running 25s isn't that bad... i usually do it all winter and i ride every day... i really don't think its that much different (although it definitely is safer to run wider tires) in most winter conditions.
2010-01-10 05:15:12
15
Feeling wimpy
I stopped off at Whole Foods last night on the way home from work, and was feeling totally wimpy when I saw all of the bikes outfitted with skinny slick tires. I'm running a pair of 700X38 Schwalbe Winter Marathons, and even upgraded to a Nokian Extreme 294 (700X52) up front because of the snow on the roads. Even with that, there was a stretch on St. Clair where I got going a little faster than usual down the hill and it got squirrelly through some of the deeper patches. How do you ride a 700X25 slick through the snow? There's a Hummingbird road bike that I see frequently there (I assume it's someone who works there) with ice and sludge packed around the brake calipers. No brakes, skinny tires, no knobs, no studs, not a fixie, so no back-pedaling to slow down. Suddenly I feel like a wimp with my winter cruiser.
2010-01-09 23:02:08
I tried running my 32 slicks and I didn't like it one bit. I have to take a section of Frick Park from Braddock, to Kensington to connect to Reynolds. Kensington isn't plowed and the path through Frick is rugged packed down snow until it thaws. I also couldn't get any traction on a couple of the steeper hills I have to climb.
I am running knobby some cross tires now and while they are a little slower on pavement they shred through the snow and slush. They will stay on until spring now.
2010-01-10 16:02:31
Sometimes i feel that larger tires give me less control in snow. I have 29'er that I take out in the snow and sometimes it seems to float on the snow rather than dig in. i used to commute on my track bike that had 23's or 25's on it and it never gave me any problems other than on ice, but aside from studs, i dont think that wider tires would help in that situation. sometimes riding up steep hills with packed now was kinda sketchy, but thats to be expected.
id say if youre riding in the winter at all you are no wimp!
2010-01-10 18:12:34
Like Dave, I rode a track bike through the winters until I took a job in the South Side and had to deal with the trails and HMB. Certainly, sometimes 25s felt pretty dicey, but I managed. A rutted Jail Trail or icy HMB changed my tune, and I shelled out the cash for studs. Best purchase I made.
If those trails weren't part of my commute, I could probably get by without studs, though.
2010-01-10 18:47:00
true, im just lucky that i dont have to use the trails in winter. i bet the hot metal gets pretty bad.
2010-01-10 21:18:38
Both the Winter Marathons and Extreme 294s are studded. So it's not really the width, but the fact that there are no knobs or studs on the tires that I saw that really amazes me. Cheers to all of them for staying on the bike through the slush and snow.
2010-01-10 21:34:30
Skinnies can cut through snow and slush pretty well as long as it's not too hard or deep.
2010-01-10 22:17:52
chad has a deathwish. that's why he rides his hummingbird like that. don't worry about what his bike looks like, because you'll probably outlive him whether your tires are fat or skinny.
2010-01-11 07:28:22
id say if youre riding in the winter at all you are no wimp!
That.
Anyone else feel like they get more respect on the road riding in winter?
2010-01-11 14:53:14
It feels like respect, but it's really that drivers are scared of hitting a cyclist in the snow. People fear me.
2010-01-11 15:13:33
Yeah, that's how I feel. Pretty much the dicks are still dicks no matter what the weather and the rest of the people are just scared.
2010-01-11 16:14:47
i ride like more of an asshole (aka i ride in the middle of the road and don't get over) more often so i get hassled more in winter... friday i stopped and talked to a driver for a whole redlight about her antics... much to her chagrin.
2010-01-11 16:52:21
I think you meant,
i ride more safe (aka i ride in the middle of the road and don't get over) more often so i get hassled more in winter...
2010-01-11 17:38:14
My street has about a 15% grade by my house. I figure if I can't make it from my mailbox to my driveway predictably, a distance of maybe 50 feet, there's no way I'm going to try 15 miles. Not being able to remain motionless while standing in the street is a strong clue, too.
I also temper this with not having health insurance. Sure, the bike saves me $5 in bus fare and an hour travel time, but not if I get a broken arm in the process.
2010-01-12 01:48:11