Do you bike in bad weather?
 

So, what does it take to get you off your bike? Is a drizzle enough, or does it take a blizzard?

I personally don't mind the cold. In fact, I try to avoid riding in the sun during a heat wave (maybe I should get a solar sombrero?). I once read that it's never too cold to get on your bike, you just might be inadequately dressed. I would add one exception: when it's so cold that the grease in your bearings and chain freezes. When it gets really cold (below -15°C/5°F) I do have to remember to loosen up my brake and derailleur cables because of how they tend to shrink.

As for rain, I don't especially like it, but I don't panically try to avoid it. I'll be even less of a problem when I get some waterproof booties.

Now snow is a different story... If there isn't much of it, or if it's packed, then I have no problem with it (exept for being a little more careful and slower). I do avoid deep snow or ice, though. And I hate it when the roads get salted:mad: Not only does the slush clog my rear gears, but also the chain has to be replaced in the spring because of corrosion.

I have a very strong dislike for being wet, so rain is a good way to ruin my outdoors time. On the other hand, I don't mind cold, especially if I'm working a bit. Back in my college days I used to ride year-round, as it was as quick on campus as a car and far easier to find parking. However, breathing cold air seems to have taken it's toll on my lungs and I seem to get chest colds much more easily these days, so if it's below freezing I don't ride.

http://endo.newpublishing.com/index-...vin-winter.jpg

I use the pirate bike year round. Rain is more likely to keep me off the bike than snow/cold though. (Thus the electric car's other nickname: the Electric Umbrella.)

Slippery weather is fun... though most of my riding is on bike paths/trails, not around cars. I'm like a kid in the snow: I love locking the rear wheel and fishtailing around corners. :D

Worst part is when stuff freezes up and the gears/brake cables stop working, or some ice in the chain makes it skip.

I bike more than I drive... the downside of which is the 12v battery in the Firefly was dead when I wanted to use it a couple of days ago. :(

I was commuting the last two winters. I had no problem with cables, except for ice freezing them and salt rusting them, they don't shrink in the cold. Riding in 32F rain is about the same chill as as 5F, except at 5F it's hard to breath and one has to keep the face covered. Putting on skin lotion before heading out is a must, it keeps the face much warmer. The coldest I have ridden the 5 miles to work is -7F. Yes the salt will destroy the chain in one season, daily oiling with thick chain saw bar oil helps. I tried wax but it didn't help . I am thinking of putting a guard to keep the front tire from splashing the chain. This year so far I have been soft and driving the sc1. I stopped riding in the snow also, just not enough room for bike and cars and I hate getting splashed with slush. I have 27x 1 3/8 knobby tires. It helps to keep the bike out in the cold.

re: keeping the face covered in the cold...

I discovered this year that the best way to keep the wind off the face is to put my jacket hood up. No balaclava needed - MUCH more comfortable. I credit EcoModder's many aero discussions for the idea: the air "puddles" in the hood and the onrushing flow goes around, leaving the puddle relatively undisturbed. (Think of all the discussions about blocking the grille from behind vs. in front.) Wind chill is no longer an issue.

Coldest I've been riding in so far this winter is about -20C / -4F.

It's -30C / -22F this morning... and I'm not going anywhere. :D

No cold rain
 

I don't mind the cold, or the rain. But 40 deg F and rain will drive me to the trainer in the basement. I won't miss a race, but otherwise I'm inside.

I'll ride the road bike as long as the roads are pretty clear no matter what the temp. The hardtail mtn. bike has seen just about any weather condition you can come up with.

I don't like riding when it's below freezing. The older I get the less I can tolerate it. Fortunately it does not get below freezing but a few times a year. I'm much more concerned with visibility. I won't ride unless there is a mile. Although the roads and routes are OK if the vis gets much lower than that the reaction time of text'er, iPad reader, and cell phone talkers is just to close for me.:(

Any time someone asks me if I am still riding to work I always answer "Of course! It's so much warmer on the bike." I proved this to myself this morning. After riding the bike home from work (-7F, wind chill -22F) I had to warm up the car and run errands. The ride was fine, my legs were a little cold and my eyelashes kept freezing, but waiting for the car to warm up was miserable. Worse, the SGII showed a best of 22mpg where it usually would be 50mpg. Just goes to show I need a bigger cargo (bikego) rack.

I used to commute on my bicycle all winter, riding in the tracks of cars when the snow got high. Unfortunately, I fell on the ice a few times, and the last time I fell I decided I would not ride when there is ice on the road. Luckily I live close enough to walk to work, so that is my winter option.

My record is -13F, but that was inhumane because my gloves weren`t thick enough.

It`s not a biggie, but what I don`t like in bad weather is getting water splashed on me from cars overtaking me and the worse visibility because of the hood on my head.

I`m lucky that I know routes with less traffic so I keep it on the safe side in bad weather, in fact even in good weather I`ve started choosing the same routes because I love riding without having to listen to traffic noise and worry about getting hit by a car.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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 :)

Thanks for the awesome link!

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

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.

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.

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:D And, of course, a helmet.

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.:rolleyes: (The chances of that are probably higher in a car) Maybe on one of the warmer days i'll try biking to school.

It's the warmest day this year so far, 28F, I biked to work and back, not bad weather at all.

Skinnier tires are better in deep snow, much easier.

My justification in buying studded tires was that driving short distances in the winter is hardest on my car, so my cost per mile should double going from around 25 cents per mile to 50 cents per mile, add to that the shortage of parking spaces, having to pay for parking and being able to stay in better shape over the winter and the cost of studded tires quickly seems more reasonable.
But my real reason justification of studded tires is that they cost about the same as a single missed day of work from falling and getting hurt.
The rest of what I wear while ridding my bike when its -0-F out is the same clothing that I wear the rest of the winter, lined pants, T-shirt with flannel shirt over it, wool hat, then I add a scarf and a pair of gloves for ridding my bike.

Biking to work is not about saving pennies, its about biking to work! Day 2 this year.

:thumbup:
Knowing I`m going to get to ride my bike is my motivation to get my butt out the door when I leave home. At the end of my shift, pedaling is my cool down time. The winter I wasn`t able to drive (knee injury), all I could think about while I was scraping my windows was that I could already be half way home if I were on my bike, and my fingers wouldn`t be half as cold.

The very short 1.7 miles to school is very hard on the car and FE. I'm lucky if I get 20MPG. :eek:

I calculated it out that I save about $0.50 each day I biked in the fall. It would save even more in the winter because FE is even worse.

1.7 miles! I would walk.

That takes about an hour if I walk. It takes about 10 minutes to bike or drive.

I guess you can then drive to the gym and use tread mill for exercise, you do exercise?

I expect I'll get flamed for saying this, but only an idiot would bike in rain.

When on a bike in wet weather braking capability is but a small fraction of what normal braking is. That's reason enough not to do it.

Maybe if you live in a very rural area and never have to brake at all you can get away with it. I live in a citified area with cars, pedestrians, potholes, and a high population density of idiots, all of which might require accident avoidance vigilance (read: braking).

IMHO biking in the rain increases risk of accident and personal injury substantially. It just isn't worth it. :(

Unless you want to be a candidate for the Darwin Awards... :rolleyes:

I agree. But I typically do 60 mile rides. The weather in Florida can change very quick. So occasionally I get caught in the rain.

Haha! looks like you can`t win, Angmaar. Either you`re out of shape, you`re wasting gas, or you`re an idiot! Well, I guess it`s that old story that ya can`t please everyone. I can see how that short drive every day would do bad things to your F.E. averages. Hope you come up with a reasonable solution, hopefull one that will keep you and your parents all happy, and to heck with the rest of us :)

In the rain I usually go slower than normal, mostly because of braking distance. Same goes for snow. Only if I'm on a long empty stretch I may speed up to get home faster.

The worst thing about riding in the rain (for me) it the water on my eyeglasses. That can potentially be a safety hazard, and that is the other reason I slow down substantially.

I use to bike 40 miles each way, it took me 2 1/2 hours average. You can tell that some people hate driving to work, the ones that think they own the road. Some drivers purposely will try to scare a cyclist by passing to close, others are just ignorant. I am not sure which is worse teens or little old ladies. Ive had stuff thrown at me by passengers. I have caught up to some perpetrators at a stop lights. There are crazies out there with road rage. You think they are is a hurry, but no they just want to harass. Yes, I have been hit and have sued.

Well if it's your only mode of transportation you got to do what you got to do. :turtle:

I did this a few times last summer for short hops in the rain (when driving was not an option, and "it just had to get there"):

http://www.eveandersson.com/photos/n...ella-large.jpg

Fortunately, I did not also do this:

http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/...e-umbrella.jpg

I guess neither of us thought of this:

http://www.bakfiets-en-meer.nl/wp-co...rain-roof1.jpg

The canopy in the last photo might keep the biker dry, but nothing will keep the brakes dry.

The photo of falling illustrates why biking in rain is not a good idea.

mmmmm. Looks to me like that bike has a coaster brake. If so, the hub shell should keep it dry and cozy.

MetroMPG, did you really do "that"? If so, you`re very talented guy and I tip my hat to you!

Yes, but not with earphones in (like this guy). That would have been dangerous. :)

http://www.eveandersson.com/photos/n...ella-large.jpg

I would not want to ride in the city. I chose to live where i can ride to work, 80% on bike trail.