snow play

[roadmaster]

i love to ride my custom cruisers to/from work everyday and ride my fresh rebuilt 59' amf roadmaster open wheeled ss cruiser in dry days and have a few more with fenders for wet days. the other day it began to snow while was at work and ended up riding home. fenders and fattie white walls were great for the mild snow.

my question is, am i crazy for wanting to ride one of my klunker cruisers to work? the coaster brakes work great in wet conditions, these heavy old bikes ride good in the white stuff, fat tires to handle most anything and anything can be done by regearing. a custom built snow cruiser if you will. how would you set up a custom cruiser for taking on the wet white stuff? loud high visability colors to be seen better, moto cross handle bars or custom low gearing? any good ideas?

 

[CCR]

id just put knobbie tires on, ive fell victom to the "ice hiding under snow surprise" many times with street tread tires, hard on the groin muscles too when the rear slides out from under you and you try to keep from goin down :shock: .... maybe even studded tires :mrgreen: i have a coaster wheelset somewhere with whitewall knobbies and a bigger tooth cog for snowfall. paint the bike up however you want, just wear a bright coat, plenty of people will stare anyway just because itll be freezing and your on a bike :mrgreen: maybe christmas lights would be nice though at night

 

[user 135]

Knobby tires in the front for sure. Fenders are nice when it turns to slush. Keep you seat lower than usual. Cause when you go into a spin you want both feet flat on the ground.

 

[tlaing1]

no one has snow chains yet? That'd be siiick.....

 

[roadmaster]

funny you mention the chains, cuz in the early 90's i saw a pair of bicycle chains in a nashbar catalog. i like the christmas lights idea *hahaha*. "1000 little sparkling lights off a wheel dyno" now that would be a sight.

good lookin out on reco the shorter seat height. thats what i used to do when i raced downhill mountain bikes competivly in the 90's. gives better center of gravity. i have one bike geared 36/20 that'd be hella good in the snow. i am sure i will be more compelled to work on my winter cruiser when more snow starts falling.

 

[StephenH]

"am i crazy for wanting to ride one of my klunker cruisers to work?" Nope, unless maybe you're riding 30 miles every morning, then I might look at you funny.

"and anything can be done by regearing" I'd probably try to gear it down some for snow.

"how would you set up a custom cruiser for taking on the wet white stuff?"

They do have studded tires, that would be the main thing. Less obvious, if you layer your clothing in cold weather, it would help to have a big basket or panniers or rack with milk crate or something to put extra clothing or layers you peeled off. If you're only going a mile, that wouldn't be too critical. But I remember from snowshoeing days that I could be working hard and generating a lot of heat, and then stop in the shade and get cold in a hurry.

 

[roadmaster]

i was thinking of studded tires too. got the winter clothing but i still need goggles. and a basket would be nice to store my riding gear once i get to work or if weather gets better. i'd love to get a lockable basket or something as even though i can park it on a covered rack, i still fear a wondering vagurant or crack entheusiest taking my gear. any ideas?

 

[bigredddaddy]

A guy told me how he bought a box of realy small nuts and bolts for studs. He drilled a lot of holes in a MTB tire and after they all had nuts and bolts he lined the inside of the tire with duc-tape. Sounds cool but a lot of work, high on the cool factor too! I do ride to work year round and this is my winter ride...

It has a twin rear basket now and a better seat, it does shread the snow with no prob

 

[Anonymous]

on the tires note i made a ski bike eons ago and i used 1/4 in sheet metal screws (the hex head kind with a straight screwdriver slot in them.)
i use a knobby and lined the in side with a few old rim strips. then a layer of duct tape. if you do front and back it be like a ice racer tires.

only downfall is when you do get on dry pavement it's like riding on ice :shock:

 

[MadMick]

I don't know if they are available in the USofA but IRC and Nokian make some excellent snow tyres in 26 x 2.1 with tungsten studs. I've got a pair of the IRCs and they rage on ice. I just wish I got to use them more but haven't had a cold winter for years.


Snowflake wheels anyone?