Winter is a great time of year for folding bike commuters. We have a few advantages, being able to hop on trains or in cabs when we aren’t riding but it’s still tough. You may have been asked before, but honestly, how long will you keep commuting?
I’ve got about a 3 mile ride through city streets to deal with, it’s not so bad really. The wind is what really gets me. Riding a Brompton folding bike I’ve thought a few times about just folding it up and taking the bus, but in the end my adventurous side always wins out. Mark just wrote an article about riding in the winter and you’ve probably read a few of our other posts about getting bundled up and being prepared.
So this is more of a throw-down-the-gauntlet kind of post. I am planning to ride all the way through the winter, blizzards and and gale force winds beware.
Peter's winter folding bike commute setup
Yesterday, as I uploaded a Dash P18 video about commuting to FaceBook, it occurred to me that I look like a bit of an alien all dressed up for the cold. That was a particularly cold day but surely not the worst to come. I don’t mind looking silly if I can ride my bike everyday.
Let’s make a resolution together to keep riding our bicycles all through the winter! Who’s with me?
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I’m going all the way through the winter again, although only part time on the Brompton. I use a commuter bike more when the snow gets deeper and the ice gets icier.
That’s the spirit! I’m going to try and brave whatever snow drifts we get here in NYC on the Brompton. I’m sure I’ll get a few good stories out of it at least.
I am with you. Broke out the studded tires for my long hual trucker today in the snow and ice.
I’ve been looking at the studded tires available from Schwalbe and wondering if I might improvise my own setup for the Brompton Schwalbe tires. Got any good leads on DIY studded tires?
Been riding my Brompton a lot more lately. The Marathons seem to tackle rock salt and ice a little better than my slick road bike tires. I wonder which of us looks the scariest in our winter gear?
I am so with you! I live in Brooklyn and thought about riding through winter but I was worried about not having good tires. I’m going to seek out some studded ones!! Hope they exist.
Go Team Brompton!!
I’m with you too! in the past two days I have commuted to work on my electric bike through snow, sleet and monsoon-like rain. I have seen a couple of other cyclists too. People at work are impressed/horrified, but it’s really not so tough. I put plastic bags between my socks and my shoes, so my feet are always dry. I wear a balaclava, so my face is always warm. In between, I have good Goretex and fleece to keep the middle bits warm and dry. And at the end of the day, I feel like a triumphant warrior! I love to push myself to do something scary and challenging every day. Often, my commute is the high point of my day, because it is a challenge successfully met – and of course, because cycling is fun, regardless of the weather!
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