Just Came Back From a Snow Ride

[bkh2]

So I was at a friend's house and it started to snow, roughly 0.5cm by the time I left. I had a bit of trouble starting the bike; it took like five tries to finally get it started. As I was pulling away from the driveway, I almost lost the back wheel, but I was able to recover. This happened a few more times along my ride home.

My main general question is whether anyone rides in snow a lot and if so, do you have any tips on snow riding?

Does riding on the path created by cars help with traction?
When riding up hills, is it better to go slow and steady or get some speed before hitting the incline?

Any other info would be appreciated. However, I doubt I'm going to do any more snow riding because I was really scared haha

[FrugalNinja250]

Snow? What's that?

[EsrTek]

Really depends on the conditions... in snow I would lower the pressure in tires some to help traction.
Riding in the cars path can go either way, depends if they are packing the snow and it causes it to turn to ice. Snow provides more traction than ice.
You last question about hills is kind of "duh" like, think about your question again...if you build up speed and that hill has ice at the bottom, and most will in those conditions, your crashing!!!

[NathanUc]

Originally Posted by bkh2

So I was at a friend's house and it started to snow, roughly 0.5cm by the time I left. I had a bit of trouble starting the bike; it took like five tries to finally get it started. As I was pulling away from the driveway, I almost lost the back wheel, but I was able to recover. This happened a few more times along my ride home.

My main general question is whether anyone rides in snow a lot and if so, do you have any tips on snow riding?

Does riding on the path created by cars help with traction?
When riding up hills, is it better to go slow and steady or get some speed before hitting the incline?

Any other info would be appreciated. However, I doubt I'm going to do any more snow riding because I was really scared haha

I've been stuck riding in the snow a few times this season so far.
My tips would just include:
No front braking
Give yourself 2x as much room and stop early
Ride in tire tracks
SLOOOWWWW and steady from a stopped position
Keep bike as upright as possible around turns
Make sure YOU are extremely warm to keep your motor skills up
Don't ride the stock IRC? I could only imagine how bad those are on snow....
For hills, I personally try to use momentum over drive
Most of all, try to avoid riding if possible when it's snowing.

[silverdub]

i wish it was only that, we got about a foot of snow here in montreal yesterday! and with the winter tires law, i cannot ride my bike before march 15th or i can get a 277$ fine per tire... damn winter, i hate it

[JeffM]

Ride in tire tracks unless they are slick, if slick, ride in unmolested snow as it will offer a bit more traction. Or, stay inside and have a hot buttered rum by the fireplace.

Jeff

[bkh2]

Haha thanks for all the tips. Stock tires are all I had. About cars compacting snow and actually creating less traction, I guess that makes sense. So what about slush vs 'unmolested' snow? Is there a higher chance of hydroplaning on slush than water? Again, thanks for the tips so far, and as for those people who can ride year round, I am so jealous of you!

[RaZeDaHeLL]

Originally Posted by bkh2

My main general question is whether anyone rides in snow a lot and if so, do you have any tips on snow riding?

I try to avoid riding in the snow but tips I've learned are: stay in first, try not to lean, and use your legs for balance if you have to.... and WATCH OUT FOR ICE!!!

[Scattcatt]

Originally Posted by bkh2

Haha thanks for all the tips. Stock tires are all I had. About cars compacting snow and actually creating less traction, I guess that makes sense. So what about slush vs 'unmolested' snow? Is there a higher chance of hydroplaning on slush than water? Again, thanks for the tips so far, and as for those people who can ride year round, I am so jealous of you!

I'd imagine slush would be worse to ride on. This is pure speculation on my part, but my reasoning comes from the fact that slush contains a fairly large quantity off liquid water and the ice/snow in the water only increases the resistance to being pushed out of the way by your tires which I'd imagine would ultimately lead to the tire being lifted up easier and hydroplaning. On the flip side, if the unmolested snow has been just chillin there on the streets for a while, it may have had time to kind of fuse together on the bottom creating a layer that's nearly friction-less which is also bad news. Do keep in mind that this thought is coming from a guy who has lived in Las Vegas for all of his life, and snow has only touched the city's ground here like 4 or 5 times in my lifetime, only 1-3 of which actually stayed on the streets and didn't pile to more than 1/8 of an inch lol.

[road_rascal]

Way back in September 2003 I took a trip on my 750 Nighthawk from Minneapolis to Salt Lake City to go to my brothers wedding. I made the first haul from MLPS to Denver where I stayed at my parents house for a night. The next morning my dad told me that Loveland Pass got 6 inches of snow. I figured it would have melted by the time I got to the Eisenhower Tunnel. I was partially right. The east side still had slushy stuff on the road but the west side was pretty much clear. I took this photo from the west side (only place I could pull over and park). It was a white knuckle experience. I did get funny looks from snowplow drivers.

[nezumiamalek]

I have gone on a few rides to work in the snow lately w/ the default tyres. I haven't had any problems as it just requires a lot of caution. Everyone else pretty much covered the best tips.

[tpelle]

Two rules of winter riding:

1. Don't worry about getting stuck - worry about getting stopped. (If you get stuck, it means that you'll stay someplace where you're already at. If you can't stop, it means you'll go someplace where you don't want to be.)
2. Always pee before you leave.