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Old 11-08-2019, 09:45 AM   #1381
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UK resident Russ Mantle rides his 1 millionth mile (1,609, 344 km). He AVERAGES over 23,000km a year. Now I really feel lazy.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-50335757
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Old 11-08-2019, 01:08 PM   #1382
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It's cool, I'm only like.. 18,500 km behind him this year.
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Old 11-08-2019, 02:56 PM   #1383
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I don't count, so I don't get to be disappointed with myself. Felt like a good year, must have been!
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Old 11-08-2019, 06:40 PM   #1384
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Tailwind for me! Saw a fellow rider in the NE this morning with those valve lights on their bike. Anyone ever used them before? I kind of like the idea of a little colour and extra visibility, especially in the winter riding.

I ordered one from Amazon and it's lasted several weeks now on the first battery. Kids love it. Adults roll their eyes... but they notice it... which is the whole point.


https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Old 11-08-2019, 08:16 PM   #1385
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I ordered some "bike porn" online and it arrived today. So nice smooth and sleek. hmmmmm. Also managed to get it over to by bike-mechanic buddy for immediate install.


Oh, it's a nice new 3K carbon 29r rigid fork that is being installed.

https://www.carboncycles.cc/?s=0&c=43&p=1760


Replacing my 1yr used Salsa Firestarter fork... if anyone in Calgary is interested in a true gravel and/or bikepacking fork THIS is the one for you!
https://salsacycles.com/components/c...restarter_fork
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Old 11-12-2019, 07:32 AM   #1386
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Lovely ride in this morning. Looks like warmer weather all week!
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Old 11-12-2019, 03:04 PM   #1387
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So today was my first real "winter commute" and I felt pretty sketch through lots of it. I need to go down either crescent Heights hill (or centre Street/Edmonton trail/whatever Hill) and struggled with even with my studded tires. It was super icy and slushy and I had a difficult time turning especially. Does anyone have any insight on how to manoeuvre in a safer and easier way? My gf was with me and even had a slow motion spill (also with studded tires).
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Old 11-12-2019, 03:07 PM   #1388
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Keep your weight back as much as you can, you can slide your saddle back on the rails a little to help.. You may want to lower your saddle a little too. The soft warm snow can be a little tricky. It's OK to go slow, I'm substantially slower in the winter. It's not going to be graceful.
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Old 11-12-2019, 03:49 PM   #1389
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Keep your weight back as much as you can, you can slide your saddle back on the rails a little to help.. You may want to lower your saddle a little too. The soft warm snow can be a little tricky. It's OK to go slow, I'm substantially slower in the winter. It's not going to be graceful.

Yep. my commute is usually around 20-21 min to work and even today just with the studs and the extra clothing it adds about 7 min and 100 calories of work.
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Old 11-12-2019, 06:57 PM   #1390
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So today was my first real "winter commute" and I felt pretty sketch through lots of it. I need to go down either crescent Heights hill (or centre Street/Edmonton trail/whatever Hill) and struggled with even with my studded tires. It was super icy and slushy and I had a difficult time turning especially. Does anyone have any insight on how to manoeuvre in a safer and easier way? My gf was with me and even had a slow motion spill (also with studded tires).

First off... great job for sucking it up and doing it. It's these near-zero temps that really honestly are the worst and often most dangerous IMO. Except for those surprise blizzards that suddenly dump 6-12" just hours before your epic commute home.



A few other options, and I'm not trying to be an @$$ about it:
1. Choose an alternate route that doesn't scare the crap out of you
2. You may need to "own your lane" in order to ensure you ride *for your own safety* rather than other motorists convenience
3. look at the type of front tire you're running versus the snow type. Sometimes the skinny tires work better (ie they can cut down through the slush)... sometimes they just get all squirrelly; ditto for 2.x" tires.
4. not all studded tires are equal - some are friggin awful. Ya gotta find what works for you.


I'm currently riding with a 700cx38 Gravdal fully studded up front and an older Nokian Hakkapolitta 700c studded in the back on the gravel bike and it's amazing. When it gets crappier I move the Gravdal front wheel to my hybrid (it's more upright and has panniers and hence more stable) which has a 26" Schwalbe snow stud in back... this has by and large been the best combo for me the last ~5-7 years.
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Old 11-13-2019, 07:26 AM   #1391
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So today was my first real "winter commute" and I felt pretty sketch through lots of it. I need to go down either crescent Heights hill (or centre Street/Edmonton trail/whatever Hill) and struggled with even with my studded tires. It was super icy and slushy and I had a difficult time turning especially. Does anyone have any insight on how to manoeuvre in a safer and easier way? My gf was with me and even had a slow motion spill (also with studded tires).
The soft/slushy snow is known as snirt, and it loves to grab tires and move them anyway it pleases. I find when riding on it shifting some weight onto my front tire helps cut through it (I ride 35mm studded tires in the winter) and smooth out some of the grabbing.

I also lower my seat down a little more for winter riding, and when riding sketchy stuff am usually ready to get my feet off the pedals and out to either side for some stability if things start going sideways.

Dealing with those hills though, there won't be much you can do about it until they get cleared nice. Always plan to maybe do some walking if conditions are really tough.
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Old 11-13-2019, 07:30 AM   #1392
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Interesting you find it better to shift your weight forward. When I shift my weight back my froth tire may get more squirrly but I'm much less likely to fall. Probably depends a lot on bike geometry, so try both!


I had one foot hanging loose all the way down the bluff today, it was super sketchy. Hopefully the rest melts off today.
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Old 11-13-2019, 07:30 AM   #1393
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Also, full moon ride through the park this morning was awesome.
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Old 11-13-2019, 07:37 AM   #1394
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Yeah I've found my bike handles the snirt better if I shift more weight over my handlebars. That full moon was awesome this morning, a nice ride in and I love seeing the graupel covering the pathways.
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Old 11-13-2019, 09:30 AM   #1395
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This so called "snirt" was definitely the hardest part. I'm running 35mm studded tires as well and it seemed fine on basically everything else. I dropped my seat down a bit and that also seemed to help. The crescent hill path definitely seems to get pretty icy easily though haha.
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Old 11-13-2019, 09:38 AM   #1396
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Ya, there is no good way down in these conditions. You could try the gravel one going diagonally from 4th st to the P.I. bridge if you are sticking to the east end. Often the gravel paths are a bit grippier than the paved ones. Once the pathways get to iced up I end up taking the 10th st bike lane downhill, but that's a last resort.
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Old 11-13-2019, 09:45 AM   #1397
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This so called "snirt" was definitely the hardest part. I'm running 35mm studded tires as well and it seemed fine on basically everything else. I dropped my seat down a bit and that also seemed to help. The crescent hill path definitely seems to get pretty icy easily though haha.
Studs aren't going to help you with snow or heavily rutted ice. Rutted ice requires caution and that's the only thing that can help. In deep snow you want fatter tires, but ice (like this morning) where you can't quite tell where it is or it's thin and sheer is where studs will help.

I'd speak more from experience if I hadn't bought the wrong size studded tires the other day.. Grr.
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Old 11-13-2019, 12:11 PM   #1398
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This so called "snirt" was definitely the hardest part. I'm running 35mm studded tires as well and it seemed fine on basically everything else. I dropped my seat down a bit and that also seemed to help. The crescent hill path definitely seems to get pretty icy easily though haha.
Snirt it the only part of cycling year round that I hate. It's not fun to ride in, it's stressful and when you finally get out of it you usually find your hands have death gripped the handlebars.
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Old 11-14-2019, 07:25 AM   #1399
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Going out after work and it didn't make sense to be stuck with my bike downtown, so I took the bus to work for the first time in almost 2 years. I feel dirty.
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Old 11-14-2019, 07:34 AM   #1400
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I just drove to work today, had to pick a person up at a car dealership. I feel so dirty. Especially with this fantastic riding weather, I think I can crack out the summer bike again for tomorrows rides.

I will take this opportunity to gas up today though, last fill up was October 25th.
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