Top Tips & Tricks For Cycling In Winter Conditions

The thought of riding in winter can be quite off-putting or even intimidating for us cyclists. The cold, dark and demoralising weather, paired with wet and icy roads can make us lose all our confidence. But with the right equipment, clothing and technique, there’s no reason why we can’t enjoy riding our bikes in the winter months. Here are our top tips and tricks!
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0:00 Intro
0:39 Keep Warm
1:24 Pick Your Roads
2:12 Riding Style
3:07 Clean Your Bike
3:55 Tyres
4:28 Hydration
5:27 Lights

What are your top tips for riding in the winter? Let us know in the comments below! 💬

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[gcn]

What are your top tips for riding in the winter?

[flippers]

I ride rural Canadian winter with 1x flat bar commuter bike. With hydraulic brake and 40c studded tire you can ride any plowed gravel road with confidence, even if there's ice underneath.

[davidmelancon]

Yesterday here in Quebec, Canada it was -31C with the wind-chill. Still perfectly enjoyable on my hybrid. My top tips are to have studded tires for the ice, wear of lot of thin layers to fight the cold but still be able to move freely (and remove them if you are too hot!) and don ski googles and a balaclava to keep your face warm. The advantage of having polar conditions here in Canada is that you can ride your bike on frozen lakes. An absolutely amazing experience ... and guaranteed there are no cars in your way 😅!

[dermotdoherty]

These were my Canadian winter nuggets: 1. Use a bike that you are prepared to throw away. Treated roads are insidious bike killers. 2. Insulated water bottle with sweat hot tea. Water or gatorade can freeze. Tea will still go cold, but not for a while. 3. Fenders / mudguards are obligatory. Do not get wet. 4. Simple equipment: winter tyres that can come off easily if you need to change them. Never go out without tools, CO2 and 2 spare tubes. 5. If you stop, you will freeze, so keep moving. Bring a spare base layer if you're having a coffee stop and change in the toilet before you restart 6. Ski-clothing: ski-gloves, balaclava, merino base layer, fleece and shell jacket. Fleece leggings over bike shorts. Merino socks and MTB shoes. Toe warmers are magic

[leissp]

Great tips. Being from Canada where we have winter for about 5 months I am going to add studded tires to list. You just never know when you are going to hit black ice. Yes they are slower but its all about keeping the rubber side down.

[petermather]

I don't ride the road if there is any risk of ice any more. I was cycling along a completely straight road at about 20mph a couple of years ago. The weather was cold and overcast. I was holding the bars with both hands peddling normally when an instant later I'm on the floor with blood pouring from multiple abrasions and a broken wrist - black ice, completely invisible in the lighting conditions. Now that might be not too terrible at 20 but at 60+ it takes a long time to recover.

[erikullvin]

My top tips would be:
1. Studded tyres as soon as you've heard of any frost. I lost grip on a patch of black ice (could not see it even when I tried) and broke my jaw in two places. I was "lucky" enough as I didn't need surgery, but I did need braces installed and could only eat soup for six weeks.
2. Garmin Varia Radar. I cycle in Sweden on snowy and icy roads and feel much safer now that I get a warning as soon as traffic approaches from behind. No more looking over my shoulder and having to take my eyes off the road.

[yvindertvaag]

Gravel bike and spiked tyres works great. Don’t let the snow and ice stop you🙂

[SkyhawkSteve]

tip: wear (or bring) some thin liner gloves to wear in the event that you have to fix a flat/puncture. This was appreciated when I had to fix a flat when it was -13C (and the sun was setting). Regular gloves don't provide the required dexterity, and bare hands quickly get frigid, especially when handling an aluminum rim.

[aznvinsanity]

Fellow Canadian rider here and all year cyclist commuter. Pre-Winter i like to disassemble bottom brackets, brake pivots and lower bearings of headsets with a grease that does well against washing out. If you can a sealed cable set works awesome against frost on cables or salty water and grime from getting in.

As many say on here, Studded tires are definitely preferred. At the very least get something with knobs. With lights and outer wear geared towards visibility in my experience drivers will do their best to avoid you. Also its really easy for your ride to take longer then you expected and daylight is short in the winter.
Always expect ice where there are crevices that dont make contact with car tires but you can with bike tires. avoid slush before before sunrise and after sunset.
Find a balance with warmth and breathability when it comes to gear. Nothing is more cold then getting stuck on the side of a road fixing a mechanical or flat when you arent moving and you've got plenty sweat on your base layers.
It might help to loosen your pedal clips a notch or two incase you suddenly need to dab your foot down.

[Alexander_Of_Pines]

My top tips would be, as someone who rides a bike during winter, a proper one, when clear asphalt like in this video does not exist and temperature gets to -20C are:
1) TYRES, studded are not needed, you want knobs, lots and randomly placed, i found that hybrid tyres where the middle section is flat and there are knobs on the sides - its no good, go for all knobs. Knobs will help you against ice under slushy snow, randomly patterned knobs will grab for everything and help you steer. Tho the colder it gets the easier it is to ride as snow turns into asphalt, and you can get away with summer tires even if you follow other tips below.
2) cover you mouth to not freeze your lungs and have serious health issues, use balaclava, I find it the bestest.
3) use whatever you have to not feel cold, hands and feet are weak spots
4) you can ride as fast as you want in straight line thanks to gyroscope effect, which is actually very fun when you ride on icy ice and you know its slippery but bike just goes over it
5) NEVER brake while turning, do it while going in a straight line
6) do ABS like braking, brake, and release the brake right away, repeat. Make it second nature, so you won't even think about it. That will help with when you are on uneven surface and you locked your front wheel, with front wheel locked you can fall in 0.25seconds, with brake-release technic, before you even started panicking your hand will already start releasing the brake lever and you will regain control, very effective
7) NEVER lean in turns, leaning requires traction than you don't have, front wheel slips and you will fall, you wont have time to react, reduce your speed to the speed at which you can turn without leaning (aka walking speed), this is true for riding on slush snow, with water on ice /black ice consitions, polished ice. With frozen, packed snow you can relax a bit but you never know, maybe snow can crumble and reveal smooth ice on which you will fall.
8) Prepare to fall damage, my first winter i fell about 100 times, second one was about 40, third - 10, forth was just one at the very end of winter and i leaned in the corner at 25kmh right on black ice patch, instinctly landed on my wrist and had it injured, so if you are reckless - prepare to fall
All this is true if you want to go as fast as you can without injuries, even tho no leaning and no braking in turns rule still applies if you casual rider, just chaces of heavy injuries will be lower.
Sorry for wall of text, good luck :) riding in the winter is fun :)

[endcensorship]

I lived in Alaska, where as we all know- it's pretty cold. I rode the bike year round, lots of ice and snow riding. The thing about ice and snow is that it is very stable when it is very cold. Just a bit above freezing, or with ice in direct sunlight. Water on the ice is terrible. I am pretty much of the opinion only studded bike tires can handle ice in these conditions.

[deice]

If you can ride it on a road bike, its not really winter conditions.

MTB or Fat bike recommended for actual winter conditions when there's snow and ice.

[Philobiblion]

Everything's better with Manon. I am an old person (73) who has been riding seriously for 50 years. I have gradually settled into just a few, simple rules that I follow scrupulously. 1. There is no bad weather; only bad clothes. Or, as you might say, 'kit'. It takes experimentation to solve the problem for yourself. 2. I do not go out (to ride around my small city, which is where I confine my winter riding to) if I cannot keep my line on the streets without having to ride over snow or plowed ice on the margins. In other words, I only ride where I can KEEP MY LINE. 3. When I get cold, where the cold of my hands and feet starts to cause my core to shut down, I GO HOME, POST HASTE. 4. I look at the radar and the forecast before every ride, even if the sun is out when I am suiting up. I do this because several years ago I was caught 10 miles from home when a snow squall overtook me that made the road like a skating rink before I was anywhere near home. A bad memory of a dangerous time. 5. I have a Schwinn exercise bike/ machine in my sun room, and if I doubt the wisdom of heading out, I RIDE INDOORS, even if it is the most boring thing in the world and I was really looking forward to going outside. Thanks for the great vids mates.

[cardiaccyclist]

Of all the incredibly brave things Hank has done, throwing a snowball at Manon from point blank range has to be the bravest (and most foolish).

[maartenpieters]

I love riding in winter more than I do in summer, 'cause every ride has an epic aspect to it. Even here in moderate Flanders

[filipnilsson]

Plenty of snow and ice in Sweden right now. Most Swedes leave their road bike at home in the winter months and go for a cross or gravel bike all winter long. Studded tires and mudguards and you’re good to go!

[myyoutube]

Shared in my Michigan Gravel Grinders group… great tips for those getting started. Thanks!

[DaxPlusPlus]

Pay attention to what your tyres and bike are doing underneath you - if your lucky you'll get little clues that there might be issues with grip. Be wary of water run off that can turn to ice on the road even if the roads around are dry and ice free for miles - it can remain as ice even when the sun has risen and temperatures are back up above freezing. Don't just follow others blindly in a group .. space yourselves out and if your spider senses start tingling just call it out, slow down and walk. Travel at a speed where by you can easily stop within the distance you can see eg slow on descents where there might be ice in the dip at the bottom. Learn abut the micro climates and local conditions .. some roads just tend to worse than others for black ice. Be prepared to walk - and that might be a problem if your using road cleats and overshoes - they can be ruined very, very quickly when walking .. so spd or no clips might be the way. At the very least walk off the road on the side in the grass to try to protect your kit and\or flip the nose of your overshoes up so they dont get trashed.

[robertcavanagh]

On my winter bike I use flat MTB peddles I find Im much more relaxed when I can save myself by planting my foot down anytime.