[Le Acemen]

I commute 20 miles each way on a Genesis Equilibrium Disc from 2014. Its 99% country roads, 1% cycle path. If I see 5 cars, it’s a busy morning. As anyone whose ridden here (south-west UK) will know if it’s not up, its down round here. I gain/lose near 2000ft each way. I’ve done it in wind, rain and sun, but not really cold yet. There is little time to react on a downhill and I’m a bit concerned about coming off on my morning commute, 6.50am, dark, 2 degs or less.

As its starting to get icy in the mornings I am considering changing out my tyres from Conti GP5000, to something a little better if these here roads are troublesome. Struggling to know what is right though – I really want something stable and that I can be confident in almost regardless of the starting temperature.

So far considered Schwalbe Marathon Plus and Ritchey Alpine JB WCS.

Does anyone have a view on something that is super helpful in the morning, but given the distance, not a total drag on the evening commute, should that be a bit drier? Ta muchly.

Topic

[Bungle_52]

I have commuted in snow and

I have commuted in snow and ice and it’s no fun, only 5 miles each way for me. As others have said fresh snow is not too bad but once it’s thawed and refrozen its a nightmare. I’ve come off numerous times but if I were to do it now I would buy a cheap old (steel framed) mountain bike £15 -£20 on ebay. The wider tyres at lower pressure make it less likely to come off and the fact that you’re lower to the ground makes it less painful when you do. It’ll take longer to ride in but it will save your nice bike from all the salt and all the spills.
Finally, in my experience, you come off when you brake so think ahead and keep off them as much as possible.

[OnYerBike]

I did my commute a couple of

I did my commute a couple of times in icy conditions last winter running the Vittoria’s at the front and something different (I think Michelin Power Endurance but they have since been replaced so I can’t check), both in 25mm. The Vittoria on the front definitely felt more planted than the back wheel, although I appreciate that’s not a very fair test! I certainly noticed the back wheel sliding about a bit and didn’t have any issues with the front wheel, but there’s a lot more to that than just the tyre choice. 

I’ll admit the reason I only did it “a couple of times” by bike was that it did feel sketchy cycling on icy roads – normally if it was icy I wimped out and took the car. I’m not entirely convinced going up to 30mm would have made sufficient difference for me to be confident about it. But YMMV…

[Captain Badger]

Jules59 wrote:

I think the only way to resolve the problem of coming off a bicycle in icy conditions is get a 3 wheeler.  It happened to me a several times commuting when I lived in the Netherlands,  -17c one year; I can still feel bits of my smashed olecranon. I only cycle for pleasure now and won’t do it on icy roads now I’m in my 60s

Ouch, yes coming off bcomes less fun as the years roll by….

[Captain Badger]

hirsute wrote:

I looked at those in the past but decided there were not enough days to make it worht while. You can make you own though from an old tyre and some screws https://web.archive.org/web/20121025094415/https://thickbikes.com/blog/?tag=stud

Cool!

[Captain Badger]

Le Acemen wrote:

Right. That makes sense. OK, so there is some cycle path that is very leaf-littered that I cover. It sounds like if the weather is cold enough to chop out the tyre, probably worth taking a slightly longer route and avoiding that cycle path as well. 

The alternative is very steep, which is a bastard isn’t it….

Yeah, if the cycle path is tarmacced, leaf litter can make it pretty treacherous. IMO leaves aren’t so bad on gravelled paths, but then you’d be on a mountain or gravel  bike anyway….

[Le Acemen]

Having a look around at the

Having a look around at the Vittoria Corsa G+ Isotech. Looks like £85 for a pair of 28mm tyres. That is lumpy….

Have you ridden these in colder conditions? Say, under 3 degrees?

[quiff]

I have very positive

I have very positive experiences with Schwalbe Marathon Plus, but not in your circumstances. I’ve used them in all weathers except actual snow, but for a shorter, flatter commute, and in London, where roads are busier and temperatures higher, so ice is less often an issue, and isolation even less so. In my experience (in a 35c size) they have been absolutely bombproof. I got over 5 years (commuting c.50km/week) out of my first set, and only one puncture in that time (and that was a nail which went in one side of the tyre and out the other!) I never had a problem with grip, but they are heavy and no doubt very ‘dead’ feeling – didn’t bother me as I’ve never known anything different on that bike (a steel Genesis Day One). I think they also come in a studded version.   

[Le Acemen]

Thanks.

Thanks.

When you say you commuted through 2 icy winters – where are you based? Was there ice on the ground all the time in those winters?

The variable is some of the issue for me – I will leave in icy conditions say, 50% of the time from here on out until February. Coming back though, it will be more like 5% of the time that the roads will be bad (and probably very bad to be an issue throughout the day). Generally, daytime should be 4-10degs, too warm for ice.

So are you riding studded tyres under those temperatures all the time? Or dragging them over dry roads as well?

[pockstone]

Studded tyres are slow, heavy

Studded tyres are slow, heavy, noisy and, if you want to use them conveniently, require a spare pair of wheels with them permanently fitted, (at least throughout the winter months).

I love them.

Nothing else has given me the confidence to ride in frost or snow (even deisel spills) like my Schwalbe studded tyres. After a few icy tumbles, one quite bad that wrote off a pair of wheels, I invested in a pair and commuted with confidence through two icy winters.

[Shades]

Continental Top Contact

Continental Top Contact Winter II are pretty good if your down at zero degrees but 700×37 is the smallest they go (expensive though)

[Jules59]

I think the only way to

I think the only way to resolve the problem of coming off a bicycle in icy conditions is get a 3 wheeler.  It happened to me a several times commuting when I lived in the Netherlands,  -17c one year; I can still feel bits of my smashed olecranon. I only cycle for pleasure now and won’t do it on icy roads now I’m in my 60s

[Hirsute]

I looked at those in the past

I looked at those in the past but decided there were not enough days to make it worht while. You can make you own though from an old tyre and some screws https://web.archive.org/web/20121025094415/https://thickbikes.com/blog/?tag=stud

[Le Acemen]

Right. That makes sense. OK,

Right. That makes sense. OK, so there is some cycle path that is very leaf-littered that I cover. It sounds like if the weather is cold enough to chop out the tyre, probably worth taking a slightly longer route and avoiding that cycle path as well. 

The alternative is very steep, which is a bastard isn’t it….

[OnYerBike]

Mountain bike tyres grip by

Mountain bike tyres grip by “digging in” to soft ground. On tarmac, which doesn’t give at all, you end just riding on top of the knobbly bits, with the bits in between not making any contact – they are just wasted potential grip. See this diagram. There might be some benefit to having a small tread/pattern in order to catch on small irregularities on the road surface, but a chunky tread won’t help. Tread will help with mud/leaf muck as Cap Badger points out, but not black ice.

Obviously the contact surface area of a fat mountain bike tyre will be larger than a thin, slick tyre, but that’s just from having a much wider tyre! 

[Captain Badger]

Le Acemen wrote:

Thanks. I have some Fend Off mudguards on there as well so think I can get to about 30s. Appreciate the note on Schwalbe’s.

Thats mad, so mountain bike tyres don’t grip better bad conditions on road? Despite the fact that they all have them and some people revert to a mountain type bike to ride in winter? I don’t understand how something slick, can grip more – surely the surface area is less?

Vittorias look good, maybe that’s an option.

The reason car tyres have tread is to divert water and stop aquaplaning. In the dry car tyres are better if slick, see motorsport – the tread essentially makes them all-purpose.

As you don’t have the aquaplaning issue with bike tires (unless you’re going at 200mph+) slicks are usually better as they will cut through water to the tarmac underneath.

MTBs have tread to cut through mud to hard ground underneath, but in dry conditions a light tread only may be appropriate. I remember an ongoing debate a few years ago on narrow tyres with high pressure (cuts through mud) v wide with low pressure (bigger footprint). Add large nobbles to the latter and you get the current fashion in MTB. 

Treads on road tires may be useful where a build u of leaves causes problems (eg cycle lanes), but in that situation I’d avoid and ride on the road. Probably in the middle….

[Author]

Replies