42
votes
How to ride when the weather is hot?
Several questions, several answers:
Is there a temperature above which you don't ride
Yes, for me that's about 45°C. At that temperature where I live (Australia) the air is usually so hot that even ...
- 23.3k
41
votes
Accepted
I have slipped off my bike 3x in the last 2 months - will changing tyres help?
Wet metal plates on the road have an astonishingly low grip, on par with a sheet of ice.
There's very little you can practically change on your bike to improve this - changing to wider tyres at low ...
- 121k
23
votes
How to ride when the weather is hot?
Lets get this in perspective. 36˚C is one degree less than normal body temperature. When our body temperature rises above normal (37˚C) we are at risk of Heat Exhaustion. Since one of the symptoms of ...
- 17.2k
20
votes
Keeping my ears warm while biking in the cold with a helmet
Try searching for the term "ear band". They tend to be thin enough to comfortably wear under a helmet, and the good ones are fully wind-resistant, yet breathable.
If you have an open ventilation-...
- 301
17
votes
Riding Comfortably in Cold Weather
Layers - not just for Ogres and Onions.
In winter our temps may be as low as -5 degrees C, and can be wet or dry(frosty)
When you're cold, your body heat tends to stay in your torso, leaving your ...
- 121k
16
votes
How to ride when the weather is hot?
I live in Southern California: if I didn't ride when it was hot I'd never ride.
My suggestion is to hydrate way more than you think you'll need to. And I like to wear long sleeves of white moisture-...
- 431
15
votes
Accepted
How to brake without falling during wet weather?
when I pressed the rear brake lever, the wheel stopped turning immediately, despite the slight pressure
if it locked up with only slight pressure, either your brakes lack modulation, or it had really ...
- 2,997
15
votes
Waterproof overshoes: am I using them right?
I've got a couple of pairs, and have had similar experiences.
The best I can do is with my better pair (with a reasonably tight but comfortable ankle strap) underneath my splash - resistant leg ...
- 57.2k
15
votes
I have slipped off my bike 3x in the last 2 months - will changing tyres help?
Those tyres are probably quite old, and rubber perishes over time. They do not appear on the Schwalbe website.
They were racing tyres. https://roadcyclinguk.com/news/event-news/schwalbe-stelvio-...
- 4,170
14
votes
Keeping my ears warm while biking in the cold with a helmet
I have a thin material tube that can be used for a lot of things. Also called a headsock or necksock or a buff.
I wear mine around my neck, with the top edge at my mouth/nose, and up over my ears ...
- 121k
12
votes
Keeping my ears warm while biking in the cold with a helmet
This is an unconventional answer but it works for me.
I have an aero TT helmet that has fairings over the ears. The reason the fairings exist is to reduce my head's aerodynamic drag, but in doing so,...
- 165
11
votes
Is an IP68 rating sufficient to protect a phone during a 12 hour ride in heavy rain?
It should be. That's how I navigate on all my rides, wet or otherwise (phone on the bars). I've done this for a few years, but not completely without incident.
Some tips:
Make sure all port covers ...
- 57.2k
11
votes
Riding Comfortably in Cold Weather
You have struck on the basic challenge with dressing for cold-weather riding: you need to trap some heat, but not too much. How much is "too much" depends on your level of exertion, the ...
- 29.1k
10
votes
Are flats more likely in hot weather?
This is a matter of some debate. The New York Times article "Does Hot Weather Cause More Bike-Tire Problems?" by J. David Goodman (July 22, 2010) may be of interest.
The claims in support for hot ...
- 46.1k
10
votes
Keeping my ears warm while biking in the cold with a helmet
Living in Sweden, I know what you're talking about. Because I like wearing a hat for any temperature below 10°C (50°F) and it can be -20°C (-4°F) in the winter, I have a special hat ...
- 201
10
votes
Is an overhanging roof shelter enough to safely leave bike outside?
A roof is better than no roof, but not as good as an enclosed space because wind can blow through bring dust and dirt and moisture.
Sunlight is also a source of slow continuous damage. For years I ...
- 121k
9
votes
Accepted
Smooth tires on wet road?
I wanted to disentangle a few concepts here as most discussions around tire tread and wet conditions have typically been in regards to hydroplane/aquaplane, which other answers have correctly ...
- 30.4k
9
votes
Keeping the bottom of your legs warm in very-cold-weather biking
I would suggest shoe covers, which look like a boot and cover the ankle.
Or wear mid-calf or knee length socks and roll the upper part down for double or triple coverage on the ankles.
Or, mini ...
- 75.5k
9
votes
Enclosed external bicycle storage for house with up to 10 bicycles
If it needs to be fully enclosed you wind up with a small building of some kind.
Here are some ideas.
Bike lockers
Each flat could have it's own two bike locker or clustered in a group. I don't know ...
- 20.6k
8
votes
Smooth tires on wet road?
So why, for the bicycles, smooth tires would be better on wet floor ?
Is this from the thickness of the tire ?
Yes, that and the relatively high pressure combine to displace water around the tyre.
...
- 2,997
8
votes
How to brake without falling during wet weather?
A lower saddle will compromise your riding comfort at all other times. Instead you should have unweighted the saddle and put your backside further backwards to weight the rear wheel.
Also, were you ...
- 121k
8
votes
How do carbon fibre road bikes handle rough conditions?
Carbon fiber road bikes are generally perfectly capable of being ridden on less than perfect surfaces without sustaining damage.
Obviously you want to avoid large obstacles such as potholes, rocks, ...
- 75.5k
8
votes
Accepted
Enclosed external bicycle storage for house with up to 10 bicycles
I'm going to assume you've only got to deal with ordinary single-rider diamond frames (despite owning a tandem myself and heavily supporting the use of cargo bikes).
I'll assume the bikes are all ...
- 57.2k
6
votes
Should I seal the open spoke holes on my front rim?
It would be best if you could get 16 hole rim (yeah I know the may be hard to find). Holes on the rim go in the zig-zag pattern, and since you skip every second, all your spokes are on one (zig) side ...
- 2,213
6
votes
Poor shifting in dense fog?
I would suggest temperature change may be affecting the cable housing dimensions, which in turn affects the cable tension and therefore the dérailleur settings. I have been noticing this happening to ...
- 30.4k
6
votes
Keeping my ears warm while biking in the cold with a helmet
When it's cold enough here, I use a toque (or beanie or knit cap or whatever you call it in your part of the world) under my helmet. It's thin enough that a small adjustment of my helmet is all that ...
- 875
6
votes
How to commute by (electric) bike in excessive heat
You mentioned that you rented an electric bicycle, I am assuming you still need to put in efforts and the motor just provides pedal assist.
Most pedelecs are limited to providing assist only up to 25 ...
- 309
6
votes
Waterproof overshoes: am I using them right?
Overshoes over the top of normal bicycling shoes with cleats are not "waterproof".
Water gets in through the cleat holes. And, as you've discovered, through the ankle holes.
All you can do ...
- 10.6k
5
votes
Are there fenders designed specifically for bikes with racks?
Fenders don't fall into an "ok with racks" or "not ok with racks" category. Generally speaking, most traditional fender designs will work on bikes with racks attached. There may be certain ...
- 2,120
5
votes
How do belt drives perform with snow?
In addition to @jeyhendren and @phil-johnstone nice answers I want to add my 3 findings.
First year with snow I (RieseMüller/Bosch/Nuvinci/center track) had no problem whatsowever. I can't remember ...
- 305
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible