Winter on a road bike… any tips?

Riding road bikes in winter has always been a grim experience and one I’ve generally avoided, but put some full length mud guards on recently and invested a bit in some kit and it’s been a bit of a revelation. Anything else I should be obsessing about for the winter months on the road? (e.g. bike setup, tyres, pressure, kit essentials…)

Long mudflaps on the bottom of the mudguards – mine didn’t come with any – are plastic milk bottles a good material to make some with?

Hmm not sure. I got the crud catcher road race ones as my LBS recommended them for my frame, something to do with clearance. A little fiddly to fit but work well. They’ve got bits you can add to make them longer.

Guess you could cut some out of old milk bottles and stick them on but might be a bit too flexy.

Bike wise; just keep piling on the chain lube. Don’t bother cleaning it off, just pile it on, wipe off the excess and repeat before every ride.

Keep your tyres pumped up to 90-100 psi, and don’t ride in the gutter, and when you start to get 2-3 punctures in your rear tyre, change it for a new one.

If you can find a reliable puddle near home, stop and spin your wheels in it; this helps to wash most of the dirty grey brake dust off your rims which will keep things cleaner, and make your rims last a little longer.

Stick new brake and gear cables on now. Aim to replace them in 3 months time; go and buy the new cables now, so you can do it at your leisure. Buy some new brake blocks now too; they will get knacked quickly.

Clothing wise, get your base kit sorted; shorts, with tights over the top. Long wooly socks to keep your lower legs warm, overshoes, try windproof socks if you want, or Sealskins.

Choose a baselayer that suits you, then layer up on top of that; long sleeve top and gilet if it’s going to be cold and dry, long sleeve top and waterproof if wet.

Best gloves are cheapo Thinsulate gloves from local market; they get wet but stay warm.

Cycling cap under helmet to keep glasses drier, and Oakley Nanoclear to keep specs clean.

Top #firstworldproblem tip: Get a small thick plastic bag to put your phone in, then stick it in your pocket.

Get some CO2 canisters to sort out punctures, but start the repair/re-inflation with a pump to ensure the tyre is seated properly on the rim.

Use black bartape; dirty wheels = dirty hands/gloves = dirty white tape.

Best waterproof is an old fashioned boil-in-the-bag waterproof with the sleeves cut off to just above the elbows; open it when you get too warm, shut it when cold. The cut-off sleeves stop the sweat from running down into your gloves, and no-one complains about cold fore-arms.

Eat lots, drink lots, learn to ride in shitty conditions and you can kick arse all the rest of the year.

Overshoes. Wind proof gloves and a picture of a Flandria rider doing Paris Roubaix in the seventies as insperaintion before you go out. Cant paste up so have a look at Pez http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/cgi/gallerypicget.asp?pic=http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/races12/classic12/rbx-godefroot.jpg

good list above – tempting not to drink/eat

still find wetsocks better than sealskins

ride time rather than distance? rain/leaves/headwinds make (my) progress slower

take lights if a mechanical means could get caught out

wd40 front mech when get back

mainly what crikey says, sounds like a fellow stalwart road man, dishes out the pain on the mtb due to fittness gained on the road.

winter miles = summer smiles 😛

Route wise: choose three loops, an easy flat loop, a moderate loop, and a tough route.

The increasing toughness can be due to length or climbing, or both.

Take note of the prevailing wind direction, and look at the weather forecast when you go out.

If you can, ride out into the wind, then come back with a tail wind.

Have one loop that you can commit to riding whatever the weather, however bad you feel, and do it whenever you can’t get your head around anything else. You should know every single grid, every single piece of tarmac, every pothole by the end of winter.

Wind is a mind game.

Rain is no problem.

Wind and rain together are just a bit more of a challenge.

Accept that you will feel too cold for 10 minutes at the start of every ride, then feel too warm for the next 20 minutes, then will be OK for the rest.

Clothing appears to be very subjective – I create/lose a LOT of heat from my arms.

Keeping extremities warm is essential (it’s been incredibly mild so far – I doubt any market thinsulate gloves would cope in proper cold)

I like wide tyres – less pressure, more comfort.

Don’t worry about speed – that’s not what a winter bike is for.

Depending on the clearance with the crud raceguards and if you’re riding on back lanes, mud can accumulate under the guard and start to drag. Look for puddles you can safely ride through to help clean the muck out from between the guard and the tyre!

Thanks, some top tips there. Got a cap and some decent overshoes which are great. Got the craft lobster gloves for xmas which also seem very good too, very warm with a removable liner. Used merino winter socks which worked well as even with overshoes they got wet in the deeper puddles but still stayed warm.

Must sort out bar tape, cables and pads. Also got to try some of that nano clear stuff, sounds good.

I shall check out the paris roubaix photo whenever in need of inspiration 🙂

I doubt any market thinsulate gloves would cope in proper cold)

I thought this, then tried some. Buy some a bit too big; they are essentially fleece gloves with a wee bit of extra insulation, and I have never had cold hands while using them. I suspect they work a bit like fleece pile clothing, Buffalo style stuff; the insulation is enough to keep your hands warm even when the gloves are soaked through, and the heat of your hands keeps a warm layer next to your skin.

I’ve got windproof Exte-Ondo gloves and ‘waterproof’ Chiba gloves, both bought from bike shops ( as well as every other bike glove going; 25 years worth of experimentation…) and neither work as well as simple market stall gloves.

Your Mileage May Vary, as they say, but at £3-5 a pair….?

Crikey’s list above is a good cover-all – I’d keep an eye on brake pad wear (in fact on long winter rides I chuck a spare pair of pads in the saddle bag; if you’re riding in the hills on mud/grit/salt covered roads you can get through them frighteningly quickly).

28c tyres offer extra grip on those cold, greasy, leaf covered roads and offer a little bit of extra cushioning (call it your little bit of luxury for riding in the shitty weather)

If you’re using your ‘summer’ bike, it’ll need a lot of looking after to survive in good condition. If you’ve got a ‘winter’ bike treat it as such and spend the time on yourself rather than trying to get everything perfect.

Warming embrocation is a lovely pre-ride treat 🙂

Emergency ‘cafe-stop’ money should be topped up frequently (but dipping into it requires you to ride the long way home) 🙂

put some full length mud guards on recently

Well you’ve got the most important item sorted.

Keep your feet warm and dry with a pair of these

Maybe a proper winter frame sometime that can take full mudguards.

don’t go out first thing when it’s icy, ride later in the day or get the MTB out 😉

…Ooooh yes, and keep your neck warm; use a Buff, or a polo neck base layer; you’ll be surprised at the extra warmth from such a simple addition.

I’ve got wind-stopper mitts & chibas for mtb, no need to try anything else

Might have to check out wider tyres too… though the ones on there haven’t given me any trouble so far.

Just the one road bike for me, nothing too fancy, so don’t have the luxury of a bike for each season.

Emrbocation sounds good… never tried it, any recommendations?

Edit: Got a couple of merino buffs too and they are most excellent.

…and, really getting serious now; if you simply can’t face 4-5 hours into a headwind, or you are just tired, look at train stations..

I’ve done 60 mile rides that ended at a train station 30 odd miles from home with a head wind to negotiate, then caught the train back.

Emrbocation sounds good… never tried it, any recommendations?

The Elite stuff[/url] is very ‘warming’ (ignore all the guff about ‘converting pain into rainbows’ etc, it just makes your legs feel tingly toasty)

This stuff[/url]‘s nice if it’s properly grim outside, as it lasts for quite a while

Woolie boolie socks rock, other than that can only reiterate what others have said, mudguards, overshoes, buff, cap and lights.

another thing, latex gloves with your inner tubes so when you change a tube your hands dont get full of black brake 5hit that is hard to get off. if its going to be a realy wet ride, slap some vaseline on ya ring, stops chaffing :oops:.

MTFU.

Seriously. Pouring down? Freezing? No one else going out? Bike not really working properly? A hilly 60 mile route sounds good.

embro oils, tried them but never convinced about the real effects.

a oil that irritates your skin which causes the blood to rush to the surface to give you a warm/hot sensation. this is blood that is cooling down rapidly as its near the surface. this blood was in your core keeping you warm?????

OLD-SCHOOL BADNESS.
TOMMY GODWIN: BEAT THE ‘YEAR’S MILEAGE’ RECORD BY OCTOBER 1939. AND RODE ON TO 75,065 MILES FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR.

KEPT ON RIDING TO TAKE THE 100,000 MILE RECORD IN MAY 1940. SPENT A FEW WEEKS LEARNING HOW TO WALK AGAIN, THEN WENT OFF TO FIGHT THE WAR.

BEAT THAT, PUSSIES.BIGRINGRIDING.COM

kingkongsfinger – Member
OLD-SCHOOL BADNESS.
TOMMY GODWIN: WON SOME STUPID RECORD THAT NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT WHILE HIS MATES WERE HAVING FUN. YES, AT THE TIME, HE WAS LIVING WITH HIS MUM

FTFY 😉

By Andy Hampsten

From the start of the Giro, I knew the Gavia Pass was going to be the key stage. The 1966 winner of the Giro, Italian Gianni Motta had befriended our team and throughout the early stages of the Giro he kept telling me “Andy, the Gavia is your stage to take the pink jersey”. It was really cool that an Italian was so supportive of an American and an American team trying to win his national race.

We knew that the conditions were going to be pretty bad on the Gavia Pass. The morning of the stage, the race director held a meeting with all the team managers and he told them that it was snowing on top of the pass but the road was clear. Armed with that information, our support personnel scoured the shops in Sondrio, where we were staying and bought all the warm gloves and wool hats they could find. Each rider was then asked to pack a special mussette bag which was to be handed to the rider 1/2mi before the summit of the pass. All our warmest clothes including the hats and gloves went into the bag.

The stage had two climbs, the relatively minor Passo Aprica, a 2000 foot climb followed by a 1500 foot descent then a long, gradual 2000 foot ascent up a valley to the 4500 foot, 10 mile climb over the Gavia Pass (8599 ft above sea level) followed by a 15 mile, 4500 foot descent into Bormio and the stage finish.

Things started to look grim on the descent of the Aprica. I was wearing tons of clothes, but the rain had been coming down in buckets from the start of the stage and I was shaking badly from the wet and cold. In the valley going up to the base of the Gavia I was upset because this was going to be my big day and it appeared that it was not going to happen. Slowly, I began to accept that it was going to be bad and that it was going to be bad for everyone else. I convinced myself that I should just stick to the plan that we had hatched weeks before. I had a good relationship with my coach, Mike Neel, and I trusted him. In 1985, my first Giro, he and I had driven the route of my first stage win in the morning before the stage started. Mike had shown me the exact spot to make my attack and I went on to win the stage.

I realized that I had to go 100% on the attack and hold nothing back. I had about 10 kilos of wet clothing from the weather, but I had to get rid of everything. I dumped my leg warmers and 2 extra jerseys. I was down to shoes and socks, shorts, 1 undershirt, a thin ong-sleeve polypro top and clear Oakleys. I was wearing the “performance” jersey which is the rider with the best combined point totals in sprints, climbing and overall classification made of pretty thick wool, which was nice! My biggest asset was that I kept my neoprene gloves. I realized that I had to keep my hands warm or I couldn’t function.

Going up the valley, the “boys” (i.e. my teammates) were doing everything they possibly could for me; bringing me hot tea every 5 minutes; taking my clothes, etc. I was not sure how much I would have to suffer, but I felt that we were all going to have to go to a new limit to get over the pass. I knew I could suffer, but I also knew it would be very hard for my teammates so I was trying to psyche them up as well. I remember telling Bob Roll that this would probably be the hardest day on the bike in our lives.

At the bottom of the climb, the Del Tongo team was at the front riding tempo for their race leader, Chioccioli, but, everybody knew I was going to attack. When the road steepened, I went to the front and all the climbers marked my wheel. I could hear them muttering “Hampsten is going to attack” and trying to discourage me. At this point the road was still paved, but when I came around a left-hand switchback and saw the road turn to dirt and the 16% sign, I punched it. I was definitely playing head games. I wanted the other riders to be afraid of both my strength and of the height of the climb. The other riders knew I was strong, I had won the mountain stage to Selvino two days before. I was putting my cards on the table now, so early on the climb, because on the valley approaching the Gavia, I had re-affirmed my commitment to attack on this day.

I was prepared to attack multiple times, but I was relieved to see it break up so quickly into little groups. Zimmermann, Breukink, Chioccioli and Delgado were all chasing, but it was definitely breaking up. There was a small breakaway of minor riders up the road that was coming apart so I concentrated on picking off those riders. I was glad to finally be going hard again because I was still cold from the descent off the Aprica some 10 miles back.

Because of all the rain, the dirt was really shaky. It was pretty soft, each tire left a groove mark. I had to use my 39×25 to make progress. I think I was more comfortable on the dirt than everyone else; I trained a lot on dirt in Colorado and I had ridden a lot in the snow in Colorado and in winters in North Dakota, I had ridden my bike 3 miles each way to school in the snow.

As I climbed higher and higher, my mind started wandering and the psychological aspects of what was happening started to creep into my mind. I felt that I had achieved my results, to date, without taking any shortcuts, but when it started getting bad, I thought about what I could do to make things better. I gave up on asking God for any help, I was blessed already having the privilege of racing, instead I speculated on what I would bargain for if the devil showed up. Demoralized by this chain of thought, I realized that at the beginning of the day, I had relied only on myself to get me through the stage. On the Gavia, as always, there where no shortcuts and I had never looked for help from pills or other aids, although I was in such a mental state that I doubt I would have resisted any temptation that delivered me to Bormio. I must rely on myself to see me through.

At 4mi to go to the summit, my mind started going into a fog. I was going hard, but it was not like I was murdering anyone, Breukink was the closest behind at about 1 minute back. I started thinking about how cold I was now and the 15mi descent from the summit and the doubts started creeping in….. were the team cars going to get through? Would the soigneur be there at 2.5 mi to go with hot tea? Would Och be there at 1km to go with my bag? What would I do when I got my bag? I realized that if I stopped to put something on, I probably wouldn’t keep going, so I decided to just take the bag and keep riding.

About 3mi from the top, I went to put on a wool hat but decided first to brush the water out of my hair, but my hand went ‘thunk’ on a huge snowball that fell onto my back.

I got a bottle of hot tea from our soigneur ET at the point of the climb that was carved out of the ountain-side, which is about 2.5 miles below the summit. I tried to hug the mountainside and get a moment of shelter but the spectators where more determined to shelter themselves than move. At 1mi to go, the wind picked up and the snow was blowing hard into my face.

I was creating tracks in the snow from my tires, but the traction was OK. Now I really started thinking about the 15mi of descending and how cold I was and how much colder I could get.

At 1/2mi to go, I took my special bag with a jacket and gloves from Och. The wind was blowing so hard that I could barely keep the bike going and put my jacket on, no-hands. In retrospect, I should have just stopped and put the jacket on since I lost 40-50 seconds to Breukink and he eventually caught me at the top, but if I had stopped, I may never have started again!

When I saw the buildings I thought that was the top of the climb (it was!) and if I was going to stop, I should do so here. But I really wanted to race at that point. It wasn’t survival yet.

By the way it was snowing and the way the flakes were coming down, I figured the storm was coming from the north so I reckoned that the conditions would be much worse on the descent. Because of this, I didn’t fly over the top but held back to save some energy for the descent.

When Breukink caught me at the top, at first, I thought I would follow him on the descent but he was going so slowly when the descent started that I figured I should go in front and make my own mistakes. I learned later that Breukink never put on a jacket. Instead, his team manager, Peter Post followed him down the descent and kept him alert by yelling and cursing at him.

I only had one gear for the descent, all the others had iced up and I kept thinking that I must keep pedaling to keep that one gear free of ice. The road at the top of the descent was gravel. It was better for descending than asphalt as it did not ice up. I tested it a couple of times to see if it was solid and it was. The spectators on the descent did not know if the race had been cancelled so they were wandering all over the road. On one turn, I almost hit a Carerra team mechanic holding a spare pair of wheels and walking down the middle of the road. I remember he was wearing this beautiful gore-tex full body suit and I really wanted to have it on me!

As I descended, I got colder and colder. I tried to shut out the cold and concentrate on the road ahead. It was asphalt now, but luckily it was not icy. I tried not to break too hard. When I used the brakes, first I had to break the ice from the rims, then scrape the water off before I got any stopping power.

I was concerned about hypothermia and just how much colder I could get before I was no longer able to pedal the bike. My arms were basically locked up from the start of the descent, I just tried to keep pedaling to keep my legs moving. At one point, I looked down at my legs and through a layer of ice and lanolin grease, I could see that they were bright red. After that, I didn’t look at my legs again.

About 10km into the descent, Mike Neel in the team car caught up with me. There wasn’t much he could do, the snow had turned to a cold rain, all I cared about was getting down to a place which was warm and I could stop.

At about 6km to go, Breukink caught me, but I was totally blocked and could not respond. Breukink had no rain jacket on, just a jersey, so he could descend faster on the long straight drop into Bormio. There was no bloody way I was going to take my jacket off.

After I crossed the finish line, I headed straight for our our soigneur, Julie. I was in such a rage trying to get down the mountain in one piece that when our team doctor, Max Testa, came up behind me and tried to put his jacket around me, I didn’t realize who it was and since he was keeping me from Julie and my warm clothes, I started punching him. Mike Neel came over and straightened me out and got me in the team car, which was running it’s heater full blast! When I started to warm up the pain started to come back. Mike then told me I had the jersey and the pain and the euphoria swept over me and I just started crying, laughing and shaking. A whole wave of emotions covering the rage to finish the stage to the realization that I would survive me a brief and refreshing emotional meltdown.

Within 10 minutes of the finish, I was up on the podium. The pink jersey felt good. I slipped it on and all my doubts went away. The TV interviews began and I remember saying “Incredible, I have never seen conditions like this, even in Colorado. Today it was not sport, it was something beyond sport.”

Everyone who made it over the Gavia that day was a winner. Even to this day, there is a clique of riders whose bond is that they rode over the Gavia that day.

On this unforgettable day, which La Gazzetta dello Sport dubbed “The day the big men cried,” conditions were so extreme, and time gaps so massive, that organizers did away with the time limit and allowed all who finished to remain classified.

Mrmo, brilliant stuff, what’s that from?

Lights! Have them on and flashing in the daytime. A couple on the back is even better. You’ll be out in dim light, and drivers won’t see you.

Bright clothing too.

Amazing to see so many black or grey clad riders with no lights on this time of year.

Yeah, didn’t think about lights last time out but will definitely be taking them from now on.

mrblobby,

andy hampsten it is his recollection of how he won the Giro. In what can only be described as insane conditions

Oh, also meant to ask… got a powertap on the back at the moment. Is it a bad idea to leave this on over winter? Will it survive?

I think I have to agree with the last few MTFU comments- Road riding is a welcome, cleaner break from the MTB in winter. Certainly not a “grim experience”!

If you ride the MTB in Winter then just wear the same water proof stuff and take the the same care of your road bike as your MTB- it’s not rocket surgery! The only extra things are definitely lights and hi-viz stuff as previously mentioned.

Yeh, powertap will be ok over winter. Thats the most important time to have it on so you can optimise your training, do “hours of power” tempo etc and look back at your figures to make sure you are gettin better etc

crikey
I’ve done 60 mile rides that ended at a train station 30 odd miles from home with a head wind to negotiate, then caught the train

like that idea

and some good “hardman” stuff posted

DanW, got to agree with you there. Feeling of speeding along on the road bike is great after a couple of rides through drying sticky mud on the MTB. Just wondering what tips people had for when the weather turns properly grim and any setup tips for winter road bikes.

Excelent.

Just a normal road bike with Race Blades here. Not race tyres though.
I still go layers so I don’t sweat. Paid off Sunday when my jacket broke and I had to leave it roadside with 30 miles still to go.
Simple gloves here, they worked on the Strathpuffer so fine for Bedfordshire. Got some new’uns Christmas, but they have a liner that comes out when you pull damp hands out, then you can’t get them back on.
I also twiddle my route so I can grab a tailwind home.
Two tubes and pump this time of year. AND tyre levers which are normally left at home. Reason being on dry sub zero days the tyres can really stiffen up.
Rear LED, got caught out in the snow last year. Amd the mist comes down low, even around here.
Fantastic time of year to be out riding.

Edit, Glasses for driving snow/sleet. As for embrocation, I’ve never used it under clothing. I use it on milder wet days with 3/4s as it’s also slightly waterproof.
Kingkongsfinger, good creams take a while to get working and work deep. Crappy ones just heat the skin surface, you can usually tell because your skin looks redder.

Ride with the sun behind, so that car drivers can see you.

Flashing lights a big no-no IMO, makes it v difficult for car drivers to gauge your position.

I nearly stopped for a newspaper on Sunday 😉

As I said, same approach to rides as I would on the MTB. I can’t understand what you’d want to be changing as road bikes are much more all round machines than MTB’s. Conti Gatorskins or similar tough tyres are great no nonsense essentials IMO.

For me I am really liking Lusso Max Repel bib tights with 3/4 fleecy bibs underneath, merino socks and Endura overshoes to keep the feet toasty, an Endura FS260 hat under the helmet, windproof gloves, a couple of long sleeve layers on top with a windproof gilet or full waterproof jacket if appropriate and decent eyewear- nothing spectacular and no changes to the road bike either. I really don’t get roadies who whinge about winter! A quick wipe down of the road bike is all that is required even in the worst of winter and is a darn sight easier to maintain than a full sus MTB that looks like it’s been dragged through a bog after the first 60 seconds off-road 😀