Is it possible to commute off-road through the winter?
Boring (I struggle with long sentencestuff) background:
One too many close shaves on my route to work has put me off the road route, it's quick, but just a bit to busy to be appealing.
And the cycle path is a mix of shared pavement with 100+ driveways and side streets crossing it (I'd rather do the road, which isn't that bad actualy as it's a very wide straight one!) followed by normal shared use sustrans style path. It'd be the longest, slowest and least stimulating route though.
The third option is the bridleway/footpath, which is mostly muddy farm track. Is it possible to build a bike that can not clog up (it's quite wet/soil/organic matter mud rather than frame clogging clay) and have mudguards?
Actual question:
I've some 65mm SKS guards off the tourer, do you reckon they could work with narrow MTB tyres in mud and not clog up? I need to figure out a way of staying or being clean-ish before I get to the office as the shower's are a long way down a carpeted corridoor! And there isn't a hose or anything in the bike shed.
You could give it a go with some Maxxis Beaver/Medusa or similar.
Cheap over trousers with a long or full length zip for venting and some cheap neoprene overshoes, just the simple pull on type that you don't need to faff around with.
In winter - tights with separate shorts underneath, and overshoes. Overshoes and tights off revealing clean shoes and legs to walk through the office. Likewise your windtop. I do this when MTBing if I ahve to drive home, so I can keep the car relatively clean without having to change.
As for the bike - I'd worry more about chain wear than anything else, and for this reason soft organic material is in your favour, rather than grit. If you don't want to clog, get really narrow tyres, easy.
That sounds like an excellent punishment - muddy winter slog with the added misery of it ending with a day at work!
As for the bike - I'd worry more about chain wear than anything else, and for this reason soft organic material is in your favour, rather than grit. If you don't want to clog, get really narrow tyres, easy.
Anyone recomend some really narrow 29er mud tyres. Or wide CX mud tyres? Probably needs to be 1.8/40-45mm to leave mudguard clerance but still be big enough to be puncture resistant, which rules out UCI legal cross tyres and most MTB options 🙁
Chain wear shouldn't be an issue, I can always re-lube before the return leg.
Extra layers sounds like a plan, I reckon 3/4 bibs, ronhills and a gillet might work. And some shorts stashed in the bike shed to save co-workers blushes.
Better than sitting in the car!That sounds like an excellent punishment - muddy winter slog with the added misery of it ending with a day at work!
It's ~6 miles, of which only about 1000m and a few isolated sections is really muddy, the rest is mostly gravel. I've done it a few times in winter and it's just too messy to be reasnoble without taking some mitigation measures!
Sadly a sailing race this weekend in less than ideal conditions revealed that dropping cyling in favour of Sailing for the summer has really FUBAR'd my fitness so I really need to do something about it, which means a lot of winter miles this year!
Singlespeed cross bike with mudguards? Some Landcruisers should cope ok.
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I 've got schwalbe cx 26" tyres and full guards on my hard tail.
On my susser I've got Bonty Muds and full guards. It works.
I've been doing it for over 5 years.[img] 
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This is a big help if you want gears.
I used to choose a route along the Thames and out of Oxford instead of a route through town for my previous commute - slightly longer but vastly preferable to mixing it with the traffic, even in the dead of winter, and on a crisp cold morning it was lovely: I miss it now that I'm doing train and Brompton into London. I mostly used my Roberts Roughstuff, but took my hardtail with crudguards if it was particularly muddy.
There's a lot to be said for singlespeed or hub gears. I'm selling an Alfine 11 speed hub built into a disc wheel if you do want to go down that route...
Singlespeed won't make much difference to his problem. He doesn't complain about his gears clogging up.
New bike an option? Good excuse for cycle to work 29+ and fit it out with some Maxxis Beavers for your commute and intended wheels and tyres for weekend fun 😀
As for cleaning yourself, apart from layered clothing you can easily shed and walk into work without spreading mud but not naked, is it possible to keep one of those pump up garden spray things in the bike shed to hose yourself down on a bit of grass or near a grid before going inside?
Here's pics of my 26 cx pros and full guards.
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is it possible to keep one of those pump up garden spray things in the bike shed to hose yourself down on a bit of grass or near a grid before going inside?
That might just be genius, the bike cage's in an undergound car park so drainage and stashing it isn't a problem.
I reckon a combination of that for boots, sacrificial ronhills/gillet and full length guards and CX tyres with plenty of clerance might just work.
you sir need a gravel bike, a CX bike. thinner tyres cut through mud and also get one with rack mounts, quicker on the road but also very usable in mud off road where nothing is too technical.
clothing wise, I'd go tights over cycling shorts and jobs a good un.
there will be days you do the other routes but a gravel bike will mean you can change your mind.
you sir need a gravel bike
Planning on proving it's possible on the SS 29er and some cheep Schwalble CX tyres first, then if that works getting something like the Pinnacle Arkose 4 with disk brakes, it can always be SS'd, but 105 kit's cheap enough not to worry about commuting.
26x1.8 medusa is what I use to ride in the slop all winter. I just use crud guards and a neoguard. I don't go fast enough to get much spray on the face / body - mostly legs which is taken care of by removing tights and shimano goretex boot things.
It's very slow going.