2,000 People Told Us Their Biggest Winter Cycling Challenges

What really stops people from biking in the winter? We can talk about our own winter cycling journey but we’re just two people, so we decided to ask the audience: you! We made a survey and posted it to our community page and social media platforms and we got almost 2,000 responses.

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What really stops people from biking in  the winter? We can talk about our own   winter cycling journey but we’re just two  people, so we decided to ask the audience:   you! We made a survey and posted it to our  community page and social media platforms  

And we  got almost 2,000 responses. One  grumpy person filled out the survey just   to tell us “bikes are for losers” (no,  you’re a loser, dork). Aside from them,   most of the respondents were frequent cyclists  who used their bike at least a few times a week,  

Leaning towards utility cycling over recreational  cycling, although most people did at least some   of that too. The most represented countries  were Canada and the U.S., but we had at least   20 responses from the UK, Germany, Netherlands,  Finland, Norway, Ireland, and Sweden. We’ll break  

Down some of the results by country and even city  at the end, but let’s start with the big picture. One problem with “winter cycling” as a  concept is that winter depends a lot on   where you live. Montreal gets more snow than  almost any major city. Winnipeg is very cold.  

Calgary gets wild temperature swings from the  mountains. Portland and Vancouver get a lot   of bone-chilling rain. Dublin and Amsterdam  face strong winds. Nordic cities like Oslo,   Helsinki, and Reykjavik have extremely short  days without much light. We decided to split  

People into two categories by asking whether they  typically get more snow or rain in the winter,   because those types of winter come  with different sets of challenges.   5% of people filled in an “other” response,  including people in places like New York City,  

Explaining they used to get more snow but  mainly get rain now due to climate change.   We categorized people into whether their  answer was closer to snow or closer to rain. When it comes to summer riding, these groups  were basically identical. They use their bikes  

About as often for basically the same reasons,  and they rate the quality of their city’s bike   network the same: 3/5. But people in snowier  climates reported biking less in the winter.   They were less likely to bike “just as  often” in the winter as the summer and  

More likely to bike “much less often”. Still,  only 6% of respondents in snowier climates had   never tried biking in the winter before,  which makes it obvious that our sample is   mainly enthusiastic and engaged cyclists. In  real life when we talk to people in Canada,  

Outside our urbanist bubble, not only have  most never tried biking in the winter,   they treat it as self-evidently crazy  and just not something that people do. So what are the biggest challenges of winter  cycling? We gave six options and let people select  

Up to three. For people with snowier winters, the  number one answer by far was snow and ice. About   80% of people picked this as a barrier, about  double the second place option, cold temperatures.   This isn’t surprising. The way we’d describe it,  things like cold can be a challenge, but snow  

And ice on the bike path are more likely to be a  dealbreaker. The number three response was fewer   cyclists on the road and lack of driver awareness,  followed by bike maintenance and storage. Finally,   the least selected options were shorter days  and lack of light followed by rain or wind.

In rainier climates, things are different.  Rain or wind came out on top, which makes   sense. But the number two concern  was shorter days and lack of light,   which is a surprise. We would have expected  this concern from the snowier Nordic countries,  

Which are really far north, but the Nordics were  among the least worried about shorter days and   lack of light. The places most concerned  were Ireland and the UK but also the US,   specifically milder cities like Seattle, Portland,  and New York. These US cities do have shorter days  

In the winter than the summer but the difference  isn’t as drastic as the Nordic countries or even   Ireland and the UK. After all, Seattle is roughly  in line with Paris, and New York with Barcelona.   What seems to be happening is that concern  about lack of light tracks with a lack of bike  

Infrastructure. The Nordics have the least light  but report generally good infrastructure. The US,   UK, and especially Ireland report worse bike  infrastructure, meaning they have to mingle   with cars more and they’re worried about being  seen. Another dynamic probably at play is that  

Snow reflects light and makes the environment  brighter, even at night. Although we still have   the Danish not being concerned about lack of  light even though they get less snow than the   other Nordics. The next biggest challenge in  rainier climates was cold, followed by snow  

And ice. Places like Portland and Berlin might  not have snowy winters overall but they still   get some snow and ice. The fifth concern was  fewer cyclists and lack of driver awareness,   and finally people in rainier climates weren’t  too concerned about maintenance and storage.

These winter cycling challenges can be split  up into those you need to overcome yourself   and ones that are up to your city or others.  No one’s going to fix the cold, you just need   to learn to dress for it. Same with the rain:  you need to get a good raincoat and fenders if  

That’s your climate. But when it comes to snow  and ice, you can prepare with studded tires but   mostly it’s up to your city to plow and maintain  bike routes. When dealing with shorter days,   bike lights are essential, but it’s mainly up to  your city to build good bike infrastructure that’s  

Well lit and separated from cars. As someone  from Madison, Wisconsin explained in a comment,   “more darkness” is “not a problem on its  own, but because I’m worried drivers won’t   see me”. Bike maintenance and storage is a mix of  responsibilities. You can do things like getting a  

Dedicated winter bike, but we also need safe bike  storage spaces in apartments and at work. Finally,   fewer cyclists and lack of driver awareness  is a big picture question. If your city   gets winter cycling right, cyclists won’t be  that rare and drivers will be used to them.

We left a box for people to explain other  problems and challenges too and we got hundreds   of comments. Starting with snowy climates, so  many people brought up a lack of snow clearing,   explaining that their usable bike network  shrinks in the winter even as the hazards  

Of sharing the road with cars only multiply.  People from Minneapolis and elsewhere said that   pathways and trails are usually handled better  than on-street lanes. Someone from Saint John,   New Brunswick said “I will fight traffic, or I  will fight the weather – but I won’t do both”.  

Another major problem is predictability: you often  don’t know the status of routes before you go.   Some people mentioned social media crowdsourcing  but it can be hard to commit to a bike commute if   you don’t know you’ll be able to get to work on  time. Someone in Montreal said they might “bike  

For half [the] trip only to find the rest of the  path to be in too bad conditions” to continue. People also explained that winter changes  the calculation of cycling versus other   modes. It’s not that they can’t dress for  the cold or handle winter maintenance,  

But the added time, effort, and  cost makes cycling less competitive,   especially with a general lack of motivation  in winter. People from Calgary, Minneapolis,   Ottawa, and Reykjavik emphasized the added  effort for commuting and making themselves   presentable at work. People brought up cargo  and companions, not wanting to travel with  

A work laptop or being extra cautious  about winter cycling because of kids. Cold was mentioned as a problem for eBike  batteries and range. Some made a distinction   between cold and extreme cold, explaining that  once you get too far below  –20 or –30 celsius,   it’s just difficult on your  lungs to be outside. Finally,  

People mentioned that drivers can be actively  hostile in winter, not just less aware. The   idea that cyclists “don’t belong” is only  amplified in the snowy months. Someone in   Quebec City mentioned “trashy talk radio  shows” drumming up anti-cyclist hostility. People in rainier climates still  get snow and ice sometimes,  

So they had many of the same complaints about  snow clearing, with the added problem that   their cities are less prepared for snow.  But people with less snowy winters also   kept coming back to other hazards in the  bike lane, like slippery leaves and mud,  

Or nails and glass that can cause flat tires and  are harder to see in the low light of winter. We also got people to rate their local  bike networks out of 5 in ideal summer   conditions. The two countries scoring the  highest were Denmark and the Netherlands,  

At 5/5. One level down at 4/5 we have the  other Nordic countries (Iceland, Norway,   Sweden, and Finland) followed by  France and, surprisingly to us,   Canada. Next at 3.5/5 we have Switzerland,  followed by 3/5 for the US, UK, Austria, Germany,  

And Poland. Finally at 2/5 we have Ireland,  whose residents reported the lowest level of   satisfaction with their bike infrastructure  of any country with more than 10 responses. We also asked people to rate their winter bike  clearing and the results weren’t very positive.  

The two best countries were Sweden and the  Netherlands, at 4/5. Next at 3/5 we have Denmark,   Norway, Switzerland, and Finland. At 2/5 we  have Canada, Iceland, the US, the UK, Germany,   and Poland. Finally at 1/5 for snow clearing we  have France and Ireland. Our data on individual  

Cities isn’t as reliable, but of the cities with  at least 5 responses, only two scored 5/5 on snow   removal: Nijmegen in the Netherlands and Oulu  in Finland. Two more scored 4/5: Utrecht and   Copenhagen. Many scored 3/5, including Montreal,  Edmonton, Minneapolis, Denver, and Helsinki.  

At 2/5 we have Toronto, Boston, Vancouver,  Chicago, Ottawa, and Reykjavik. And finally   there were cities that scored 1/5 too, including  Seattle, Portland, Saskatoon, Dublin, and Berlin. And those are the results of our winter cycling  survey. Some were obvious: you don’t need our  

Survey to tell you that the Danish and Dutch have  the best bike infrastructure. Other results match   our experience but it’s good to see them supported  by data and comments from so many cities. In   snowier climates, by far the biggest challenge  is snow and ice, and people are overwhelmingly  

Not satisfied with the quality of winter  maintenance on their bike paths. Predictability   is really big too. It’s hard to get on your bike  to go anywhere if you don’t know that the route   will be usable. Also, it’s fair to point out that  winter just changes the calculus for choosing  

Whether to bike for many people. It’s not always  whether you can but whether it’s still the most   competitive option. Someone from Oulu, the winter  cycling capital of the world, explained that they   have pretty good buses too and they find it easy  to just take the bus when it’s cold and dark.

We also had new lessons and surprises. The  places most concerned with shorter days and   lack of light weren’t the Nordics, but the  UK, Ireland, and the US, and it seems to be   driven by weaker bike infrastructure forcing  people to share the road with cars. Also,  

Coming from Canada we didn’t appreciate how many  people from milder climates have the same concerns   about snow clearing and maintenance as us. Sure,  they don’t get as much snow, but when it happens   it can be more disruptive. We also didn’t take  into account how much bike lane clearing can  

Be a problem outside of precipitation. People  from milder cities complained of leaves, mud,   nails, and glass that accumulate in winter  and can be hard to see in lower light.    We also had a   spot in the survey for people to give advice  to others in their city looking to bike more  

In the winter. We’ve left that advice in  a spreadsheet in the description so you   can look and find some tips from other  people in your city or at least nearby. Thanks for watching through to the end of the  video. Don’t forget to bike and subscribe;  

A special thanks to our supporters on Patreon  and everyone who filled out our survey.