bionx in deep snow
The NW got some huge snow last month. During a mad dash to the video store in I stuck my car on hill due to having to stop at the stop sign . 10 years in Alaska tells me to back it up and park it . I do, and hump it on foot determined to get the choicest vids before the snow storm hits. In the morning I go to check on the car. Totally buried under a good foot of snow 8) . Put a call to my insurance for a tow, due to the high snows
...They Are Not Towing ! At this point i resign to foot and Bionx-Bike power.
I recall DAVEW's townie in the dead of winter... I am inspired . Do some research on snow/ice tires
but no one in my area has them on hand. I decide to just air the tires down and lower the seat so I can use my feet like rudders . I put some old sheet metal screws into my shoe soles like spikes and call it good. Completely forget my car in the snow for days and days. All grocery ,video trips and wine runs are done on the Bionx bike and it works like magic :D . Folks just stare like 'how the hell..?' as it plows along. The Next week i finally get the gall to pull my car from the remaining snow and mud. Upon doing so I hear a hissing coming from the front passenger side. Jump out, sure enough I have just punctured the tire. Its amazing how quickly you can get a car unstuck when you Really have a time limit :O . Long story-short, I'm dead set on not buying a new tire or using the spare as I want to sell the car asap so I get a can of fix-flat and fill up at Jiffy-lube .It slows the leak by about 80%. I will get a used tire on Monday.
Sunday evening I decide to bike to an aquarium shop 4 miles away. I do. Its closed when I get there. *grrr* Sundays! Figure Borders books is open, It is , get the free read in for a couple hours. I suit up, get on the bike to head home. I'm guessing the Tire Gods waited till the end of the year to pile on the love because upon leaving the Borders curb I catch a rear Flat ! And since its SUNDAY, no Bus for over an hour! I just start humpin the 3.5 miles as I don't have a tube. About 1/2 way home I get a lazy idea .I get on the bike. I put my crotch right on the neck ,leaning my weight forward off the back tire as much as possible . I hit the throttle and hope not to endo over the bars or hit a bump . The battery is toast but this trick gets me the rest of the way home in record time with no rear rim damage or Jewel damage :) .
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Re: bionx in deep snow
Thanks Han. Inspiring...
I live in Minnesota, so the thought of snow biking has crossed my mind more than once. Couple questions:
1. Do you have any problems with water or ice/snow getting into the hub motor?
2. Do you recommend fenders?
Any other advice for us snow-bounders?
thanks,
scotty
Re: bionx in deep snow
Hi,
Excellent :)
I live in Finland and as the climate is such here I drive in the snow regularly every winter :D
At first I was more ambitious and drove a "normal" mounting bicycle but somehow instead of ending falling asleep on the soffa on friday afternoon I ended up falling asleep already on Tuesday after returning from work :D
Then I decided that I need some help, at least during the winter so I bought the Ezee Sprint. I don't recommend it too much as the quality is really low. I had some issues with it after the first wet snow ride but failed to find any remedy for it so I received another one (warranty replacement). They suspected cables rusting?! (After 7 months of driving...who knows).
It did though drive me for 3 years through all the mess of loooong winter here.
Now I drive eGo....yes, I am lazy. Since my boy got born the energy for turning the pedals stays at home before or after the work. Mornings are so terribly dark that I just didn't find any psychological energy to turn pedals.
Back to some comments/questions.
I personally didn't have any problems with snow/water in the hub motor even as I mentioned the quality of Ezee is way below the Bionx. The snow build up though made more problems to the gear system in the rear wheel. The snow was wet, went into every possible hole and then froze so I had only 1 gear when returning home. Spending night in the warmer garage solved it.
The tires I used were Continental (don't remember the model) and now I use Schwalbe Marathon Winter, those I reccomend very much!
Fenders did help when slush comes, also the front one is a must if you want not to be like the snowman after the ride but if the snow is wet and heavy it starts building up between the tire and the fender. Still, I had them both and didn't have much issues. Couple of light hit on it and all snow falls off.
The only thing I could think of mentioning here is, don't leave the bike to freeze with lots of wet snow on it without removing the snow from crucial areas. it is difficult to remove it. But I assume, this is nothing specific to pedelecs, it is rather snow/winter ride specific for any bike/bicycle.
Good to hear that someone else is also driving in the snow ;)
Babo
Re: bionx in deep snow
Hey there Scott ,
I have never had issues with water in the hub or battery yet & I often ride in rain. Avoid deep puddles though. I see you have the rear carrier ,it should act as a decent fender. If
I were to start riding to work I'd get a front fender too. You may want the front fender to protect what ever you put in the your front cage . I'd get 1 that allows more snow clearance. I'd air down a bit in snow . There are sites on how to make DIY snow/ice tire(s). I may do this for the front. I'll post it if I do. take care
"be the bike"
Re: bionx in deep snow
Hi Babo
Nice to make your acquaintance.
I was planning to get those Schwalbe Winter tires also . I then found this http://bikehugger.com/2008/12/diy_studded_tires_for_icebike.htm
Without a job and with plenty of time I can do cool projects so maybe I will
make something like this.
Peace Babo.
"be the bike"
Re: bionx in deep snow
Hi Han,
Yes, the studded tires "manual" how to make it is also available in some Finnish bicycle magazine pages. Though they are not as good and don't last as long as the "original" ones they seems do the job quite well :)
Good luck with it and nice riding ;)
Babo
Re: bionx in deep snow - tire choice
One more thing came to my mind, very very important.
My experience in the last 3+ years of the whole-year-round driving showed that the tires are a very important choice for winter driving. The spikes do help to keep the grip when the road becomes icy but the bigger problem I encountered was the flat tires.
The flat tires are a huge problem in the beginning and the end of the winter. The reason is that in those time periods the snow melts during the day and freezes during the night. Because of that here in Finland the road service throws the small gravel on the pathways (not on the car road but those I am not driving with the bicycle). When the road becomes almost with no snow only what remains are asphalt and the small gravel. Asphalt is hard enough not to allow gravel to be pushed into the ground and then it has only one other way, into the tire. If the tire is not a good one the gravel will definitely go into it.
The beginning of the winter is the worst because then my bike(s) are with the summer tires. They, of course don't have high persistence to punctures or rather to say they don't have as high persistence as the winter tires. The first snows usually melt immediately and that's why I end up with summer tires to late December. No use of destroying the spikes on the 99% asphalt with no snow and ice.
This winter I had 4 flats in 3 days. The both days (the first and the last one) I got 2 flats, on both tires at the same time. Once I did get home but they lost the air during the night, another time I didn't manage, the puncture was big enough to flatten it at once...and on both of them. I found the gravels inside the body of the outer tire.
For the summer I used Kenda Kikzumbut which definitely doesn't have persistence to such conditions.
Now, I use the Schwalbe Marathon Winter and they are excellent. As I got so fed up with flat tires (suffering for 3+ years) I also put inside the inner tube, extra thick (4mm on the gripping side) and now seems I am managing through any amount of small gravel on the road :)
I definitely recommend a bit thicker inner tube. They are heavier, harder to pedal, I know, but man, it is difficult to pedal when you have both tires flat :P Call me unlucky, but I will forever be afraid of the flat tires in the early and late winter :-D
Babo
Re: bionx in deep snow
Impressive!
A foot is about my limit for biking. It gets to be really hard going and you can't see what's under the snow. I imagine it's a trifle harder with a flat. :-)
"we must be the change we wish to see in the world"
Re: bionx in deep snow
Nice story Han. I Trike in the winter. living in Alaska is a problem for my controller it seems. and I did make my own studs.the store bought ones are ok but i could have longer studs making my own. and cheaper. I am going to build more trikes for winter use. workingout what electrical components work best in the cold?? the controller i have is a cheap one. new one on the way and will see how that goes.
Re: bionx in deep snow - tire choice
Hey Babo.
Wow , that is alot of flat tires ! you are right about the rocks on the roadside. Its the same thing here . Car chains and studded snow tires wear down the road top .Later when the snow is gone ,the city street sweepers push all that worn gravel to the roadside, where We have to bike ride. This is indeed a recipe for many a flat tire=C .
If its really bad in spots I ride in the road. I hear there is a new law in my area that cars must allow cyclist like 2 feet of space or something .
"be the bike"
Re: bionx in deep snow
hello Bebob.
I'd really like to see your Trike setups. Airing down the tires may have worked better for snow riding than studs for me. I have rode in Alaska too and Ice riding does certainly
require studs ,or at least a lot of body padding for slips.
A trike sounds ideal due to it's stability . They are really inexpensive and easy to electrify with the big racks. My Dad and I plan on surprising my Mom with 1 soon. Any kits that you'd recommend?
"be the bike"
Re: bionx in deep snow
Hey Davew .
Don't think I would have tried venturing out in the white mess before seeing your
winter pic . At least the flat waited until the snow was gone before rearing its head=)
"be the bike"
Re: bionx in deep snow
Han. I cannot say more on the safety of a trike in winter. I live on the coast and our weather is weird to say the least. most of the time the roads and bike paths are just glare ice. so i made my studs long. i used 3/4" screws-the hardened ones-and drilled them through the meat of the tread. bought a innertube and slit it in half. used that as cover for screwheads on the inside of the tire.so as to protect the innertube. have not had a flat as yet. the screws project out from the tire about a 1/4 " that is great traction. snow and ice requires a front hub motor. most trikes have split rear axels,one drives and the other brakes. this works fine on dry ground but not much use on ice. i did not put studs on the rear tires as it is more fun that way. but all tires studded would be safer. i will try to include a photo here if i can. and if you are in america Shwinn makes a nice trike-easy to convert. Bebob. sorry cant seem to add photo???