I expect that you answered the "clean" question: Don't expect a clean bike if you ride in slushy snow. The rest of the reply is much as I'd anticipated; thanks.
It struck me after initially posting that I am making a lot of noise about snow riding for someone who rides in snow about 2X per year, if that, and who spaces his "epic" snow rides in 5 to 10 year increments. But my questions are not merely idle; I do enjoy snow riding and hope to do more of it, and also hope to find a better setup than the otherwise impeccable Matthews. On average, we get perhaps 3 snows per year here in ABQ that allow real snow riding (if you're quick). I'm thinking that a Kent Peterson-type ss or fixed 26-er beater, complete with coroplast (in Kent's case, leftover political signs) fenders, is the way to go. Patrick Moore, who misses his British racing tricycle for snowy rides, in ABQ, NM On Fri, Jan 4, 2019 at 5:15 PM 'Deacon Patrick' via RBW Owners Bunch < [email protected]> wrote: > Right. Well, I’m not your guy for any clean bike questions. I really > shouldn’t pay any attention to what color my bike(s) are because once I > ride them they will be CR21 colored. Grin. Same with my bags. So I’ll > ignore the clean bike questions. My drive train gets dirty, it dries, dirt > falls off or sticks and I keep riding. I’ve not found a fender system that > allows for actually keeping me and the bike dry AND safe debris clearence > with knobbies. Since I ride knoobies, no fenders. Which leaves the clothing > equation, to which my startling answer is ... wait for it ... boiled wool > socks and ventile gaters. Let ‘um dry, dust them off, ride them again and > again untill even I can’t stand them and they get washed, which I’m not > sure has ever happened with the gaters, but likely has with the socks. Once > a year whether they need it or not. Grin. > > 1. Keeping feet and shins and stays and bb area dry and clean: what do you > all do? Photos? > > I don’t. Photos would look like a wet muddy road oozed onto my shoes up to > my knees. > > 2. Buildup under fenders that rubs tire (Big Ones; the tread is nominal > only); snow did not jam or severely retard tire, but it did rub. Granted > there is only a cm or so between top of tire and bottom of fender, but I > wonder if some fenders and setups work better than others. > > I gave up on fenders, so not much help here. Sorry. > > 3. The slush built up on the cassette, causing the chain to skip -- had at > one point to put chain on 27 (big) that stands proud of next smaller. > Ideas? Patrick, I expect that fixed or ss free is best in such conditions > -- right? > > Yes. A huge benifit of ss/fixed is no derailure gum/freeze up and when I’m > stuck in one gear it’s because I was daft enough to start out that way. > Grin. > > 4. Disc brakes: the pads either swell with wet or, more likely, when wet > pick up grit; no jamming, but certainly light rubbing. > > Backpedal. Of course this only helps if you were knuckleheaded enough to > ride fixed. My experience with rim disk brakes is grit in the pads is > nearly a non-issue (which astonishes me given the grit that ends up up > there) and in 99% of conditions within 1-2 tire revolutions the rim is > clear/dry enough to provide more stopping power than the cars on the same > roads as me, disconcerting as that is! Grin. > > 5. SPD mech clogs: can't get feet in, and when you do, can't release. > > Platform pedals and HoldFast straps are a beautiful thing. > > 6. How well do hub gears, the ordinary ones, don't mean Rohloff, do in > freezing temps and wet snow? > > From what I’ve read, they do well untill enough wet gets into the shifting > bits and freezes. From the sounds of it, that’s not an ABQ problem. Grin. > > A few other notes: smooth icy patches are only navicable via studded > tires. All other tires are rubbish on smooth ice. Textured ice and > snowpack: knobbies are brilliant. It often happens that going through > Woodland Park I have to ride the sidewalks and MUPS through town because > the roads are trecherious with ice. My Compass knobbies and Racing Ralphs > have fairly widely spaced knobs, so shed snow/mud fairly quickly, and what > ends up on me is minimal (except for the afore mentioned mud, which is > largly synonymous with slush). > > Sorry I’m not more help. > > With abandon, > Patrick > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- *------------------------------------------------------------------------------------* *Still 'round the corner there may waitA new road or a secret gate,And though we pass them by today,Tomorrow we may come this wayAnd take the hidden paths that runTowards the Moon or to the Sun.* --- J.R.R. Tolkien ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, and letters that get interviews By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching Other professional writing services Expensive! But good. http://www.resumespecialties.com/ Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Auditis an me ludit amabilis insania?* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
