Slippery Roads and Cycling Techniques/Tires :)

[Andybg]

Not that I want to promote the competition but Spa cycles have the Schwalbe Winter 26 by 1.75 in for 30ukp which is the cheapest I have seen them. Got the job tomorrow of putting them on the bike and taking it out to run them in. Then need to do the same with the Ice Spiker Pro's. Going to be a bit of a noisy slow cycling week

Andy

[bikepacker]

jags the real answer to that question is do you want to be safe or do you want to be sorry.

If you want to be safe you have two options in slippery or icy conditions. First you can sit at home looking out of the window and dreaming about being out cycling. Or you can fit both winter tyres and get out and have a ball riding your bike.

If you want to be sorry in slippery or icy conditions, you can go out and ride on ordinary tyres.

[jags]

to be honest i wont go out in icy conditions only since my off mind i did at one time ride in all wateher, i usually grab the dog and we go walking up the canal lovely anytime of year 
how those in the RSF do it is beyond me and havent spotted any studded tires with those guys 

[JWestland]

My choice is:
Get up stupidly early as I need two buses to get where I need to be, I can cycle to bus number 1, and lock bike. But that takes 20 minutes, then I need to get bus which takes 35 (rush hour traffic) that's 55 minutes, £3.50 later and it means and getting stuck in a stuffy bus with grumpy people.

(Did I mention I don't like buses and get car sick?)

Or...
Put the winter tires on, which will increase commute from 40 to 50 minutes I guess, not need to be in a mad panic to get bus, get some fresh air and learn to cycle in adverse conditions which is always handy. Also the click-click-click of the studs will no doubt have hilarious effects, people thinking of stepping in front of me and changing their mind last minute 

(forget about the gym, no driving license and HAVING to be somewhere works best)

[Lemming]

In my experience (in Norway) the Marathon Winters generally work very well, but after a thaw and refreeze, when all that is left is armoured ice it is time to give up.  There just isn't enough weight for the studs to bite in (as compared to a car with studded tyres).
For fresh snow (like today), normal tyres are fine (meaning that I have not got round to changing my tyres yet!), apart from having to take care where people have enthusiastically cleared the snow to the ice below.......

Cycling in snow/ice is slower, but mainly due to deliberately going slower to give more time when things start to go wrong - like car drivers.

[JWestland]

Now sold out as Spa Cycles, next cheapest deal is Wiggle

No doubt SJS will still have em while all other shops are sold out 

Funny enough when I fell last year it was on a gritted area...one tiny patch was missed...just when you think you're safe!

[Cambirder]

Yesterday I went out for a 200Km ride in sub-zero temperatures (I know it was bonkers) and most of the roads were fine but some had some nasty ice on. As 99.99% of the route had dry roads I think winter tires would have slowed me down so much I would never have got round. I was riding more normal Pasela Tour Guards which got over any ice I found on the straight apart from one section on a steep slope which I walked. The worst bits were junctions on minor roads but thee were dry lines through them all.

[jags]

wow that was a hell of a spin you put me to shame

[Cambirder]

That was almost certainly the hardest ride of my life. I think cold saps your energy and you certainly need more refuelling stops than you do in summer which I reckon added 2 hours to the completion time. The GPS glitch that added 7km to the length did not help, but I was really glad of my winter boots and gloves that kept my extremities toasty.

I don't normally do such things in winter but I'm attempting to complete a RRtY and I only have 2 more to go. I'm really hoping for some unseasonally mild spells in Jan and Feb

[jags]

mean this in a nice way 
but i think you boys that audex are mental  how you cover such miles is way beyond me.
mind you i've often done a few centurys  and man i can tell you i was glad to get off the bike at the end.
but horses for courses fair play to you

[JWestland]

Hardcore 

[Cambirder]

mean this in a nice way 
but i think you boys that audex are mental

So does my wife and most of my friends 

I only rode my first 200k this year and then I got the idea to try an SR series (200, 300, 400 and 600k) but after trying a 300k and being a bit of plodder I decided I could not hack the sleep deprivation so switched to this instead. I don't think it is an easier option a lot less people have completed one of these and I am definitely only going to do it once.

[jags]

i came across a video on utube scotland i think it was 400km audex, one couple just made the time by seconds if it were me and i didn't make the time after slogging it out for 400 km i would MELT the entire bike there and then.

[Andre Jute]

i came across a video on utube scotland i think it was 400km audex, one couple just made the time by seconds if it were me and i didn't make the time after slogging it out for 400 km i would MELT the entire bike there and then.

Never a truer word spoken in jest!

Those organizers must pretty dim not even to give people a "Completion" certificate after such a slog. Bloody hell! To give them nothing for the effort is an insult. I doubt many would try a second time. Encouragement is the foundation of improvement. -- Andre Jute

[jags]

Andre remember the maracycle dublin to belfast and next day belfast to dublin ,
well i done the first one we actually raced it first to belfast and first group back to dublin man it was tough going 200 miles total,
but when we got to dublin as we passed through the finish gates some dude was handing out medals as quick as he could . What a anti climax at the end of a hard 2 days