Winter riding awareness and precautions

[azian4lifz]

Winter is coming up soon and this is my first winter with her. I do not own a car either so I am asking what should I do to my bike if I am going to be winter riding?

I already know to wear protective and warm gear i'm talking about what to do with the bike if i am winter riding?

[csmith12]

Figure out the cold weather base tire pressures for the tires your running and adjust as needed/preferences.
Keep your chain clean from the extra treatments used on the roads.
Pack some hand warmers somewhere on the bike/tank bag.
Make sure your coolant has the proper antifreeze mix.

Not really for the bike;
Learn alternate routes to avoid bad geography for your commute.

[Racer x]

Watch out for ice. Not just from rain. Pipes break and will cover a road. Remember you have the option to stop and just push the bike along the edge of the road. You should never try to ride across a frozen road.
Get a fog city visor insert. Nothing else works below freezing.

Layer your clothing. Check out bicycle winter stuff. It will wick sweat away from your skin and keep you warm and dry

Let some air out of the tires. And try to get off the road after dark.
Good luck. I did it in Baltimore for ten years. Get a scooter for snow riding . Its stupid fun

[allanoue]

Be aware that around 30 to 40 degrees and high humidity the open carburetor can ice over and kill the engine It happened to me a mile from home as I was leaving for work my first winter of riding. Spent 20 minuets trying to restart it. Walked back home took the car to work and when I got home that night it started right up.

Get a 300 with FI

[JohnnyBravo]

I'm glad I have a truck...

[caineroad]

Remember tire traction... a lot less grip in the cold. Even when you have ridden some distance, don't lean too much when turning. Try to stay warm by wearing thermal layer top and bottom.

[choneofakind]

Screw it. Just get a bicycle and put some screws through the tire tread. You'll stay warmer because you're active, and you'll have more fun sliding around on something that won't raise your insurance rates if you go down.

[subxero]

Again not much bike stuff other than keep everything lubed and greased and clean

As far as the rider
you will feel the cold most in your hands, plan accordingly. Normal riding gloves will not be enough for most people in 30 degrees or lower especially if on highway for more than few minutes.
Layer your core if you don't have heated gear, if you have heated gear bring a pack with extra clothing just incase something happens to your heating circuit so you have a back up.
Don't forget your exhaust is warm and expels warm air, if you get to cold pull over and warm up on the exhaust but be careful, it can melt cheap material on some gear. At stop lights I often warm up my right hand with the exhaust then after it is toasty I grab my left hand with my right to transfer some heat to the left hand cuz I can't reach exhaust with left hand.
The NoVA, MD, DC area doesn't get a lot of snow very often but don't let that give you a false sense of security. The area is probably even worse because temperatures through out the day often fluctuate between freezing and non freezing generating lots of ice, keep this in mind when planning out your riding.

[Whiskey]

When you get cold your reactions slow down, you will get colder than you realise & you can begin doing stupid **** you normally wouldn't, or missing things you'd normally pick up.

If you're commuting I suggest porridge for breakfast (or a big greasy fry-up) and tea/coffee.

[Numbersix]

It was 20F on my Wednesday commute.

I layer, have a set of fairly inexpensive waterproof insulated gloves (Joe Rocket Nitrogen), and most importantly wear a balaclava to keep wind off my neck. Brain freeze from wind chill is no good.

All the riding tips above are right (minus the lowered PSI; I found that makes handling unpredictable as the tires may behave too much differently as they warm). Riding like an 80-year old is not a flaw in the cold; not only are there possibly slick parts but a cold tire on cold pavement is less grippy and will break more drastically (it won't squirm, it'll just go).

By no means think that you *must* continue riding if the conditions change or you see a bad bit of road. I have had to simply pull over and walk the bike when clear skies turned into sleet. Annoying, but less annoying than crashing.

Lastly, to that prior paragraph: keep a close eye on the weather where you are, where you're going, and between, for both the outbound and return times. If you're uneasy at all, find a different way.

[CC Cowboy]

Get a snowmobile suit and put screws in your tires.

[Joshorilla]

Originally Posted by Whiskey

tea

It fueled the worlds largest empire, so it's good enough to keep me warm and focused on the roads!

Good thing about tea is the caffeine in tea is slightly different to the caffeine in coffee, it's theine. Theine gives the same elevating effects as coffee but it lasts for a longer time and will not give you so much of a sudden lift followed by a sudden drop, it's the low GI carbs of the stimulant world.

So forget your monster energy drinks viciously advertised to motorcyclists at like $2 a can, get yourself a mug of tea at home for a couple of cents and feel better for it!

[akima]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Pack some hand warmers somewhere on the bike/tank bag.

Originally Posted by Racer x

You should never try to ride across a frozen road.
Get a fog city visor insert. Nothing else works below freezing.

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Screw it. Just get a bicycle and put some screws through the tire tread. You'll stay warmer because you're active, and you'll have more fun sliding around on something that won't raise your insurance rates if you go down.

Originally Posted by Joshorilla

So forget your monster energy drinks viciously advertised to motorcyclists at like $2 a can, get yourself a mug of tea at home for a couple of cents and feel better for it!

This thread is awesome! I love all these tips.

chone: do you have a cheaper, winter mtb? I'd feel bad putting my Trance through the abuse that winter commuting serves up.

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by Joshorilla

It fueled the worlds largest empire, so it's good enough to keep me warm and focused on the roads!

Good thing about tea is the caffeine in tea is slightly different to the caffeine in coffee, it's theine. Theine gives the same elevating effects as coffee but it lasts for a longer time and will not give you so much of a sudden lift followed by a sudden drop, it's the low GI carbs of the stimulant world.

So forget your monster energy drinks viciously advertised to motorcyclists at like $2 a can, get yourself a mug of tea at home for a couple of cents and feel better for it!

India? China? Japan?

[Whiskey]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

India? China? Japan?

One that spanned every continent & there was always part of it in daylight

[Boom King]

Lol... I don't think you found a big enough map.

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by akima

This thread is awesome! I love all these tips.

chone: do you have a cheaper, winter mtb? I'd feel bad putting my Trance through the abuse that winter commuting serves up.

Nope. Just run the knobbies at low pressure if it's snowwy or run skinny slicks if you plan to stick to the roads. Just remember that the salt off the roads will mean you have to lube everything more often

[allanoue]

Originally Posted by Joshorilla

It fueled the worlds largest empire, so it's good enough to keep me warm and focused on the roads!

Good thing about tea is the caffeine in tea is slightly different to the caffeine in coffee, it's theine. Theine gives the same elevating effects as coffee but it lasts for a longer time and will not give you so much of a sudden lift followed by a sudden drop, it's the low GI carbs of the stimulant world.

So forget your monster energy drinks viciously advertised to motorcyclists at like $2 a can, get yourself a mug of tea at home for a couple of cents and feel better for it!

too much tea?

[7oxSin]

i ride in all temps, as long as its dry. warm is the key, hypothermia will start before you leave your neighborhood. so bundle up hardcore!

[Joshorilla]

It's worth mentioning, keeping warm isn't so much about putting on warmer clothes as much as it is putting on more layers. You can always put a short sleeve tshirt on ontop of a long sleeve t-shirt for some mad 90's grunge look action.