Winter riding

Hi everyone


Now that winter has come here in finland and we have a lot of snow. I am going to tell you how to get your bike ready for cold and slipery snow. So If you like to ride your bike in winter you can buy winter tyers they might cost a bit more than normal tyers, but if you buy good quality tyers they will last for many winters. I dont recomend that you buy cheap tyers whit 25 spickes they whount last very long and dont have good grip. Winter tyre that I recommend is Nokia Extreme 294 It has a good grip and quality is very good. I bought Nokia Extreme 294 four years ago and at the star It lost one spicke I took It back to shop they but there new spicke and now it hasn´t lost none in 4 years.
Now if you have bought new winter tyers, there whount be big costs anymore. The challenge in riding a bike in winter is everything freezes not just you also your bike. Firts thing what you whant do to is go buy some sticky vaseline that DOES NOT FREEZE and sticks to the surface were you are butting it BUT MOST IMPORTANT IS THAT IT`S NOT SOLUBLE IN WATER. When it´s winter and there is not much of dirt in ground you can but THIN layer of that to your chain in order to avoid freezing (Note you vaseline is the worst fluid what you can but to your chain ONLY IN SUMMER IN DIRTY CONDITIONS) vaseline gives a good touch and it longers the live of your chain and casette.

Breaks

Breaks is the most easiest part to freeze. Very first thing is that you check your brake fluid is that kind of liquid that does not freeze. Now what we are going to do is to but thin layer of that some kind of sticky vaseline that you bought on the break leverers refraction point make sure you dont get vaseline on the haft and whit hydraulic brakes make sure you get that litle pin that pressurize the fluid. Now the break calibre what you do is take the break pands out and you will get acces to pistons pull the break very carefully not all the way otherwise your going to mess up the break now that you have pulled the breaks very little the pistons will come out but very little vaseline whit tooth pick on the side of pistons.(you dont need to do this part if you are´t absolutely sure) You can just keep the brakes calibre warm buy breaking

Suspension

Put suspension oil in your forks sliding tubes and also in your rear shock if you have one.


Bikes Derailleurs and shifters

This is`t very hard part. All you need to do is just lubricate every folding point and spring in Derailleur. And you can open the trigger and lubricate everything from there, but I dont think manufacturers put there oil that is easyly freezible. But the most important part is to lubricate cable dont use vaseline in here (and also you dont need to use vaseline in any place were water can´t wipe that of and freeze in there) in shifter cable you can use normal oil which doesn´t freeze.

Pedals

The proplem whit pedals is that when you get on the bike snow on your shoe freezes in to the pedal spickes and make them very slippery. This proplem is particularly whit dirt- and downhillbike pedals. The spikes whit Allen key hole on the top is worst so you might want to avoid those. You can go buy just normal pedals that are´t flat pedals. But you dint need to buy new pedals if you can change your pedal spickes. The best spickes in pedals for winter are round much longer than normal and the side should be smooth and the top shoul be sharped as square. I drew a picture of what like the spicke should be.

Grips

If you have very smooth grips they might get very slipery If snow from your gloves melt and wet the grips. So you what to have grips whit high figure so water will just ran between the forms.

Clothing and equidments

Of course if it´s could you but warm clothes on, but it might be hard to find good "winter biking clothes".

Gloves

Insted of running from store to store asking for " Winter biking gloves" go to your closest sports shop and buy skiing gloves they are warm they reject water and whit´s the most importand thin is that they dont have that stuffing whits just swings a round when you try to ride.

Biking glasses

Biking glasses can frost in could temperatures expesially goggles. To avoid this you can spread some alcohol on the linses in and outsides.


Thank you for reading.I hope this was helpfull for you if you ride your bike in could winter temperatures. (I hope you understood my bad english)

You can see all the pictures in my album http://triggerman.pinkbike.com/album/Winter-Bike-servise/



Triggerman