Hardy commuters aren’t going to let a little bit of snow put them off, but of course equipment choice in severe conditions is critical… particularly tyres. That’s why Cotic are now offering a Monster Cross upgrade to the standard RoadRat. Essentially it’s a RoadRat sporting a set of Bontrager XDX 1.75in tyres on 29inch wheels.

Drifting snow holds no fears for these those bad boys… smooth tarmac might slow them down a tad and they are probably not the best on ice, but then what is? (Suppose you could stud them with pop rivets…)

Cotic supremo, Cy Turner got the idea for the Monster upgrade at last year’s Singlespeed World Champs, " I used some Jones XR 29×1.8" tyres on my RoadRat at the Singlespeed UK champs a couple of years back, but then a few weeks ago 18 Bikes (our local Cotic dealer) wanted some hoooge tyres for a custom build and Bontrager had started doing the XDX in 29×1.75". I use the 2.1" and 2.4" versions on my mountain bikes, so thought they’d be fun. We got some to try and they worked a treat.

All pics courtesy of 18 Bikes.