flatout wrote:In answer to the OP – No. And it is not the temperature at your departure time that is the criteria.
The best guide still remains the application of your own ‘common sense’ based on knowledge of your own cycling manor, habits and routes (gritted, hills and dips, water run-off, tree overhangs, urban or countryside, burst water mains, tyre selection, weight of bike and rider, overnight lows, recent rainfall, time of day, sunshine or overcast, vehicular traffic density, etc. etc.).
If in doubt leave it out.
How does leaving the bike outside help?!?
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
The real problem with black ice is that's almost impossible to see. It doesn't look crystalline. It's caused when air supersaturated with water hits a really cold surface. I've come off on it twice and I've spun my car on it with no warning, but fortunately, no crash.
One bit of advice I had when I first started driving in Finland- listen to the road. Yes bike tyres make less noise than car tyres but there is always some, and when they go quiet you're on ice. It doesn't help with avoiding it, but at least you have warning about cornering and breaking. If you're driving be prepared for complaints from any passengers though "can we have the radio on?" "can you close the window, it's [expletive deleted] in here"
That absolute and sudden silence... when you realise you should have put the studded tyres on...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way.No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse. There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
[XAP]Bob wrote:That absolute and sudden silence... when you realise you should have put the studded tyres on...
No chance of silence with studded tyrrrrrRRRRRRrrrrrRRRRRrrrrrRRRRRrrrres! Hmmm - anyone else get a sudden hankering for sizzling bacon?
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
[XAP]Bob wrote:That absolute and sudden silence... when you realise you should have put the studded tyres on...
No chance of silence with studded tyrrrrrRRRRRRrrrrrRRRRRrrrrrRRRRRrrrres! Hmmm - anyone else get a sudden hankering for sizzling bacon?
Yes, blissfully quiet this morning for teh first day in what seems like ages. Looks like the studs will be out again next week. Problem is the bike I use the studded tyres on is currently using friction shifting. How the hell do I trim the derailleurs in traffic with that racket going on.
I misjudged the weather this morning and hit black ice and ended up on the road - one very bruised thigh! Caught out by the road surface on a small bridge over a little river being colder than rest of the road. Air temperature about 3 or 4 degrees but had been colder yesterday and was drizzle in the air this morning.
Fortunately no one saw me and no traffic around to run into me! Will be a bit sore for my commute home.
Another one to add to experience so more prepared for next time.
I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my Moto G Play using hovercraft full of eels.
SussexMan wrote:I misjudged the weather this morning and hit black ice and ended up on the road - one very bruised thigh! Caught out by the road surface on a small bridge over a little river being colder than rest of the road. Air temperature about 3 or 4 degrees but had been colder yesterday and was drizzle in the air this morning.
I used to get caught out like that when my commute took me over a footbridge spanning a river.
MikeF wrote:In cold weather any bridge, and not just one over a river, will be colder than the surrounding ground, as it won't have a heat reservoir.
Indeed, there's a particular steel 'pedestrain' bridge I use over a roundabout, had a squiggle on Sunday night and i've known it to be iced for the full length without there being any anywhere else! Wouldn't be quite as bad if there wasn't a 70 degree turn halfway along it.
Convention? what's that then? Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
One of the problems with deciding whether to go out on a bike is that conditions can be very different just a few miles from home. I set off for work one day in 3 degrees and dry roads, only to find 4 miles form home it was still close to freezing and frosty. A bit further and my usual route (rural lanes) was black ice, so turned around and went back to the nearest town and took the train part way. It was also icy near work, so I cycled the last few miles on main roads, and avoided the edges.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.” ― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
[XAP]Bob wrote:That absolute and sudden silence... when you realise you should have put the studded tyres on...
Just relax everything and pray!
Just wait until you're over it... Then again, that easier said on three wheels
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way.No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse. There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
