Bikes, Bags, and Lights - Getting Equipped for Winter Commuting

Commuting by bike during the Winter Months is really about just getting out there and gettin' 'er done. Take whatever bike you got, slap some fenders on it, maybe some new tires, and go for it. You'll learn pretty quick what you need to do to adapt to your new, more freedom and fun-filled lifestyle. The most important part of the equation was covered in my previous post on clothing. If you're dressed for the elements you could be out there on a Huffy and you'd be OK...in a struggling, miserable way, but OK.

Here I'm going to break down some simple mods which will allow you to ride through the winter.

Tire choice:
Winter is the time to forgo light weight for durability in the tire department. You do not want to be fixing a flat on the side of the road while getting sprayed by slush as your horribly numb fingers quickly become useless. Your goal should be to NEVER GET FLATS. I roll on 700 X 25 Continental Gator Skins when I'm commuting or training. They are incredibly flat resistant (you still need to keep them pumped up to avoid pinch flats) and stick to the road quite well. A wider tire will make you less pinch flat prone and make for a more supple and comfortable ride on bombed out city streets. Another option for a flat resistant tire is something from The Bontrager Hardcase family. Save the race tires for racing.

Studded Tires:
Unless you're commuting on a frozen river these are not necessary. When you're riding on roads which are 99% not ice with occasional ice patches studded tires are more of a liability than anything. Think of a cat with overgrown claws trying to run on a tile floor. That's you whenever you're not on shear ice.


Fenders.
Once you've got your tire selection worked out you'll need to put something between them and you or they will cover you with road spray and unimaginably repulsive detritus the first chance they get. Full fenders are ideal but can really only be installed on a Hybrid, Touring, Cyclocross, or Mountain Bikes. Your average road bike, short of some oddball sport-tourer with long-reach brakes isn't going to accept full fenders. If you have one of the bikes listed above and want to make it into a dedicated commuter go for it.

In my case I've got a true road bike so I've equipped it SKS Race Blades. These will work on any road bike. They don't give full protection but they are a whole lot better then nothing.

My SKS fenders are mis-matched and beat to a pulp. New, they look more like this:

These days most high end Wheelsets are coming pre-built but when it comes putting together a durable yet lightweight set of wheels for training or commuting I'll still grab a set of Mavic 32 Hole Open Pros and lace them up to whatever hub I've got lying around. In this case XTR in the front, Surly Fixed/Free (the free side never gets used, poor guy) single speed hub in the rear.


Much like Rocket Surgeons and Brain Scientists Bike Mechanics don't spend a lot of time applying their skills at home, hence my deplorably filthy bike. The Single-Speediness of my bike does, however allow me to get away with such neglect. Slap some more Finish Line Wet on the chain and kick out the jams.

Ridden hard and put away wet. My White Industries Cranks have looked better.

Lighting:
To have any chance of making it through a nocturnal commute in one piece you gotta be lit up like a Christmas Tree. In the rear I use a Trek Flare 3 LED Tail Light I'm not dead yet, so it must be working. I'll let you know when it's not working.

More important than rear lighting is frontal lighting. If you aren't adequately lit up in the front end you could get someone killed besides yourself. A pedestrian might legally walk out into a cross walk without seeing you coming. A car could pull out in front of you unintentionally (as opposed to the more common intentional version of this event).

I spent years commuting and riding at night with nothing more than a defensive blinky light like the one so artfully zip-tied to my helmet in the photo below. I count myself lucky to still be around. Now the blinky serves as a directionally defensive light; if a driver is about to cut me off, I point it directly at them, it works alright.

I have added a big gun to my lighting arsenal, now I use a Niterider Minewt Mini-USB as well as a blinky. It throws a big beam of light which makes it far less likely I'll have people and cars jumping out in front of me and it actually lights my way. I even ride offroad with it.

One of the cool things about this thing is that it comes with two charging systems, one for a wall socket and a USB charger to plug into your computer at work. Forgot to charge your light fully and worried about getting home before it gives out? USB charger...sweet!

It's also very versatile mount wise. Light enough to strap directly to your helmet (You'll need to get the Minewt Mini-USB Plus version with the helmet mount) or to your bar or stem.

Mine has been completely reliable as far as holding charge and run time goes and it has no trouble dealing with inclement weather.

The Minewt easily straps to your stem...your vintage Salsa Moto Ace Stem. A nod to my mountain biking roots, flipped for efficient road bike use.

My Trek Soho Mug keeps my Earl Grey Tea hot (or at least not frozen solid) on training rides, and it keeps my coffee warm on my commute.

The Micro-Horizontal dropouts on my old Lemond Maillot Jaune frame allow me just enough leeway to tension the chain. Not enough leeway to use both the gears on my Surly Dingle Cog however. The bike I've created from spare parts around the shop is not too dissimilar from The Fisher Triton.

Bags:
I've moved away from using large (close to 2000 cubic inch) packs, opting to use a small pack which doesn't destroy my back. The Detours River City is what I'm using now, I couldn't be happier with this lil' bugger. Big enough to carry a change of clothes, my lunch, camera, wallet, phone, and tools. If you do find the need to carry a bit more the Helmet Holder/Gear Spider (the strappy things) works great. A huge bonus is that this thing is 100% water proof 24-7, no need to pull out a rain cover. The welded zippers mean no leakage there as well.

The "Airmax" mesh suspension system keeps the pack itself off your back, allowing for ventilation and comfort. I like it a lot.

Got questions about how you can get started commuting? Leave a comment below or give a call over to The Shop.