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How do you survive the winter?


Guga

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I'm so bummed by the cold weather that is making riding somewhat less pleasant to put it mildly... What are you doing to scratch the itch of wanting to ride during winter? Keep on going? Put winter tires and more close or shelve it until rare warm day? Go to indoor skating parks? 
BTW may be it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a wide get together in some indoor facility around NYC - Westchester for riders from NY, CT? Check out different wheels and so on?

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10 minutes ago, Eugene Sazhin said:

I'm so bummed by the cold weather that is making riding somewhat less pleasant to put it mildly... What are you doing to scratch the itch of wanting to ride during winter? Keep on going? Put winter tires and more close or shelve it until rare warm day? Go to indoor skating parks? 
BTW may be it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a wide get together in some indoor facility around NYC - Westchester for riders from NY, CT? Check out different wheels and so on?

Start a project. Customize the wheel. I had been leaning my wheels against a wall at home. So, I decided to finally build a stand for my wheels. Went to Micheal's craft store found a simple wooden box with all dimensions about 7". The Sides of the box were made with wooden planks.

I then went to Home Depot and had a 2x4 cut into 5.5" sections. Nailed the 2x4 sections to two sides of the box to create a ledge for the foot platforms, and removed the planks on the other sides to create an opening for the wheels.

I also picked up a 3-wheeled trolley base from Home Depot to make moving my wheelstand easy. 

Total shopping time: two hours (just because I tend to let my imagination guide me through the isles). 

Total project time 1 hour. 

Cost was about $20 just because I didn't have enough stuff laying around and needed to buy all of my material:

Trolley - $8, box - $6, 2x4 - $2, nails - $1.5, felt liner for foot platform landing -$3.

Overall, it came out pretty good and it works effectively. 

 

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2 minutes ago, houseofjob said:

Um... just go out and ride? :D

There literally has to be a cakes of snow or such for me to not ride, and I wouldn't want to go outside in that case in general.

 

Lol, as the majority of the NYC ridership doesn't stop riding just because it's cold outside, not sure how popular it would be to muddle around indoors :roflmao:

.... plus, we did plenty of demo-ing this past summer 2018 in the name of NYC E-Riders, where were you?

I just got into this recently - got my first wheel in November. Plus I'm not in NY - i'm in CT, Danbury area. So i missed all of the demo days:(

As for the indoor - that one looked like a lot of fun:

 

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59 minutes ago, Eugene Sazhin said:

I just got into this recently - got my first wheel in November. Plus I'm not in NY - i'm in CT, Danbury area. So i missed all of the demo days:(

As for the indoor - that one looked like a lot of fun:

 

Ah, I see, welcome!

There are some trick guys in the fold here in NYC, but not too many.

Plus, pounding repeatedly on any EUC will eventually lead to bent axles, which cannot be fixed, require a new motor, something these EUC trick videos will never tell you...

Edited by houseofjob
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3 minutes ago, houseofjob said:

Ah, I see, welcome!

There are some trick guys in the fold here in NYC, but not too many.

Plus, pounding repeatedly on any EUC will eventually lead to bent axles, which cannot be fixed, require a new motor, something these EUC trick videos will never tell you...

Cool, good to know, thank you!

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4 hours ago, Gary said:

Move to southern california. Its 70 every day and no humidity.

Sorry I couldn't hold back. I feel your pain

Ouch! That hurts!;) Considering that we were living in SoCal few years back;)

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I'm in a pretty warm part of the country, but have found when it hits 40degF or less, I really just don't want to ride. Just my personal preference.

Couple that with the fact that this time of year is also our "rainy" season, it's a pretty mess outside. Mornings are almost freezing, with left over moisture from the previous day's afternoon and all night showers, and when I'm getting ready to go home, it usually starts raining. It's not the wet roads that gets me, it's hitting a patch of mud on dark streets. It got me again a few weeks ago, so I'm being very careful about my riding conditions.

So this week, my feet are hurting from all the walking I'm doing. :( I really hate walking now. And, I used to really like this kind of weather, as I am an indoor person. But since I started riding various scooters over the last 6 or 8 years...I've come to really enjoy the sunny weather. So, this is a bit of a bummer for me as well.

I did try those new Bird rent-a-scooters last week that are everywhere...so If I'm really itching to spend a couple bucks, I can just ride one of those. Comparing the Bird to Lime and Lyft scooters, the Bird has a slightly larger wheel, so I'm sticking with that one.

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1 hour ago, Professur said:

-8C here. I spent 20 minutes buzzing around the work parking lot. A bit of packed snow down. Had one slow speed spill taking a turn on an icy corner. I try to ride until my mustache and beard freeze together.

Mustache / beard freeze. Now that’s dedication. This video is 2 years old (sorry) but I’m like you and try to keep finding ways to enjoy the cold temperatures and snow.

 

Edited by Rehab1
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One problem I foresee is head protection. Most of us are using helmets that are very well ventilated. About the only 'good' head protection intended for cold weather use is skidoo helmets. A pretty high dollar item for a limited use period. Next would be downhill ski helmets, but they lack a chin guard. Hockey gear is relatively safe, but again, pretty well ventilated so you're going to have a cold scalp. Right now I'm getting by with a winter cap/bike helmet combo. Not the level of protection I'd like when riding on a possibly icy surface, but given how thin my hair is on top .. a necessary evil. Large insulated mittens go well over my K2 wrist protection.  Unfortunately that leaves me with the manual dexterity of your average gingerbread man.

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11 minutes ago, Professur said:

One problem I foresee is head protection. Most of us are using helmets that are very well ventilated. About the only 'good' head protection intended for cold weather use is skidoo helmets. A pretty high dollar item for a limited use period. Next would be downhill ski helmets, but they lack a chin guard. Hockey gear is relatively safe, but again, pretty well ventilated so you're going to have a cold scalp. Right now I'm getting by with a winter cap/bike helmet combo. Not the level of protection I'd like when riding on a possibly icy surface, but given how thin my hair is on top .. a necessary evil. Large insulated mittens go well over my K2 wrist protection.  Unfortunately that leaves me with the manual dexterity of your average gingerbread man.

??? Ever heard of a balaclava? The thing that makes you look like a bank robber. Should be no problem to put under a helmet and offers substantial insulating properties with wind blocking.

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I've got one. But it's a 4 layer job for -40c. I'm not happy about how much loose space there is between bone and helmet. Only thing worse than no helmet is a badly fitting one. And it's very tight around the eyes. Great for staying warm, but lousy for peripheral vision. I've normally got better than normal side views (summat to do with the shape of my head) and wearing it makes me feel like I've got blinders on. Not to mention that wearing one in public (city) these days is just begging to have someone call the cops on you.

The hat I wear under the helmet now is sufficient, for the face I've got a full beard so I'm not overly worried about that. The problem is that the helmet's design (as with most others) funnels air down to the scalp. What I really need is a good lightweight full face with vents you can close.

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After watching some videos of people riding in -25C i feel like a wuss;))

I do layer up and was riding somewhat successfully in about -2C (Around 30-32F) Feet and hands are the biggest issue so far. My full face helmet does have some vents, but they can be closed, so for these temps it works nicely, no need to add anything so far. 
I'm now preparing for first time ever riding in the NYC this week - we'll see how that will go;)

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Be warned that if they put down 'grit', it can be as bad as ice. Here on the sidewalks they put down a grit which is a bit larger than sand, and razor sharp. Can't walk a dog on it.  It gives boots good traction on ice, but can stick in the sole and you wind up carrying it with you.  I haven't faced it on the wheel yet. Don't want to either. Go down on that .... yikes.

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ALERTS IN EFFECT

Freezing Rain Warning

Issued at 14:29 Monday 10 December 2018
Freezing rain is expected or occurring.
Patchy freezing rain continues in Edmonton and regions to the east. Rain and freezing rain will taper off to flurries later this afternoon.
Rain may produce icy and slippery surfaces even where air temperatures are above zero.
###
Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become icy and slippery.
Freezing rain warnings are issued when rain falling in sub-zero temperatures creates ice build-up and icy surfaces.

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In a about an hour I'll be riding home from work in this.
Never experienced this rain-in-winter before; this year it's a regular occurrence.

-------------------

Most treacherous ride yet, truly terrifying for long stretches, but no four point dismounts today. :yawn: 

Edited by winterwheel
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On 12/10/2018 at 11:24 AM, Guga said:

...

I'm now preparing for first time ever riding in the NYC this week - we'll see how that will go;)

---

I survived!! It was pretty cool ride - not too long - from Ferry terminal on Hudson and 39th to Grand Central. I was in full gear. I had a couple of "iffy" starts, but managed. Also scared a couple of pedestrians due to not being used to riding in the city, so my decision making probably was not top notch. I took 42nd and it probably was a mistake for a first ride. Too busy at 5pm, so at two occasions i had to pass the stuck traffic: ones on sidewalk for about 50-75 feet and once i had to go to the middle of the road in between two directions, couldn't lane-split at all, it was so packed. There was no oncoming traffic, so that helped a lot;) But, hey, it worked and it was super fast!

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On 12/7/2018 at 7:53 PM, Professur said:

-8C here. I spent 20 minutes buzzing around the work parking lot. A bit of packed snow down. Had one slow speed spill taking a turn on an icy corner. I try to ride until my mustache and beard freeze together.

Your Location "French Canuckistan" really cracks me up :roflmao:

 

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