Cycling on ICE question

[Martin[_2_]]

I will be cycling tomorrow on slicks (well Marathon Pluses) I expect the
roads will still be icy, is it a good idea to let a lot of the air out.
ISTR reading something like that before. (Well I will be walking parts
of it).

Martin.

[Tosspot[_2_]]

Martin wrote:
> I will be cycling tomorrow on slicks (well Marathon Pluses) I expect the
> roads will still be icy, is it a good idea to let a lot of the air out.
> ISTR reading something like that before. (Well I will be walking parts
> of it).

I dont reckon it will make so much difference because of the smart guard
on those. If it's any help I cycle a lot in icy conditions on M+s and
'They cannae take it Cap'n", so take it easy.

[Just zis Guy, you know?[_2_]]

On Sat, 07 Feb 2009 08:32:39 +0000, Tosspot >
said in >:

>'They cannae take it Cap'n"

Ah, the genius of Hollywood - casting an Irish Canadian as a
Scotsman (well, it's an /accent/ isn't it?). Only Sean Connery's
Scottish Russian submarine captain or his Scottish Irishman in The
Untouchables beats that, really.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk
85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound
GPG sig #3FA3BCDE <http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk/pgp-public-key.txt>

[Tom Anderson]

On Sat, 7 Feb 2009, Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:

> On Sat, 07 Feb 2009 08:32:39 +0000, Tosspot >
> said in >:
>
>> 'They cannae take it Cap'n"
>
> Ah, the genius of Hollywood - casting an Irish Canadian as a Scotsman
> (well, it's an /accent/ isn't it?). Only Sean Connery's Scottish
> Russian submarine captain or his Scottish Irishman in The Untouchables
> beats that, really.

Or his Scottish Egyptian in Highlander. "Haggis? What is haggis?".

tom

--
YOU CANT TAKE AWAY HATGUYS HAT. THEN HE IS JUST GUY -- The_Toad

[Trevor A Panther[_2_]]

"Martin" > wrote in message
...
>I will be cycling tomorrow on slicks (well Marathon Pluses) I expect the
> roads will still be icy, is it a good idea to let a lot of the air out.
> ISTR reading something like that before. (Well I will be walking parts
> of it).
>
> Martin.

They will slip on ice. I reckon they are "semi slicks" but even so they will
slip.

I don't want to teach grandma to suck eggs ............ but

1. Ride in as high a gear as your can manage. A lower gear increases the
"slip factor" ( the "torque"). I find even on wet edges of paths, where I hit
damp grass, my rear wheel will slip under climbing gear, pressure!

2. it gets difficult for cyclists as the side roads become more patchy --
beware running into a patch of black ( or even white) ice

3 With SPD type pedals I keep my "favourite foot" unclipped; so that I can
drop a stabilising extra support.

4. Just be sensible cos all these suddenly polite car drivers are now over
their scare and they are driving normally ---- and all the roads are
distinctly not yet "normal".

--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom.
www.tapan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

[Martin[_2_]]

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
> On Sat, 07 Feb 2009 08:32:39 +0000, Tosspot >
> said in >:
>
>> 'They cannae take it Cap'n"
>
> Ah, the genius of Hollywood - casting an Irish Canadian as a
> Scotsman (well, it's an /accent/ isn't it?).

They did manage to repeat the error a few year later when they cast an
"unknown British Shakespearean actor" (Yorkshire) as a Frenchman from
East France.

> Only Sean Connery's
> Scottish Russian submarine captain or his Scottish Irishman in The
> Untouchables beats that, really.
>
> Guy

[JNugent[_5_]]

Martin wrote:
> Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
>> On Sat, 07 Feb 2009 08:32:39 +0000, Tosspot >
>> said in >:
>>
>>> 'They cannae take it Cap'n"
>> Ah, the genius of Hollywood - casting an Irish Canadian as a
>> Scotsman (well, it's an /accent/ isn't it?).
>
> They did manage to repeat the error a few year later when they cast an
> "unknown British Shakespearean actor" (Yorkshire) as a Frenchman from
> East France.

The Royal Shakespeare Company does something similar every time they do
"Henry V".

[Martin[_2_]]

Tosspot wrote:
> Martin wrote:
>> I will be cycling tomorrow on slicks (well Marathon Pluses) I expect the
>> roads will still be icy, is it a good idea to let a lot of the air out.
>> ISTR reading something like that before. (Well I will be walking parts
>> of it).
>
> I dont reckon it will make so much difference because of the smart guard
> on those. If it's any help I cycle a lot in icy conditions on M+s and
> 'They cannae take it Cap'n", so take it easy.

I tried it today, letting most of the air out, and it made quite a
noticeable bit of difference. Although I think I was in danger of a
snakebite visit a couple of times.

Martin.

[jsabine]

Martin wrote:

> I will be cycling tomorrow on slicks (well Marathon Pluses) I expect
> the roads will still be icy, is it a good idea to let a lot of the
> air out. ISTR reading something like that before. (Well I will be
> walking parts of it).
>
> Martin.

Made a *huge* difference on Monday for me - we had about four inches of
snow with the merest hint of slushiness underneath, and what felt like
ice somewhere in the mix. At normal pressures my M+s were going through
to the slippery layer, and skating all over the place. With most of the
air let out (when I pumped them up again, they were down to about 15 or
20psi), they were much more secure. No fun when I got back to tarmac
though ... usable, but so, so slow

--

John

[Danny Colyer]

On 08/02/2009 15:50, jsabine wrote:
> Made a *huge* difference on Monday for me - we had about four inches of
> snow with the merest hint of slushiness underneath, and what felt like
> ice somewhere in the mix. At normal pressures my M+s were going through
> to the slippery layer, and skating all over the place. With most of the
> air let out (when I pumped them up again, they were down to about 15 or
> 20psi), they were much more secure. No fun when I got back to tarmac
> though ... usable, but so, so slow

YMMV. I had about 1.5" of snow on Thursday morning, with occasional
patches of ice underneath, and had absolutely no problems with my M+s at
100psi (well, probably more like 90psi since I hadn't topped them up for
a couple of weeks).

--
Danny Colyer <http://www.redpedals.co.uk>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"The plural of anecdote is not data" - Frank Kotsonis

[Jolly Polly]

jsabine wrote:
>
> Made a *huge* difference on Monday for me - we had about four inches of
> snow with the merest hint of slushiness underneath, and what felt like
> ice somewhere in the mix. At normal pressures my M+s were going through
> to the slippery layer, and skating all over the place. With most of the
> air let out (when I pumped them up again, they were down to about 15 or
> 20psi), they were much more secure. No fun when I got back to tarmac
> though ... usable, but so, so slow
>

Yes, I imagine it would make quite a difference, as the rubber would be
more pliable/mouldable to the road surface giving a larger contact
patch, and it generates more heat, though I'm not sure this is a good
thing on ice. Much like car/motorcycle drag racers do on the strip, they
typically run as low as 5psi in the drive wheels.
Pol