Winter is officially upon us, at last. After taking a bit of a spill yesterday, I now realize that I am woefully unprepared this winter. I ride a Univega Safari Ten frame on 23s. This doesn't really cut it in the snow.
I want to find a beater for the winter. I ride from Uptown to the South Side in the morning, then to Pitt in the evening, and back home at night, so I need something that'll get me up Bates.
I just want something that won't require much maintenance outside of cleaning and lubing the chain every now and then. I hear fixies are famous for this, but is winter the best time to learn to ride fixed? I have a budget of, I don't know, $250?
I work a few blocks from Thick. I'll stop by tomorrow and see what's in their used inventory.
Fixies aren't so hard to learn to ride. If you're going up Bates, though, that might require some leg-strength-gettin'.
Old rigid high-end mountain bikes do pretty well as road-tanks, too, provided you put sensible tires on them. They show up often enough on craigslist for $100ish.
i'd have a potential beater for you, but it's much better than that. full-fendered MIYATA touring bike (nitto moustache) and a Sturmey - Archer 3sp (AW) internal gear hub. virtually bomb proof and no maintenance except the occassional drop of oil. I'd be asking for more than $250. but it's a very, very nice bike. PM me and we can chat. thanks willie.
Two things make a full winter beater relatively unnecessary:
1. Good, full coverage fenders with (at least) a front mudflap.
2. Studded tires.
I rode this morning through varying degrees of slush, snow, ice, and muck, and aside from a bit spray on the chainstays, the bike is clean.
I didn't use studs for a long time, then finally, last year, I dropped $120 for a set of Marathon Winters. Best money I ever spent on my bike. I mounted them this weekend, and they will stay on 'til spring. They don't guarantee that a ride in snow and ice won't be dicey, but they go a long way to make poor road conditions more reasonable.
i also think that decreasing your normal tire pressure by 10-15 lbs makes a very big difference in ability to ride in "deep(ish)" snow. however, you also need to modify your riding a bit to avoid pinch flats, but it's a lot cheaper than studded tires.
D'oh! Thick is closed until the 28th. I should wait until January (and until my next paycheck...) before buying anything, anyway.
As a fellow male, let me say that old women's frames, like old "mixtes", make excellent winter beaters, for when you do take the occasional spill. The Nutcracker is a lovely ballet, but you do not want to perform it yourself. I concur with the old mtn bike suggestion, but an old women's 3 spd w/fenders etc. might be the best thing of all. And you can lock it up and forget it if you have to resort to the bus.
I saw a bike matching this description for sale at the Thrift Store on Ohio River Boulevard (in Avalon) just this weekend. I think it was a Schwinn Traveller III (maybe more gears than 3, as I think about it....) Looked to be in pretty good shape. I think they were asking $14.95 for it.
+1 on the reduced tire pressure idea. Four snowy winters at SUNY Geneseo on the unicycle, I typically ran about 18-22#, vs. 45-60# in warmer weather. On really slippery mornings, often my biggest clue that the sidewalks were bad were other people having trouble walking. Going slower helps a lot, too, both in not wiping out, and avoiding pinch flats.
I just a sweet 93 giant MTB with oversized tires off of craigslist and the thing has been crushing any amount of snow that I have seen
Some one needs to get the memo to the Pittsburgh Police.
Winter beater: good.
Wife beater: bad.
Mick
Wow! He can control the climate? He needs to do something about this weather, stat.
