Severe Winter Weather - Edmonton Canada

[Greyhound_YEG]

Hi, I'm a new member and a new rider.  I bought my v11 in October and was just getting used to it when the winter hit here hard yesterday.  I know there's at least 1 senior member on here from Edmonton (Winterwheel) but I can't direct message him.

I'd like to know what wheel works well in REALLY harsh weather, like below 10 degrees celsius in snow.  A lot of the threads talk about weather close to zero, in rain.  Winter here is considerably worse.  I am thinking about maybe getting a wheel just for the winter and saving my V11 for better times.  Any advice appreciated.

[Tawpie]

@winterwheel you've been summoned...

(@Greyhound_YEG, if you start with an 'at' sign then type the member's screen name you'll be able to select it and notify them in their 'feed')

Edited November 16, 2021 by Tawpie

[winterwheel]

My proven winter wheel is the 18XL (also the ACM and then the ACM2, but they no longer make those.) The 18XL was by daily winter ride two winters ago, so it basically handled every single winter day of winter conditions that year (I'm working from home these days, so no daily commute now). The wheel still works fine.

If I'm riding I on *really* cold days...

1. Charge the wheel right up until you walk out the door; this heats up the batteries a bit and gives you more riding time before the temperature drops too much
2. Monitor the temperature on the app, and observe whether the temperature rises, stays the same, or drops for a given ambient temperature

#2 will give you an ambient temperature below which the wheel temperature will drop as you ride. On days at or above that temperature you can ride without worrying too much.

Below that baseline temperature, say -15c, you want to monitor the temperature on the wheel to ensure it doesn't drop too much as you ride. My commute is/was 6kms. At -37c I could just get to work before it got too cold to continue riding it (it was ultra slippery that day so the ride took longer than usual.) I believe putting some kind of cover on the wheel (a glorified tea cozy lol) would help to slow down the cooling process but I haven't tried that yet.

For the rider the most important thing to protect on super cold days is your toes; these are immobile for however long you ride and it could be easy to get frostbite there, riding at 30km/h+ at extremely low temperatures.

Not everyone does this but I wear spikes on my shoes/boots in winter; this allows me to step off the wheel even on a fairly extreme ice without immediately falling over. I suspect some experience is required before a rider generally can do this.

For the tire I just used on the wheel it was just the stock tire. There are guys in Edmonton experimenting with different rubber these last couple of years and they *really* love them, I think they likely make it quite a bit easier to ride on ice. 

Also, ensure your tire isn't over inflated... if the pressure is lower it gives a nice flat contact patch that helps to stay upright when on super hard/cold ice.

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

 

[winterwheel]

Also, there are other guys here doing winter riding on V11s (I don't have one myself). They seem to do fine, but they don't ride them at the same extreme low temperatures that I do so I don't know how they'd fare on really cold days.

[winterwheel]

Also, don't charge wheel when it is either cold or wet.

[Greyhound_YEG]

Thanks a lot for all the helpful input (all responders!).  How lucky am I that not only are there experienced winter riders here, but actually someone from Edmonton.

[Seba]

18 hours ago, Greyhound_YEG said:

I am thinking about maybe getting a wheel just for the winter and saving my V11 for better times.  Any advice appreciated.

I would also recommend KS-18XL as a great wheel for winter riding (but not only). I own both V11 and 18XL and while I initially selected V11 as my everyday wheel, finally I returned back to 18XL. V11 has tendency to side slip on turns, mainly due to pedals located relatively high. This is not an issue on grippy surfaces, but when there's snow or wet leaves, it's easier to loose traction. You can even replace stock tyre to something like Fiction Troop 18x2.3", which I use for winter riding and I'm very happy with its behaviour - https://www.stolenbmx.com/products/16-18-troop-tires

Of course you can also replace stock tire in V11, as there is great selection of motorbike winter tires that will fit. Anyway, I don't see V11 as weatherproof as 18XL, which - in contrast to V11 - never failed on me. Whether in heavy rain or in snow (and salt), was always working fine. Of course here in Poland we don't experience as rough and cold winters as in Canada, but still I was regularly riding when there was below -10°C outside. Zero issues with 18XL.

[Paul A]

-37° C. 

Car with heating sounds like a good idea.

 

Riding in +37° C is uncomfortable.

Car with air con is also a good idea.

[RockyTop]

@Greyhound_YEG Welcome! You should be able to direct message now. 

[winterwheel]

1 hour ago, Paul A said:

-37° C. 

Car with heating sounds like a good idea.

 

Riding in +37° C is uncomfortable.

Car with air con is also a good idea.

It's fine if you're a regular winter rider, dress for it, and keep the trip fairly short.

[Paul A]

ww, just great to read the posts, videos, news of AB Canada.

Ordinary everyday is incredible to others.