There are a lot of great reasons to ride a bike in winter — it’s just as fun as it is in summer! — but all that snow and ice can make things slippery. So, after years of trial and error, and a few spills myself, here’s some advice for staying upright.
(Can I just say that the truly best way is to ride in a city that has great bicycling infrastructure that is maintained for the season? C’mon, city builders!).
Here are my tips:
0:47 Don’t lean into your turns.
1:42 Recognize slippery bits
2:38 Gear!
4:28 The ultimate no-brainer tip
Wondering why I don’t use a fat bike for my commute? Here’s the answer: https://youtu.be/Sb_eR8Mwr6M
#bikecommuting #cycling #bikes
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Tom Babin is the author of Frostbike: The Joy, Pain and Numbness of Winter Cycling: https://amzn.to/2EH7EOg
44 Comments
Good tips, thanks!
Studded tires!! 👍 One thing i hate is disc brakes. When it's 0F, the springs in combination with metal contraction and caliper stickiness fail to function, and get stuck in the closed position. I highly recommend against disc brakes for winter biking. Also, if snow or ice gets in the mechanisms or pads, you're screwed. You're not going to use bare hands to disassemble a caliper to remove ice when it is 0F.
Out of curiosity, how do you guys (anyone reading) deal with downhills? This is my first year committing to commuting with my bike.
I started mid spring and am currently enjoying the summer months without much problem, but there is this giant downhill that has what appears to be a 7-10% slop downwards which I fear will be a problem during winter.
I assume braking will help, but forcing the brakes too hard has a risk of locking the wheels, yes? What can I do in situations like that? Should I just walk instead?
How often do you clean the chain in the winter?
Thank you for your content. I’ve been binging as I save for an e-bike before I ditch my car. And I live in Wisconsin and haven’t gotten used to the winters just yet. This is helping me feel less daunted
Carbrain: Hah, fool. How are you going to cross this giant swath of ice on your bike?
Cyclist: gets off bike and walks it across the ice patch
Carbrain: Whaaaaaat?
These are really helpful tips! Thank God that I came across this video!
I found that learning to track stand helped me avoid slip falls when winter riding.
Sort of know why, but can not really explain in detail.
Black ice is the worst.
I will not stop, I cannot stop! I have to finish paying for my bike in saved bus fare!
The number one rule is: As long as you only drive straight, nothing bad will happen. Even if you start sliding, you will just slide forward but you can keep your balance and won`t fall in that case. The real dangerous things are really just turns, therefore you can drive a decent speed on a straight road but you should slow down to maybe walking speed as soon as you have to take any turns, then after the turn you can just speed up again. The worst possible scenario to drive is a layer of thick, hard frozen snow with multiple bike lanes already engraved. Because a sudden bump can just turn your front wheel and you fall. Ice really isn`t that bad.
Just get a pair of studded tires for the winter they will last a decade. Tried just a front for a for a bit and got the rear tire top. 200$ for a pair sure beats the deductible and copay for a trip to the ER. Do it without studs and you're going to go down that's a guarantee no matter how skilled and careful you are . After riding with studded tires I've hit the pavement a handful of times in 3 decades. Where the studded tires excell is the ice and you are going to encounter ice while cycling…that's just a fact . Regular tires are just plain useless on ice ….that's a fact. They can be fine or even good in snow,but fresh snow is a fleeting thing and soon enough there will be ice to deal with. My winter bike was a cycle cross made out of a steel Raleigh hybrid that I had choped the chain stay shorter and lowered a bit. So it had a sloping top tube that was very nice especially in the winter. I had a 700×33 up front and 700×38 out back that actually worked better than fat tires 95% of the time. Unfortunately I slipped off a curb 18 months ago wiping the snow off the rear window of my car and broke my pelvis that needed reconstruction and a full hip replacement so I won't be cycling in the winter anymore…just can't risk it…kinda ironic, but I was alone in the hospital as I found the ward was full of people who slipped and fell and broke something…we need better shoes for the winter and they don't really make many. That's is a shame because Michelin makes a tire compound that will actually stop a car on wet black ice. I know because I had them on my car . Pretty good in the deep snow but they had grip you could feel on ice . Anyway no studded tires on your car in wisconsin. I don't have any experience with some of the new studless winter tires for bicycles. But some of my colleagues at the bike shop were liking them..
Very informative, thanks!
After a hard fall on thin ice in morning, 10 years ago, I use a studded front tyre.
It give me confidence again, so I can ride the bike every day in all seasons.
I do it everyday with regular $100 bike. No problem. I am from tropical country. 😂
I also cycle during the winter. I agree with you. I have another tip and that is pedals without rubber. This will lower the risk of slipping with your shoe from the pedal.
Do any of you have steep hills? I'm trying to brave cycling in the snow but I live high up in Wales. We have very little flat it's all up and down. It just seems suicidal to go downhill. Haven't seen any videos on it apart from insane downhill races.
Im 64, been riding all winter in Canada for decades. The worst is the paint lines, lane markers, my front tire goes zinging left or right and down I go.
A fixed wheel along with the studded tyres is the optimum
Tip number one, use a helmet 🤔
I commuted all winter in a Northern climate for over 40 years…more recently on several class 3 ebike. Studded tires on the ebike lets you ride most places whether its plowed or not. My additional tips are…1. using disc brakes instead of caliper or sidepull brakes can let you build a Summer 700c road tire wheel set and a Winter 650b studded mountain bike tire wheel set that are interchangeable on the same bike frame throughout Spring/Fall. 2. Lower your seat a little bit in winter and when the bike starts slipping out, just imagine you are riding on the back of a big fish instead of a bicycle…I know it sounds strange, but it does keep you upright all the time. 3. Invest in good ski gloves, trail gators, and a bright colored rain jacket designed for trail hiking 4. Use bike lights all day long if it is cloudy. 5. Rubber panniers (Ortleib city brand) and a Danish style rain pancho designed for cyclists are great additions (for all seasons). 6. Two brands of tires almost never have flats even after many hundreds of miles…studded knobby Kenda Klondike tires (winter) and Continental Gator Hardshell tires (summer)
Hey Tom, at the 3:50 mark, you show a Fat Bike with bar mitts/muffs. Who makes those? I checked with Tucano Urbano, who makes them for motorcycles and scooters but not bikes. Any help is appreciated!
my solution: buy a mountainbike
That’s winter driving in general. The beginning and the end are the best tip. Slow down and know the road conditions.
👍🏴😎
Studded tires on the bike in winter 🎉
I don't think you are from Florida…
My worst crash was on a fat tire bike when riding on pebbled path. The width of the tire gives one too much confidence. Slippery is slippery. My fault. Just respect the incredible uncomputable aspects of fine granular materials.
Tip number 1 good tires 🤣 avoid them goofy thin narrow tires
I don't know why, but to me it feels like my bike has a lot more grip than my shoes and I don't even have studded tyres. Just watch out for "mirror ice", don't ride like an idiot, and you'll be good.
My tires are always studded even when they're bald when I am on the bike.
Best part of video 5:02. Biking in the winter has tremendous psychological benefits, like getting air and sun on the face.
the thing there is not 29" version of this.
Tip # 5 Never EVER use your front brakes. The front wheel must be freewheeling all the time.
Thanks god bless
Thanks.
idk, I'm undecided about studded tires… I've used them, went for a few winters without, and I have them mounted again now… it's such a huge hit to the rolling efficiency, and the studs themselves are only effective if they actually reach a solid surface like ice or pavement. Studs, and sometimes even a chunky tread pattern, don't do anything in the churned up snow that occurs on pavement before the plows have been through. or that chunky, icy mix next to the road where the plowed snow rains down on an unplowed sidewalk. on top of that, once the pavement is clear, the studs and chunky tread are just slowing you down, so, I figure they're only actually useful to me 5-10% of the rides. The conclusion I came to is that I'm killing my efficiency for a solid 3-4 months for maybe a week's worth of bike trips. honestly the only reason I got these 45Nrth Wrathlorde tires was because I wanted to see how they compare to the surly Nates, but they don't have an unstudded purchase option, so originally my plan was to remove the studs, then I thought let's give them a try since they're already there. I am using them both front and rear.
Ideally, a better commuter option would be a studded snow skin to strap over a road tread, similar to what the big rigs do with snow-chains, but this would be solid and you keep it rolled up in your panniers
Schwalbe Marathon Winter studded tires are now only $50 on Amazon.
Wow FRONT studded tire and not rear tire? Please explain this — or have you covered this before?
The leaning tip is correct, but seems backwards. If you go around a corner you have to lean and the only way to reduce how much you lean is either taking a wider radius turn or slowing down. So, I'd phrase it as "in slippery conditions you should slow down or take a wider radius turn so that you don't lean as much".
The lean is basically an indicator of how much horizontal force there is on the tires, and that horizontal force is what can lead to skids that lead to falls, and those horizontal-slip falls are the worst ones
Wish I watched this video before breaking my femur.
Brown sugar super slippery. Many times there's smooth ice underneath.
Get another studded tire. You need 2.
Great tips for flat surfaces. Try getting anywhere on a cambered road though.