44
votes
Bicycle left outside for over a year. Possible to save?
You don't have pictures of the bike, but honestly, theres not much you need to worry about. Pump up the tires and make sure they hold air. Check that the brakes work (may need new pads, cables). Add a ...
- 46.1k
32
votes
Why do they not sell bicycles with four wheels?
Why do they not sell bicycles with four wheels?
They do sell vehicles with four bicycle wheels.
As Carel said,
Two wheels is by definition a bicycle
Three wheels is a tricycle
four wheels is a ...
- 20.7k
31
votes
Accepted
Safety - Improve braking power in wet conditions
You have commented
I mainly use the back brake.
I therefore propose option 4: improve your braking technique before spending any money.
If you only use half of your bicycle's brakes, you can't ...
- 17k
31
votes
Why are there no snow chains for bicycles?
TL;DNR - They would (probably not) solve a problem that does not exist and would probably cost to much.
I suspect the reasons you cannot get chains (including modern equivalents such as 'snow socks' ...
- 49.1k
25
votes
Bicycle left outside for over a year. Possible to save?
A chain left outside for a long period, unless freshly oiled beforehand (or in a desert), will be ruined. The rest is worth checking over by someone experienced, but the bike can probably be saved by ...
- 57.3k
24
votes
Why do they not sell bicycles with four wheels?
Trikes, particularly recumbent trikes, are relatively common and provide the kind of stability you're talking about--although they (and quads) are prone to flip in turns if you don't know how to ...
- 29.2k
20
votes
Winter riding: Is it safe to ride on a BSO/cheap bike at temperatures below -15°C on icy or damp roads?
I can only speak from my experience, as a winter rider in Norway (around the capital).
When the winter sets in I usually just end up putting more clothes on myself, and studded tires on my bike. I ...
- 301
20
votes
Accepted
What caused all my chain links to become stiff after a month in a tent despite having been cleaned and lubed beforehand?
Even though there may not have been direct contact with water, there is water in the air. In a tent, the constant cycle of heating and cooling through the day and night, and the relative differences ...
- 16.2k
20
votes
Why don't my studded tyres grip on ice?
Stud tyres are very much not a scam. Of course even they don't produce as much grip on ice as on tarmac, but very much more than non-studded tyres do.
I agree with Ted Hohl that your mistake was ...
- 3,493
20
votes
Are wider tires better on ice?
On a smooth sheet of ice only studded tyres provide real grip. With all other tyres you can only hope to stay upright if you go as straight and steady as possible. Even the tiniest turn or braking is ...
- 26k
19
votes
How to keep my testicles from freezing on a recumbent
First: merino wool boxers. EDIT: Also windproof boxers, see other answer below
Second: Vest and short tights are very little for ~5°C, raining. You are losing a huge amount of body heat through your ...
- 21.8k
19
votes
Why do they not sell bicycles with four wheels?
The main downside to a quad wheel is keeping all wheels on the ground.
The surfaces we ride on are not flat, so there's always a situation where one wheel would be off the ground or at least lower ...
- 121k
18
votes
Winter riding: Is it safe to ride on a BSO/cheap bike at temperatures below -15°C on icy or damp roads?
I've been an ice biker for 10+ years in as cold as -20C (-5F) in the Black Hills of South Dakota and West Michigan US.
Safety in winter cycling comes down to your gear both for your bike and your ...
- 471
18
votes
Accepted
Why bother maintaining a road bike for summer and a mountain bike for winter rather than two complete sets of wheels (as with cars) on a cyclocross?
Winter riding is hard on a bike - I have to do weekly maintenance when it's a period of wet riding. It's good to have N+1 options.
If you're serious about riding in the snow, then the snowbike would ...
- 121k
17
votes
Why are there no snow chains for bicycles?
There is a product called ReTyre , https://www.retyre.co/ , that aims to solve that problem. It is heavily advertised here in Norway.
- 171
15
votes
Winter cycling clothes in full black
I think there is a case to be made that you will be less visible in dark colours. Anecdotally whenever I look down the road at a group of cyclists, it's the ones in large blocks of bold colours (not ...
- 6,555
15
votes
How to keep my testicles from freezing on a recumbent
Why not add a fairing? There are designs that add a windshield, some that provide protection down to the knee, some that go further down, and in the extreme case there's full nose-cones.
This will ...
- 121k
14
votes
Accepted
Are winter tires (with studs) safe to use in summer-like conditions?
Oh yes they are safe.
Actually, they are safer in summer than they are in icy winter! It's often said that studded tires have bad traction on wet pavement, but actually the traction is far better than ...
- 18k
14
votes
Are winter tires (with studs) safe to use in summer-like conditions?
Solid-frozen ice
The studs are hard. They will penetrate a fully frozen layer of ice hiding under a dusting of snow. That's the whole point. They give you a secure ride in cold weather, and even if ...
- 8,974
13
votes
Will tires with spikes on a loaded heavy touring bicycle puncture the tubes?
The current generation of pre-manufactured winter tires you'd get from brands like Schwalbe do not use 'screw-in' style studs that have a point on the inside surface. They have a pocket and flange ...
- 1,207
13
votes
Why bother maintaining a road bike for summer and a mountain bike for winter rather than two complete sets of wheels (as with cars) on a cyclocross?
With cars, and above a certain latitude, it's common to own one set of wheels (with fancy/light rims) for summer and another set (with ugly/heavy rims) for winter.
Agree, at least in Finland we do ...
- 18k
13
votes
What caused all my chain links to become stiff after a month in a tent despite having been cleaned and lubed beforehand?
As you know living in the UK, we are an island that is prone to high humidity and damp overcast weather. When left outside anything that is remotely damp (you cleaned your chain and its virtually ...
- 18.3k
12
votes
Safety - Improve braking power in wet conditions
First you need to decide what's limiting your braking.
If it's the tyres on the road skidding -- or you're having to back off the brakes to avoid that -- then changing your tyres might help. But ...
- 57.3k
12
votes
How to keep my testicles from freezing on a recumbent
For most parts of the body a second layer of moderately wind-blocking fabric makes a massive difference -- so another pair of unpadded cycling shorts would go a long way.
The rain is likely to ...
- 57.3k
12
votes
Accepted
Winter tires break in
I work for a distributor that sells several brands of winter studded tires and everyone of them comes with this warning, this particular one is from Schwalbe
In order to ensure that spikes are ...
- 9,199
12
votes
Accepted
What conditions are studless winter tires good in?
I am (or was, in the pre-pandemic world) a winter commuter in Canada. The studless winter tires are great for everything except actual ice and much more pleasant on bare pavement. If you need to ...
- 1,207
12
votes
Are wider tires better on ice?
There's no significant difference in grip on ice between different tyre widths or thread pattern. Only steel studs can really help. Tyre compound can perhaps make a small contribution, but not enough ...
- 3,493
11
votes
Why doesn't my (battery-powered) light work in the cold?
Batteries, especially most types of rechargeables don't work well in cold conditions. The chemical reaction that powers the electric voltage does needs some temperature to perform as intended. If you ...
- 3,612
11
votes
Accepted
Why doesn't my (battery-powered) light work in the cold?
There are two reasons why it might not work:
The batteries don't like the cold. Many battery chemistries don't like the cold -- notably alkaline, manganese (heavy-duty), and NiMH/NiCad batteries. To ...
- 29.1k
11
votes
How to keep my testicles from freezing on a recumbent
Wind proof boxers which have a layer of windbreaking material in the “package” area make a big difference. They are commonly used by cross country skiers so can be found at stores that cater to the ...
- 211
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible