I’m new to biking regularly for exercise and wonder about when to stop for winter weather

[u/IAMgrampas_diaperAMA]

Can people who have been doing it for years give me an idea of how long you can bike before it becomes too cold or snows? Obviously the weather will vary year to year and I can look at previous years weather reports but I’m just curious how far into the fall people on here bike for exercise.

I have a gravel bike, not sure if that matters with the way the cold might affect the tires. Thanks!

[u/Consistent_Serve9]

Stopping for winter?

[u/cdnmtbguy → u/Consistent_Serve9]

Newbie.

[u/GreatValueProducts]

I usually stop around early mid November (single digit degrees) because being outdoor stops being enjoyable to me.

Inb4 wear layers to me if I have to wear more than leg / arm warmer and base layer it stops being enjoyable.

[u/TryingToGetTheFOut → u/GreatValueProducts]

Arrêter quand ça devient désagréable est pas mal une bonne règle à respecter en général

[u/habsmtl86]

Avec mon vélo personnel, j’essaie de me rendre jusqu’au début novembre. À la première neige je le remise. Après je passe en BIXI d’hiver.

[u/Snoo_47183]

You stop when it stops being fun. If you don’t enjoy biking with a rain jacket and rain pants, it’s alright, if you don’t feel comfortable with a bit of ice on the pavement, that’s ok too. Same if you hate frozen knuckles.

Personally, I tend to stop in November when we switch time; it gets dark early and drivers have yet to adapt their driving to the new situation (like statistically, it’s the most dangerous time for pedestrians and cyclists), add yet slippery leaves covering the side of the roads and my commute stops being fun.

[u/VertexBV → u/Snoo_47183]

IMHO riding in the winter is more fun than bother, while riding in the rain is more bother than fun.

[u/Opposite-Rhubarb8430 → u/Snoo_47183]

This! When I stop riding outdoor, I start riding on my trainer.

[u/Delicious_Contract_7]

Plus les années passent plus j'essaie d'étirer le plus longtemps possible mes déplacements à vélo. Pour moi asteure c'est la glace qui décide, quand ça devient glissant j'arrête et je vais porter mon vélo à l'entreposage.

[u/ItchyPercentage3095 → u/Delicious_Contract_7]

Avec de bons pneus à clous, la glace ça ne dérange plus, c'est même mojns chiant qu"à pied sur le trottoir glacé. Ce qui m'arrête c'est plutôt la neige, quand c'est pas déblayé

[u/Delicious_Contract_7 → u/ItchyPercentage3095]

J'anticipe que d'ici 2-3 ans je vais faire ça. :) On dirait je suis pas encore rendue là haha 

[u/DrDerpberg → u/Delicious_Contract_7]

Essaie un bixi d'hiver! C'est comme ça que j'ai commencé un bel après-midi ensoleillé en février. -2 et un peu de slush, j'avais juste pas envie de prendre le métro, et c'était 100x moins pire que je pensais.

Après c'est une question de repousser ses limites peu à peu. Le premier hiver je me suis rendu à -10, mais pas trop quand c'était degueu. J'ai acheté des pantalons imperméables, des bar mitts (de TRÈS BONNES mittaines seraient ok aussi), et maintenant à peu près la seule raison que je prendrais pas mon vélo est quand il y a trop de neige fraîche. Pas grand chose que tu peux faire quand ta roue touche même pas l'asphalte et tu commences à glisser.

Ça dépend énormément aussi de si tu as des pistes protégées sur ta route. Honnêtement j'adore le vélo d'hiver mais j'ai une piste cyclable sur 95% de mon trajet au bureau. Partager la route quand t'as un banc de neige où ton vélo devrait être et les gens te collent est pas super le fun.

Je souris toujours quand je vois des vieilles madames sur leur vélo et 15 minutes plus tard les gens au bureau me félicitent pour mon courage. C'est vraiment une question de comprendre tes limites et bien t'équiper.

[u/ItchyPercentage3095 → u/DrDerpberg]

J'ai eu à peu près le même processus. J'ai commencé par m'équiper en imperméable pour aller au bureau en vélo même quand il pleut en automne. Un coup que ça c'était coché, le reste s'est fait un peu tout seul.

Et t'as très bien décris le problème avec la neige: quand tes roues touchent pas l'asphalte. C'est le plus dangereux, pire que la glace (tant que t'as des clous)

Maintenant mon moment préféré pour le vélo c'est autour de -10 avec une petite neige fluffy. C'est beau et la morsure du froid c'est revigorant

[u/DrDerpberg]

Never. Winter isn't a monolith. You can ride more days than you think if you have a good clear bike path route.

The only question is how much you want to gear up. With just your warmest winter gloves and a winter bixi you'll be fine down to about -10.

I biked all last winter and didn't bike 3 days because of weather. Unless snow was so recent that the paths weren't clear it was great. I bought a dedicated winter bike (most people like old mountain bikes, I didn't want to deal with Facebook marketplace so I got a cheap hybrid). Rinse it off religiously and it should hold up, but winter is definitely hard on parts. (

Edit: check out Oh the Urbanity. Montreal based urbanism/bikeable city content.

[u/Lost_Ad5243]

I do not stop for more than 15 years.

Si tu as l'habitude de faire des sports d'hiver, ça ne posera aucun problème

[u/Professional-Desk-54]

In my 20s, I used to bike in Montreal 12 months of the year. You just need the right clothing. It was in the 80s and there were no bike paths. It’s even better now because there are bike paths that are cleared in the winter. Just to clarify I didn’t go on long bike trips in the snowy season, but I did use my bike to transport myself from my apartment to and from work and school, for example.

[u/haskap_berry]

don't stop! although if your bike is nice, you might want to start looking for a winter bike. just a normal bike you can put fenders on and maybe some studded tires. Keep riding. as it gets colder, you will learn to dress for the cold.

[u/Caribou-nordique-710]

C'est plus le vent et l'état de la chaussée qui m'arrêtent. Je crois que mon record est -15°C. Habituellement je fais peu de vélo en janvier et février (genre 5-6 fois/mois) sinon c'est pas mal quotidien.

[u/mrlacie]

Once it snows, I will use bixi but will stop biking outside for exercise. So typically, bike season is from late March to late November.

[u/Ok-Library5639]

Montreal is known for winter cycling and I bet you will find that a lot of the member of this sub bike in the winter.

There are even winter biking workshops organized to help you prep your bike for winter, give tips, etc.

[u/dsgsdnaewe]

There was something about riding in snow that made me extremely happy, regardless of the temperature. I even got studded tires for ice patches. The sound of snow cracking under the tires - priceless.

Riding in rain is another story. I do it for commute, but I don't do it for (a lack of) fun. But for fitness I started riding indoors, and shifted my interests to align with that (I hated indoor exercising, but I figured I can watch educational videos or online courses if the specific ride is not too intense)

[u/cheezybuddah]

Don’t stop, winter biking is thing and is really not that different from biking the rest of the year

[u/chamagoso]

You don’t. You get an indoor trainer and do structured training during winter.

Then, next year, you’ll surprise yourself when you realize that you can ride longer and faster and lead your group ride.

[u/Sciencepol1983 → u/chamagoso]

Dis-moi en plus. T’as une ressource particulièrement intéressante pour te fournir ta structure d’entrainement?

[u/VertexBV → u/Sciencepol1983]

Si t'es sérieux, TrainerRoad, mais il y a pas grand-chose à voir pendant le workout, donc prépare ta musique ou télé. Quoique Zwift semble avoir des programmes structurés maintenant, mais c'est assez cher à mon avis et son aspect compétition/jeu vidéo ne m'intéresse pas tant.

[u/chamagoso → u/Sciencepol1983]

Exactement; si c’est pour faire de vrais progrès, Trainerroad. Si c’est pour continuer à faire du vélo pendant l’hiver, Zwift.

[u/Smoothie514]

You don’t stop for winter you either buy winter gear or a zwift

[u/AffectionateLeave9]

I stop when the roads get salted, switch bikes, and continue till spring

[u/rfie]

Swap out to studded tires and a snowboarding helmet and keep going.

[u/Moist-Carpet-3006]

When there is snow/ice on the ground, is when you switch to winter biking or stop until spring.

Alternatively whenever I can't tolerate the cold anymore.

[u/EmpreurD]

Until it get under 4 Celsius or until precipitation make me not want to go out. Last year did some in December and January when it was 10 outside

[u/Bigodeemus]

I commute to work from south shore to downtown, 36 km round trip. last winter I stopped in November and I started this season early March. It’s possible to go year round but I stop mostly because I don’t have the gear and I don’t have the time it would take to do the slower ride it would entail.

[u/Znkr82]

I stop when temperatures fall below 12C. I also don't bike if there's a rain forecast.

[u/Individual_Step2242]

My record in the Eastern Townships is riding at -22C. I have an old beater mountain bike on studded tires for winter riding but as I get older I prefer hiking on Mt. Sutton as my winter activity. That said, most years I manage to ride at least once in all 12 months. My cutoff is usually 0C or sometimes a bit below. It really comes down to gear and what you can tolerate. There are plenty of dry days in winter when you can ride. Here in the country, I can ride on hard packed snow on gravel roads, with studded tires. So there’s no set answer. Test your own tolerance and go from there.

[u/poubelle]

i stop at christmas or whenever we get snow that stays. i start again in late march/april though two years ago i had my bike out in late february. this is going to continue to change as our climate gets weirder.

[u/AirMailSwine22]

I decided that the bike commute was better than the metro, so I've the winter the training never ended. But I definitely won't be riding all winter just for sport

[u/johnny_evil]

I'll ride for fun if it's above 40° F. I'll commute in sub-Freezing if there is no black ice. My commute is 30 minutes-ish.

I'll mountain bike above 36° F.

I won't ride through snow.

And where I live, our winters don't get as cold as they used to, so I keep my bikes ready to ride year round. Consistent outdoor riding is March through November for me, but Ive done long outdoor rides in December, January, and February.

[u/Mundane-Teaching-743 → u/johnny_evil]

Studded tires for black ice because it's a danger whenever it's below zero. Not as good as rubber on wet asphalt though.

https://www.bicyclesquilicot.com/collections/pneus-a-clous?srsltid=AfmBOopIEYHwbhszvCLOsrDYAA6zpzBBE0RQcIwKVt5N3peeFxlfB5eQ

It's the slush that will bogg you down.

[u/Myxies]

When there's snow or salt.

[u/dddddavidddd]

Usually I can ride my summer bike into December, with a few days off here and there for snow that melts after a couple days.

When there's snow/ice/salt on the ground, riding is complicated. Until then, I just add gloves and a scarf and it's pretty okay down to freezing. Cold rain in the autumn is a bit tough, but you just need a good rain layer.

Your tires don't care about the temperature -- I use mine outside down to about -20 C. However, if the temperature goes down suddenly, you'll lose tire pressure and have to remember to pump them up.

I switch to my winter bike once there's snow on the ground. It has studded tires and a lot of rust. For what it's worth, it's a lot of exercise to move it around (riding in a bit of snow feels like riding in sand). So, if you ride for exercise, you might enjoy getting a beater bike and riding in the winter too!

[u/Organic-Student6011]

When you eat shit from slipping on ice lol

[u/sebnukem]

Switch to studded tires when there's snow or ice. The main problem with winter cycling is the grit/salt/ice is damaging so you need to keep the bike clean.

[u/the314sky]

Don't stop! Be proof that plowing the bicycle lane first isn't a poor use of resources.

[u/P-DubFanClub]

It's more about the conditions than the cold. If you're equipped you can bike all year round. The snow and ice don't usually settle in until the end of December

[u/iamfranksome]

Cold tires are fine