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How do you survive the winter?


Guga

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13 hours ago, Darrell Wesh said:

Don’t know how you do it. Boots are so heavy and thick you get zero ground feel and don’t know where your feet are on the pedals. I wear flat, light shoe so no insulation. 

When I first started, I had to wear very thin shoes. Hard shoes made my feet ache within minutes. But that was because I was still fighting for balance. Now I can wear those same hard safety shoes without discomfort ... I'm past fighting and better able to relax my feet.

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13 hours ago, Darrell Wesh said:

Don’t know how you do it. Boots are so heavy and thick you get zero ground feel and don’t know where your feet are on the pedals. I wear flat, light shoe so no insulation. 

I like light flat shoes in the summer as well, but wearing boots is fine for the winter. When spring comes and the boot comes off the wheel feels super nimble and agile.

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2 hours ago, Professur said:

When I first started, I had to wear very thin shoes. Hard shoes made my feet ache within minutes. But that was because I was still fighting for balance. Now I can wear those same hard safety shoes without discomfort ... I'm past fighting and better able to relax my feet.

All my shoes I wear in daily life, working out, work etc  are “zero drop” with no heel. Or they’re some barefoot brand. I absolutely hate cushioned shoes. I can’t even ride my wheel with a thick shoe on lol. My proprioception! 

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23 minutes ago, Darrell Wesh said:

All my shoes I wear in daily life, working out, work etc  are “zero drop” with no heel. Or they’re some barefoot brand. I absolutely hate cushioned shoes. I can’t even ride my wheel with a thick shoe on lol. My proprioception! 

I reckon that is due to your Athletic sprinting background, you want to feel as much connection to the ground as possible 😊

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This winter has been great so far in southern Ontario.  No snow at all, temps rarely below -5C.  Finally got a good glove system, which was the only thing I hadn't quite dialed in.  

I like Goretex instead of my Canada Goose Chilliwack for it's wind stopping properties.  I have a Canada Goose Expedition for when it gets really cold, but haven't had to use it yet.  

 

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5 hours ago, mezzanine said:

This winter has been great so far in southern Ontario.  No snow at all, temps rarely below -5C. 

Wow, you guys are lucky; we've been pummelled with the worst conditions in years. I'd be interested to know how far you ride and what wheel.

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22 hours ago, Darrell Wesh said:

All my shoes I wear in daily life, working out, work etc  are “zero drop” with no heel. Or they’re some barefoot brand. I absolutely hate cushioned shoes. I can’t even ride my wheel with a thick shoe on lol. My proprioception! 

I could not resist the bait... So I tested the ultimate "light" footwear with complicity of the GF ;)

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, winterwheel said:

Wow, you guys are lucky; we've been pummelled with the worst conditions in years. I'd be interested to know how far you ride and what wheel.

Yeah, I've been really grateful for the mild weather thus far.  I'm sure I've jinxed myself now, and it will start ice storming immediately.  It's actually raining right now, which bothers me much more than cold temperatures.  I find temperature doesn't affect my enjoyment of riding hardly at all.  

I have a V8 and an 18S.  I typically make short runs less than 5km each direction.  Said it before, but I think EUCs are especially useful for those of us in colder climates because the batteries aren't left in the cold.  

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I'm always surprised to see so many people riding with just regular soft-soled sneakers and the like.  My feet become fatigued much more quickly without hard soles.  

My best riding footwear are a pair of Danner Light II boots.  They have a hard outsole, spongy EVA midsole, and are made of tough goretex lined leather.  The spongy midsole combined with hard outsole provide the best of all possible worlds, with little fatigue while also absorbing some shock.  

 

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22 minutes ago, mezzanine said:

I'm always surprised to see so many people riding with just regular soft-soled sneakers and the like.  My feet become fatigued much more quickly without hard soles.  

My best riding footwear are a pair of Danner Light II boots.  They have a hard outsole, spongy EVA midsole, and are made of tough goretex lined leather.  The spongy midsole combined with hard outsole provide the best of all possible worlds, with little fatigue while also absorbing some shock.  

 

My feet certainly fatigue quicker with my minimalist shoes. But it’s a trade off I’m willing to accept in order to gain full spatial awareness. I’ve actually been on my V5F+ going 15mph and hit a pothole that completely put me airborne and landing off the pedals onto solid ground but was able to effortlessly run off a fall. It all happened while I was daydreaming so instinct literally took over and I’m positive that the instant feedback with the hard ground I received from my shoes allowed me the proprioceptive input I needed to start running. 

With hard soles I can’t even feel if I’m standing on the pedals(it all feels the same, asphalt, rubber, grass, grip tape etc), no awareness of my feet in relation to my body unless I look down. And having to verify spatial awareness through visual feedback takes too much time for something that needs to be instantaneous. 

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1 hour ago, pico said:

I could not resist the bait... So I tested the ultimate "light" footwear with complicity of the GF ;)

 

 

 

🙂 you see how your feet can flex and “grip” the front edge of the pedal for additional traction and support during one legged tricks? That’s also the advantage of my minimalist wear. 

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17 minutes ago, Darrell Wesh said:

My feet certainly fatigue quicker with my minimalist shoes. But it’s a trade off I’m willing to accept in order to gain full spatial awareness. I’ve actually been on my V5F+ going 15mph and hit a pothole that completely put me airborne and landing off the pedals onto solid ground but was able to effortlessly run off a fall. It all happened while I was daydreaming so instinct literally took over and I’m positive that the instant feedback with the hard ground I received from my shoes allowed me the proprioceptive input I needed to start running. 

With hard soles I can’t even feel if I’m standing on the pedals(it all feels the same, asphalt, rubber, grass, grip tape etc), no awareness of my feet in relation to my body unless I look down. And having to verify spatial awareness through visual feedback takes too much time for something that needs to be instantaneous

For me anyway, I find the balance reflexes work equally well regardless of the footwear: lightest of shoes or heavy boots with studs. I'm not attempting to do anything more interesting than staying upright though.:mellow:

Edited by winterwheel
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Pretty mild today, -3c .. but a lot of ice on the back roads. Made 5.5k, but averaged only 11kph. Wanted to squeeze in a ride before the precip forecast tonight. Anything from rain, freezing rain, sleet or snow ... damn weathermen. Only job where you can be wrong 95% of the time and still keep your job.

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I found this tire manufacturer called Innova just

browsing around for 18" tires, but hard to find the tires online for sale and cheap at that?

http://www.innovatires.com/download/INNOVA-2014-BC.pdf   (not all of them listed in the PDF though)


Find several tires that's potentially a match for my MSX (and other 18" wheels), does not seem to be so easy to find the tires I want to try for Msuper X?

I do want 18x3 or min 18x2.75 for summer, for winter I can see myself go down slightly? I have no idea really but this model IA-3102 is available even as 18x3.25 and seems to have a somewhat thick layer of rubber so I can DIY grip stud it? I bought a Mad Mike for the ACM but this + grip studs look like a more balanced way to go according to my needs and that slippery ice on otherwise flat roads is the main problem.

But perhaps a silly thought cause IA-3105 can be found as 18x3.0 or even 18x2.75 and likely the safer bet? Also do not want to start messing with physics and create too high undesirable rotational forces fighting me, radial force variation whatever.

Keeping the weight down on the rotational force is always a good thing imho.

IA-3301 is also available in 18x2.75 flavor if in need of more snow grip without perhaps sacrificing everything and going flat out Mad Mike like nice on bare asphalt? I am of course speculating based on how they look, not seen, felt or heard any of these tires and have a hard time even finding them here and somewhat cheap?

IA-2569 is only 18x2.125 but claim up to 65 PSI and looks to have holes in the rubber studs, could grip studs fit in them?

Anyone else that managed to find that perfect winter match for MSX at lowest possible cost shipped to EU, or better yet already with ice studs in it? Not looking to do it on the tire I have, unless buying a new one first I suppose but a tire with better traction on snow too would be sweet.

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Just pulled a 6km ride in -12C. Lots and lots of ice .. not the most pleasant of rides. Bought better over-mittens so my hands aren't stiff with the cold anymore ... but I opted to wear my knee pads today.  Figured with the reduced traction more padding would be better. But they held my jeans tight to my legs, letting the cold in. Now my knees are frozen. Wearing my steel caps probably wasn't ideal either. Feet haven't hurt like this in a long time. But, it was a fun ride, well worth the pins and needles.

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Where's the fun in that?

Aw, fark. Just got a weather alert from the weather net.

A low pressure system from the Great Lakes is expected to bring about 10 centimetres of snow to Montreal and vicinity tonight. Winds will also pick up overnight and locally create blowing snow.

Although these expected conditions do not meet warning criteria, there is a strong likelihood that the morning commute in the greater Montreal area will be disrupted. Fortunately, the impact on traffic will soon be forgotten as the forecast calls for rain in the afternoon.


Just bloody lovely.

Edited by Professur
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Well that was fun. 2 new first today. First ever wheel burnout. Surprisingly easy on packed snow. And first hydroplane. Also surprisingly easy in slush. I'll pencil those onto my 'done it, got away with it, don't do it again' list.

Rather annoyed. Did a good run, but the app failed to record it. I hate it when that happens

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On 1/3/2019 at 3:28 PM, Electroman said:

I found this tire manufacturer called Innova just

browsing around for 18" tires, but hard to find the tires online for sale and cheap at that?

http://www.innovatires.com/download/INNOVA-2014-BC.pdf   (not all of them listed in the PDF though)


Find several tires that's potentially a match for my MSX (and other 18" wheels), does not seem to be so easy to find the tires I want to try for Msuper X?

I do want 18x3 or min 18x2.75 for summer, for winter I can see myself go down slightly? I have no idea really but this model IA-3102 is available even as 18x3.25 and seems to have a somewhat thick layer of rubber so I can DIY grip stud it? I bought a Mad Mike for the ACM but this + grip studs look like a more balanced way to go according to my needs and that slippery ice on otherwise flat roads is the main problem.

But perhaps a silly thought cause IA-3105 can be found as 18x3.0 or even 18x2.75 and likely the safer bet? Also do not want to start messing with physics and create too high undesirable rotational forces fighting me, radial force variation whatever.

Keeping the weight down on the rotational force is always a good thing imho.

IA-3301 is also available in 18x2.75 flavor if in need of more snow grip without perhaps sacrificing everything and going flat out Mad Mike like nice on bare asphalt? I am of course speculating based on how they look, not seen, felt or heard any of these tires and have a hard time even finding them here and somewhat cheap?

IA-2569 is only 18x2.125 but claim up to 65 PSI and looks to have holes in the rubber studs, could grip studs fit in them?

Anyone else that managed to find that perfect winter match for MSX at lowest possible cost shipped to EU, or better yet already with ice studs in it? Not looking to do it on the tire I have, unless buying a new one first I suppose but a tire with better traction on snow too would be sweet.

Unfortunately these are motorcycle tires, they don't fit EUC rims :( 18" in motorcycle tire is the rim size. 18" in our EUC is 355 mm, about 14". IA-2569 is the only bicycle tire, but it's too narrow.

Edited by Seba
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5 hours ago, Seba said:

Unfortunately these are motorcycle tires, they don't fit EUC rims :( 18" in motorcycle tire is the rim size. 18" in our EUC is 355 mm, about 14". IA-2569 is the only bicycle tire, but it's too narrow.

Yeah true that, I started out with their bicycle catalogue I found online, later obviously lead me to the webpage itself seeking more info and looking for something closer to the 3" Chao Yang that they ship with from Gotway factory.

My conclusion is that Chao Yang, Innova and co is not Dunlop, Michelin or any known trusted brand where you can find solid information, but at least some of them seems to be the result of the expanding market of bicycles and all kinds of other type of veicles of which many are electric, but I am speculating..

Yes indeed marked as motorcycle tire you are correct, but I cannot help but wonder cause does it it really matter what a piece of text say they are intended for if there was any that can fit the rim good enough like you also point out?  Have not looked that close at the Chao Yang 18x3.0/76-355 on my main wheel but a few hits searching and already I feel pattern start to form, mopeds, electric mopeds and possibly even fatter tire styled electric bicycles seems to be the intended use for it originally and still is in Asia (and other places?)

Could it be the MSX stock tire have got this long sweeping radius going on from edge of rim to other edge of rim because of the slightly narrower distance between them, it does look like the tire walls themselves have been incorporated into this sweeping radius imho. Again I point out I am speculating here, my tire knowledge stretch to less than years worth of work at a tire shop as a kid many, many moons ago and I have a few vague memories about inserting ice studs into car tires, balancing, vulcanization and rest went down the black hole of senile brain fog haha, I am just not an expert on tires or knowledgeable at all within this field.

If it was Dunlop though I have a suspicion info would be easier to come over online, forums etc..? At very least they would add contact info where someone would answer in reasonable time, I cannot even find them for sale really or not the easy way at least, easily available at low cost close by, if I did I could look after what I think I would like to try and just grab one for the sake of experimenting and document it.  The width will have some meaning but even though listed under Motorcycle I have a suspicion we talk more like what we here in the west may call a moped, technically that is still correct but to me that change the meaning a bit and considering the listed use for Chao Yang tires at some pages???

I don´t really know to be honest, wall of text sorry about that, but something like that was my though on the subject going through that webpage listing them, I hope our interest get big enough to draw attention of bigger manufacturers and develop tires made for the specific use, but looking at developing costs for many Michelin car tires for ex (yes I admit I am documentary loon) I have a feeling we have to do with China scraping things together for now and why not it is working too, not exactly cutting edge science to stand the forces over 300km/h. :lol:

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  • 2 weeks later...

We finally have a really deep freeze this winter and I decided to break out the Canada Goose Expedition after only using a couple of lighter jackets thus far.  I immediately wondered if my Chilliwack is fake, the difference between two jackets of the same brand and relative price bracket is so great.  The Expedition is a serious piece of gear and I wouldn't have been out this afternoon without it.  

I'm surprised at how much my goggles cut the perception of my face being cold due to cutting the wind and being oversized.  

Up until the recent storm and now freeze, the weather before it was surprisingly my favourite of the year.  It's the time I most feel ahead of the game, in terms of having caught onto a technology that has specific utility in cold weather environments.  Wouldn't have predicted that before getting a wheel.  

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1 minute ago, mezzanine said:

I'm surprised at how much my goggles cut the perception of my face being cold due to cutting the wind and being oversized.  

Up until the recent storm and now freeze, the weather before it was surprisingly my favourite of the year.  It's the time I most feel ahead of the game, in terms of having caught onto a technology that has specific utility in cold weather environments.  Wouldn't have predicted that before getting a wheel.  

Me neither, when got the wheel I had a planned to use the wheel in summer, the local carshare service  to get work in work in winter. Then I got the hang of the wheel, and never looked back

And it sounds silly, but goggles really do make cold weather rides a lot of fun.

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5 hours ago, winterwheel said:

Me neither, when got the wheel I had a planned to use the wheel in summer, the local carshare service  to get work in work in winter. Then I got the hang of the wheel, and never looked back

And it sounds silly, but goggles really do make cold weather rides a lot of fun.

 

 

5 hours ago, mezzanine said:

We finally have a really deep freeze this winter and I decided to break out the Canada Goose Expedition after only using a couple of lighter jackets thus far.  I immediately wondered if my Chilliwack is fake, the difference between two jackets of the same brand and relative price bracket is so great.  The Expedition is a serious piece of gear and I wouldn't have been out this afternoon without it.  

I'm surprised at how much my goggles cut the perception of my face being cold due to cutting the wind and being oversized.  

Up until the recent storm and now freeze, the weather before it was surprisingly my favourite of the year.  It's the time I most feel ahead of the game, in terms of having caught onto a technology that has specific utility in cold weather environments.  Wouldn't have predicted that before getting a wheel.  

lol it’s the same gear people use when snowboarding and skiing. You have to dress like that to feel comfortable EUC’ing in extreme cold conditions. 

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 year later...

Hello everyone, does anyone here use an electric shovel? I get crazy with all the snow. I consider taking it this winter, but I'm not sure which one to choose or what aspects to think of. 
I found tones of comparisons (like this one) but it doesn't make it any easier to choose. 

Edited by LoidLiu
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