Coffee guy Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 Just want to say: you sir, are a champion 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterwheel Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 (edited) Thanks, much appreciated. I'm really just trying to show that these things are usable year round; in my city it's pretty important for people to know that. Also, it'd be nice to isolate what features make one wheel better for winter than another. Edited January 14, 2020 by winterwheel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post winterwheel Posted January 15, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 15, 2020 Day three in the books, this is definitely peak cold, -36 at run time. Once again no issues. TV folk have taken interest and want to interview me today, so that's something. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D3m0nzz Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 20 hours ago, winterwheel said: Thanks, much appreciated. I'm really just trying to show that these things are usable year round; in my city it's pretty important for people to know that. Also, it'd be nice to isolate what features make one wheel better for winter than another. You are doing god's work. I have been attempting the same in Boston and I thought we had it bad, but it doesn't get NEARLY as cold here. I guess I will have to stick to testing the cutting edge of waterproofing and road-salt resistance because we have a ton of that! 2,100 all-weather miles on my 18XL so far and it has been a champ. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterwheel Posted January 15, 2020 Author Share Posted January 15, 2020 44 minutes ago, D3m0nzz said: 2,100 all-weather miles on my 18XL so far and it has been a champ. Nice! The 18XL is my favorite wheel at the moment as well; it rides like a dream, especially after a few days of riding the noisy, vibrate-y snow wheel around. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xoltri Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 4 hours ago, winterwheel said: Day three in the books, this is definitely peak cold, -36 at run time. Once again no issues. TV folk have taken interest and want to interview me today, so that's something. I saw that on Twitter, make sure to post a link for the video if you get one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterwheel Posted January 15, 2020 Author Share Posted January 15, 2020 (edited) 20 hours ago, Xoltri said: I saw that on Twitter, make sure to post a link for the video if you get one! They called a couple of hours ago to say they might have to push it to this afternoon (seems unlikely now) or tomorrow (here's hoping). I'll post a link if it happens. Edited January 16, 2020 by winterwheel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterwheel Posted January 16, 2020 Author Share Posted January 16, 2020 Okay, so the interview with local news folk is in the books. They took lots of footage of me riding around in two inches of snow. It's -26c right now and the temp actually seems anti-climactic after yesterday. The bad news is that I had my first wipeout of the winter; there was some drifting snow on the bridge and I of course was trying to show off for the camera. Fingers crossed, he won't use that part. I'll know soon, the story is expected to air on the 6pm news tonight. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_bike_kite Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 6 minutes ago, winterwheel said: Fingers crossed, he won't use that part. Something tells me it will be the final clip of the interview. They'll start with queues of traffic in the snow. Then ask if there's a better way. Then they'll have you rolling along in the snow. After a few moments it will be you telling the camera why these things are so brilliant you can't understand why everyone isn't on one. Finally, in the middle of the interviewer signing off with the snow coming down, they'll have you in the background hitting the deck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterwheel Posted January 16, 2020 Author Share Posted January 16, 2020 I'm not sure I would even mind; if a casual wipeout gets a few more views (which it probably would) then that could be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_bike_kite Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Earlier this year I was being filmed for a small piece on bees. The presenter was very nice but the crew looked a bit bored. When I told them I was going to be getting a swarm out of a tall tree nearby, the crew started to perk up. When I looked down I saw that not only was the camera man filming me, the whole crew had their mobiles out hoping to catch that fleeting moment of a novice bee keeper literally up to his elbows in a swarm of bees, while standing on the last few rungs of a ladder and at the top of an ancient tree, before he fell back to earth. They were probably arguing over the best title for the youtube video! Good luck with your piece. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterwheel Posted January 16, 2020 Author Share Posted January 16, 2020 Reporter followed up to ask how many consecutive days I've been doing this, so that's encouraging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post winterwheel Posted January 16, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 16, 2020 Just got word from the local reporter that the National news has asked for some of his footage, and I'm scheduled to a live Skype hit for the TV station in Toronto tomorrow, this is getting interesting now. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post winterwheel Posted January 17, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 17, 2020 I've posted this in the news, but just because I've talked about it here so much, here is a link to the version of the story that appeared on the local news: https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/one-wheeled-wonder-edmonton-man-rides-electric-unicycle-in-37c-weather-1.4771029 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 (edited) Sweeeeeet! Guess I'm the crazy one for not riding when it's -31°C out afterall! How do you not slip off the pedals with that much snow on them??? Edited January 17, 2020 by Hunka Hunka Burning Love 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ddolik Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 you know what? Thats actually quite sweet news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffee guy Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 That’s a good interview @winterwheel. Hopefully the national news piece will expand on our rides and the practicality. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterwheel Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share Posted January 17, 2020 8 hours ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said: Sweeeeeet! Guess I'm the crazy one for not riding when it's -31°C out afterall! How do you not slip off the pedals with that much snow on them??? I wear ice grippers on my shoes. It's amusing to look at the pedals on the ACM2 because the pedals are mostly down to the bare metal, the grips having cleaned most of the grit right off. But it still works, so I've made no attempt to remedy that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xoltri Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 Awesome job on the interview! Lots of people I know have been messaging me asking if I've seen it. I even heard them talking about you (by name) on The Bear this morning. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterwheel Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share Posted January 17, 2020 2 hours ago, Xoltri said: Awesome job on the interview! Lots of people I know have been messaging me asking if I've seen it. I even heard them talking about you (by name) on The Bear this morning. Thanks! That radio bit is unexpected, but I guess not too surprising when you think about it. Anyway, I like to think that story means winter-riding is officially a thing now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulloewen Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 On 1/10/2020 at 10:12 AM, winterwheel said: @winterwheel I live in Winnipeg and have been commuting on my V8 some days in winter. The temperature has not been a problem, but traction has been. I have been searching for appropriate tires but don’t know what to try. Could you point me to the exact tire you use? Is it available in a 16x2.125 or 16x1.95 variant? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterwheel Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 (edited) 33 minutes ago, paulloewen said: @winterwheel I live in Winnipeg and have been commuting on my V8 some days in winter. The temperature has not been a problem, but traction has been. I have been searching for appropriate tires but don’t know what to try. Could you point me to the exact tire you use? Is it available in a 16x2.125 or 16x1.95 variant? First, it's awesome to hear that someone else is getting out in winter. Kenda K50 16" tire on the ACM2 is what I use for snow days, and it is a 16x2.125. I picked them up from Canadian tire actually, in the kids bike section. I'm curious to know in conditions you've been having with traction. I did a few ice tests last year with V8 (stock tire) and it seemed to go okay. Then I took it out to Canmore (winter resort) and it worked well on cleared paths but if the snow any depth at all it would grind to a halt and start spinning. If that's your issue as well, I'd love to know if the Kenda tire helps because the V8 is a great little wheel. Edited January 18, 2020 by winterwheel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterwheel Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 (edited) Just to wrap this up, I was scheduled to a live interview for the national news network (CNN type of station for those not in Canada) but it got first delayed, and then cancelled because our Prime Minister decided to hold an unscheduled press conference related to the recent plane crash at the same time as my spot. Oh well. Edited January 18, 2020 by winterwheel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulloewen Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 5 hours ago, winterwheel said: First, it's awesome to hear that someone else is getting out in winter. Kenda K50 16" tire on the ACM2 is what I use for snow days, and it is a 16x2.125. I picked them up from Canadian tire actually, in the kids bike section. I'm curious to know in conditions you've been having with traction. I did a few ice tests last year with V8 (stock tire) and it seemed to go okay. Then I took it out to Canmore (winter resort) and it worked well on cleared paths but if the snow any depth at all it would grind to a halt and start spinning. If that's your issue as well, I'd love to know if the Kenda tire helps because the V8 is a great little wheel. I will absolutely go pick one of those tires up. Thanks for the recommendation. Traction has been survivable when I can see the concrete. It's when I'm on really compressed snow that I've found it gets slick. Sometimes, if there are significant ruts in the same direction as me, I have trouble in and out of those ruts. I have not tried with any significant snow (more than 1 inch). I am planning on upgrading next year to a longer-range wheel, and was cautioned away from the 16X because of waterproofing. How have you found the 18XL? I plan on using in all conditions--rain, snow, etc. I was steered towards the Nikola+, which admittedly seems like a sweet wheel. Since I'm not going to be going too fast in winter anyway, I may leave the V8 as my winter wheel. That way the snow/wet/ice won't damage the new wheel next winter. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterwheel Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 1 hour ago, paulloewen said: I will absolutely go pick one of those tires up. Thanks for the recommendation. Traction has been survivable when I can see the concrete. It's when I'm on really compressed snow that I've found it gets slick. Sometimes, if there are significant ruts in the same direction as me, I have trouble in and out of those ruts. I have not tried with any significant snow (more than 1 inch). I am planning on upgrading next year to a longer-range wheel, and was cautioned away from the 16X because of waterproofing. How have you found the 18XL? I plan on using in all conditions--rain, snow, etc. I was steered towards the Nikola+, which admittedly seems like a sweet wheel. Since I'm not going to be going too fast in winter anyway, I may leave the V8 as my winter wheel. That way the snow/wet/ice won't damage the new wheel next winter. Thoughts? There are two of us riding XL here this winter, and its been perfect for both of us, not just on the road but on unpaved bike trails as well. I pick the ACM2 on snow days only because I've made the tire switch and it feels a bit better to me. But on packed snow and most ice situations it's been awesome. Really compressed snow is just as slippery as black ice on really cold days, with the bonus that it is uneven, such as the ruts you mention. For me, riding far forward on the pedals and with a stance as wide as possible so the wheel can slide around a bit without me losing it are the key. The V8 is a lighter wheel, and I wonder if that may make it a little harder to ride on bumpy surfaces; my theory is that heavier wheels try harder to carry on in a forward direction even when they get bounced around a bit, where lighter wheels might get deflected. My ACM2 is 50+ lbs, and the XL even heavier, and they both seem to handle the conditions pretty well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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