dig out your snow tyres and your wooly vests « CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum

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dig out your snow tyres and your wooly vests

(429 posts)

Started 14 years ago by kaputnik
Latest reply from Arellcat

Tags:

snow to come?

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cb
Member

Commute this morning was the same as yesterday - walked downstairs and switched on the laptop.

Went out for a couple of walks yesterday. Pavements are still generally OK on the quiter streets but it was often easier to walk on the road as there were not many cars.

Quite a few trees have come down.

Hedges are also looming over the pavements due to the weight of the snow.

Some warning signs have sprung up at Blackford Pond, probably as a result of last years public disorder when people WALKED OUT ON TO THE ICE!!!11!!

Went for a walk after dark, the combination of snow and cloud cover means it's easy to walk around the Hermitage after dark.

Walked through the Astley Ainslie which must have the best treated roads in Edinburgh.

We saw plenty of cars needing a shove. Just a few minutes late to help push a taxi on the south end of Whitehouse Loan (compacted snow and fairly steep). The driver was very thankful towards his rescuers.

Later on we helped to push a car downhill on Falcon Road. I mean, come on!

People driving far too fast in 4x4s was a fairly consistent sight. Which bit about having four wheel drive means that you are able to stop quicker?

Tempted by Microspikes. If it gets really bad I could wear my crampons, but they might be a bit OTT.

Posted 13 years ago #
spitfire
Member

4x4s are still in trouble as they have road tyres not snow/offroad tyres as most owners buy them to go fast on the motorways, the also have spectacular car cakeage on the roof

Posted 13 years ago #
chdot
Admin

"most owners buy them to go fast on the motorways"

and I thought it was to keep their children 'safe' on the way to school...

Posted 13 years ago #
Min
Member

"How ridable do you think the Innocent is?"

Not. Deep soft sinky snow. There was a very slightly flattened part where people have been walking but it was still way too loose for tyres.

Posted 13 years ago #
chdot
Admin

"still way too loose for tyres"

was more thinking about frozen channels/sheet ice.

Posted 13 years ago #
PS
Member

Microspikes look like a good purchase - a guy I met above Kirkstone Pass on Sunday was singing their praises and reckoned you could get them for £10-15 on Ebay. I had a bit of a shock to find them at £45 online, but they still look like fun.

I can't imagine many people buy 4x4s to go fast on motorways (excepting, perhaps, those with drug-dealer-styled Range Rovers). There are plenty of other top end (and indeed middle-market) vehicles on the market that are considerably nippier.

Posted 13 years ago #
Kirst
Member

Kaputnik, did you take any photos of the firemen digging?

Posted 13 years ago #
spitfire
Member

@Kirst - lol

Posted 13 years ago #
chdot
Admin

Just heard on R4

'in Finland all cars have snow tyres'

'there are two driving tests - ordinary and winter'

'it's -15 and there's a foot of snow'

'everyone gets to work in time'

Posted 13 years ago #
spitfire
Member

yeah there are companies that will store your snow tyres for you if you don't have the space I think

Hey I had a thought last night - like with the trams training any change of some snow and ice training? spokes or bike station up for that?

Posted 13 years ago #
Stepdoh
Member

Meanwhile in Narnia...

Think the city section of my trip would have been just about doable, but past gogarburn it'd have been trail blazing through about a foot and a half of snow at this end. Think the week may be a write off. *sad face*

Wondering if it's worth swapping my slicks out with the MTB tyres stashed under my desk, may give be a bit more traction in the snow/slush.

Posted 13 years ago #
Smudge
Member

The canal towpath out falkirk way is unrideable, over a foot of powdery snow (and the canal completely frozen over!)
Trains were all over the place as well. Once at Haymarket the roads were ok (despite the odd icy bit "eek!") but the snow on the edges/middle meant there wasn't room for cars to pass safely, so they do it unsafely (new word ;-)) and it was all a bit alarming :-/
Joined the Old railway at the bottom of Kingsknowe Hill, lots of trees down making progress difficult but rideable if you stay on the hard track, very hard work mind!

The reward? I put the first set of tyre tracks on the old railway section and am the ONLY wheeled vehicle at work today :-D
Hurrah!! (not that I'm stopping long lol)

Posted 13 years ago #
spitfire
Member

might try the railpath tomorrow for a laugh

Posted 13 years ago #
ruggtomcat
Member

went out last night about7pm having taken all the proper precautions (lowered tire pressure, h****t lights, waterproofs, will and testament etc.) nearly turned back within 100m of the house the slush was so bad, but I made it to the main road and actually quite enjoyed myself. Stuck to the bigger roads and cycled very defensively and slowly. Bit of wheelspin coming off the line but otherwise a fair amount of traction even on the cobblestones of Duddingston. Felt sorry for the few ped's I saw as they were obviously suffering more.

Came back via the same route this lunchtime, very little traffic, still good surfaces, better Id say. Would love to have a rash about with a good mountain bike with studs, Im dying to see how the innocent looks :)

Posted 13 years ago #
Cyclingmollie
Member

@chdot: 'everyone gets to work in time' If snow is the norm then people learn to deal with it. It's very far from normal here. It's okay to put snow tyres on if you are going to be driving on snow for the next three months but for the next three days?

Posted 13 years ago #
ruggtomcat
Member

@kaputnic i agree with @kirst

re: unicyclist. was passing fire clubs with some unicyclists last night on the meadows :)

positive note, work tomorrow is canceled :)

Posted 13 years ago #
spitfire
Member

ruggtomcat - you mention tyre pressure - I believe reducing pressure is the way forward but how much?

Posted 13 years ago #
chdot
Admin

"...but for the next three days?"

Yes, but that's part of the 'balance' - clearly 'motorists' and rail passengers expect 'business as usual'.

Every year there are the recriminations and excuses. Either the various organisations aren't 'up to it' - and never will be - or people's expectations are too high and/or they 'expect' 'the government' (etc.) to deal with the fact that they are not competent to drive in these conditions!

Posted 13 years ago #
ruggtomcat
Member

@spitfire I just took it to the minimum it said on the tire. 50psi in this case, I have cross 32c tires, tho maybe I should swap to thease. If you only had skinnies id give it a miss, it would be ok going forward but turning and stopping would be more interesting...

Posted 13 years ago #
Cyclingmollie
Member

chdot - You're right. I'm stuck at home with laryngitis (though it's interesting to see the descriptions on this forum) but looking out at my neighbours trying to get their cars out at the weekend did leave me wondering if they were the least risk averse or the least able to guage the risk. As soon as they hit something of course they are dependent on others (and expect others) to extricate them. One of the advantages of cycling and walking is that it breaks so many of the dependencies that motorists take for granted (and which are sold to them as the price of freedom and individuality).

ruggtomcat - I was looking at those Endomorphs on the web at the weekend - tempting but pricy. I settled for Specialized The Captain Controls. 35psi looks like the norm for these kinds of tyres. Have you tried lower pressures?

Posted 13 years ago #
chdot
Admin

The sloping bit of MMW was actually more ridable than the flat bit because the snow was compact and not slushy.

Posted 13 years ago #
cb
Member

"Supermarket Waitrose in Morningside has announced it was to close early, at 1700 GMT."

Taken last night:

Posted 13 years ago #
kaputnik
Moderator

Stuck to the bigger roads and cycled very defensively and slowly.

yes. seems to be working. if they want to pass they can drive down the big pile of snow in the central reservation

4x4s
Have been consistently the worst offenders on the roads these last few days for driving too fast and being car caked. It's the "I'm in a 2 tonne metal box, I have a badge on the tailgate that says "4x4", a transfer box that I don't know how to use and I'm sitting higher off the ground than everyone else ergo I'm invincible" logic that comes with owning one of those monstrosities.

Yesterday's encounter with the stuck Porsche proved there's absolutely no point in having hundreds of horsepower if you choose a fashion accessory wheel and tyre that can't get the power onto the road.

Posted 13 years ago #
LaidBack
Member

I'm missing the fun as I work from home and Bike Works is walkable.

Tomorrow though I'd like to try the trike from the shop and look for something that I wouldn't do on a bike.

I agree about the loaf of snow on the roof brigade! I saw on on the Mound and sure enough he couldn't get started uphill - despite the extra weight for grip.

Posted 13 years ago #
Kirst
Member

One of my colleagues gave me and a bloke who also cycles a lift home tonight. We helped her clear the snow off the car before she set off. She was quite surprised by how thorough we were at doing the roof!

Posted 13 years ago #
Min
Member

There was a section on the news with police tutting about snow on roofs but doing nothing about it until they saw a 4x4 with a really huge amount which they stopped. So basically unless you have a really stupid amount of snow on the roof, the police won't stop you.

Posted 13 years ago #
chdot
Admin

"but doing nothing about it until they saw a 4x4 with a really huge amount which they stopped"

AND they did it for the driver...

Posted 13 years ago #
kaputnik
Moderator

Claimed by winter by kaputniq, on Flickr

Posted 13 years ago #
rosscbrown
Member

Like ruggtomcat, I let some air out of the tires yesterday. The main roads have been quite good to cycle on today but I'm riding without mudguards right now so I did get fairly wet :-)

Ended up on some side roads too. A few of them are passable but I think I'll stick to the main roads for a wee while. An ambulance forced me into the side of the road today where I hit some rutted ice and fell on my behind. First fall of the season.

I'm running a slick tire on the back and a cross tire on the front. Finding it fairly difficult to get much traction on the back, particularly when setting off. I'm fairly light so keeping my weight over the back of the bike isn't turning out very well.

Posted 13 years ago #
kaputnik
Moderator

An ambulance forced me into the side of the road today

I pulled in for an Ambulance barelling down the Corstorphine Road, only to be rewarded for my troubles with a showering of frozen filthy slush

Posted 13 years ago #