than it saves. I just get a thrill out of utility biking, and from trying out new bike stuff, so even if it costs me more than I save (and it does), I keep at it. If I didn`t like it, I`d be driving. Also, if you REALLY want to save money at it, google will find you home brew methods for chains or studs and you can bundle yourself up pretty well with more or less the same clothes you use to shovel your driveway. Or you can just drive when the weather is nasty and nobody will think any worse of you for it

I probably could just wear a pair of mittens and gloves and be just fine. But my parents probably wouldn't trust me biking because they think i'm going to slip and get hurt. (The chances of that are probably higher in a car) Maybe on one of the warmer days i'll try biking to school.