Well in Central Illinois is now 3 degrees a bit warmer than my north
neighbor Andrew but still too cold to ride anywhere. Hell it is too cold
to go anywhere too unless emergency. I see Minot ND is going to -55
windchill tomorrow night.
Do you you think the bike manufactures can build a bike that you can
ride and stay warm in that environment?
and want warm and usable daily.
Let see......a generator heater that works off the hub and keeps the now enclosed cockpit warm. Then you have some wires leading to the feet for
heat. A glove that plugs into the hub to keep the hands warm.
Someone here for sure this is Rec.bicyles.tec after all.
On 1/19/2025 8:41 PM, Mark J cleary wrote:
Well in Central Illinois is now 3 degrees a bit warmer
than my north neighbor Andrew but still too cold to ride
anywhere. Hell it is too cold to go anywhere too unless
emergency. I see Minot ND is going to -55 windchill
tomorrow night.
Do you you think the bike manufactures can build a bike
that you can ride and stay warm in that environment? They
keep going for fast a light and want warm and usable daily.
Let see......a generator heater that works off the hub and
keeps the now enclosed cockpit warm. Then you have some
wires leading to the feet for heat. A glove that plugs
into the hub to keep the hands warm.
Someone here for sure this is Rec.bicyles.tec after all.
Let's see: A bike to stay warm below zero? The first step
is, as you say, an enclosed cockpit. I don't have any
experience riding such a thing, but I wonder if that plus
warm clothing might be all you need. For a while, many
decades ago, I had a Zzipper fairing on my bike when
commuting in cold weather, and it seemed to help. And IIRC,
the fully enclosed and streamlined bikes used for speed
record attempts have some problem with riders overheating.
Human muscles, metabolism etc. are only about 25% efficient
at producing power. That means for every 100 Watts you
output in pedaling, you're delivering 300 Watts heating to
your body. If you're inside an enclosed fairing and you use
enough insulated clothing to keep that heat from being lost,
I think you'd be fine. I'm including feet and hands, which
would not have the wind chill if they were inside a fairing
enclosure.
But I can envision other problems. When it's intensely cold,
seeing where you're going through a windshield could be a
challenge. Enclosing an upright bicyclist would probably
lead to big problems from crosswinds due to the huge lateral
area, and you'd have some problem with that even if you
reduced lateral area with a recumbent posture. So to prevent
wind toppling you, you might need a trike instead of a bike.
That leads to further complications, like finding three
clear paths instead of one through snow, ice or whatever.
Sorry, I can think of no practical way to ride very far when
it's very cold. My record was -4 Fahrenheit, but it was just
a brief and uncomfortable utility ride. I don't plan on
trying it again.
On 20 Jan 2025 05:53:42 GMT, Roger Merriman <roger@sarlet.com> wrote:
Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
On 1/19/2025 8:41 PM, Mark J cleary wrote:I don’t think a road ride at such temperatures would be particularly
Well in Central Illinois is now 3 degrees a bit warmer than my north
neighbor Andrew but still too cold to ride anywhere. Hell it is too cold >>>> to go anywhere too unless emergency. I see Minot ND is going to -55
windchill tomorrow night.
Do you you think the bike manufactures can build a bike that you can
ride and stay warm in that environment? They keep going for fast a light >>>> and want warm and usable daily.
Let see......a generator heater that works off the hub and keeps the now >>>> enclosed cockpit warm. Then you have some wires leading to the feet for >>>> heat. A glove that plugs into the hub to keep the hands warm.
Someone here for sure this is Rec.bicyles.tec after all.
Let's see: A bike to stay warm below zero? The first step is, as you
say, an enclosed cockpit. I don't have any experience riding such a
thing, but I wonder if that plus warm clothing might be all you need.
For a while, many decades ago, I had a Zzipper fairing on my bike when
commuting in cold weather, and it seemed to help. And IIRC, the fully
enclosed and streamlined bikes used for speed record attempts have some
problem with riders overheating.
Human muscles, metabolism etc. are only about 25% efficient at producing >>> power. That means for every 100 Watts you output in pedaling, you're
delivering 300 Watts heating to your body. If you're inside an enclosed
fairing and you use enough insulated clothing to keep that heat from
being lost, I think you'd be fine. I'm including feet and hands, which
would not have the wind chill if they were inside a fairing enclosure.
But I can envision other problems. When it's intensely cold, seeing
where you're going through a windshield could be a challenge. Enclosing
an upright bicyclist would probably lead to big problems from crosswinds >>> due to the huge lateral area, and you'd have some problem with that even >>> if you reduced lateral area with a recumbent posture. So to prevent wind >>> toppling you, you might need a trike instead of a bike. That leads to
further complications, like finding three clear paths instead of one
through snow, ice or whatever.
Sorry, I can think of no practical way to ride very far when it's very
cold. My record was -4 Fahrenheit, but it was just a brief and
uncomfortable utility ride. I don't plan on trying it again.
pleasant with added windchill etc.
In my experience off road removes a lot of that, as you tend to be riding
slower, plus riding in the woods can get shelter from the wind.
Clothing helps a lot, as does being young! Noting that despite being sub
zero temperatures last week the young lasses still had their crop tops on! >> Which was slightly painful to view in such temperatures!
I’ve certainly ridden and comfortably in similar temperatures though not >> necessarily same type of conditions on the MTB.
Ie larger more bulky warm clothes plus extra load ie effort of riding off
road potentially snow etc.
But utility and certainly road cycling is going to be unpleasant!
Roger Merriman
I had an office for a while in downtown Madison, Wisconsin near the
Capital. This was in the era of miniskirts. We used to go out for
lunch and we'd see the young girls on the street, all bundled up with
fluffy jackets on top, bare legged below. My friend used to say,
"those gals aren't cold, they got a little heater under those skirts.
--
C'est bon
Soloman
On 1/19/2025 8:41 PM, Mark J cleary wrote:
Well in Central Illinois is now 3 degrees a bit warmer
than my north neighbor Andrew but still too cold to ride
anywhere. Hell it is too cold to go anywhere too unless
emergency. I see Minot ND is going to -55 windchill
tomorrow night.
Do you you think the bike manufactures can build a bike
that you can ride and stay warm in that environment? They
keep going for fast a light and want warm and usable daily.
Let see......a generator heater that works off the hub and
keeps the now enclosed cockpit warm. Then you have some
wires leading to the feet for heat. A glove that plugs
into the hub to keep the hands warm.
Someone here for sure this is Rec.bicyles.tec after all.
Let's see: A bike to stay warm below zero? The first step
is, as you say, an enclosed cockpit. I don't have any
experience riding such a thing, but I wonder if that plus
warm clothing might be all you need. For a while, many
decades ago, I had a Zzipper fairing on my bike when
commuting in cold weather, and it seemed to help. And IIRC,
the fully enclosed and streamlined bikes used for speed
record attempts have some problem with riders overheating.
Human muscles, metabolism etc. are only about 25% efficient
at producing power. That means for every 100 Watts you
output in pedaling, you're delivering 300 Watts heating to
your body. If you're inside an enclosed fairing and you use
enough insulated clothing to keep that heat from being lost,
I think you'd be fine. I'm including feet and hands, which
would not have the wind chill if they were inside a fairing
enclosure.
But I can envision other problems. When it's intensely cold,
seeing where you're going through a windshield could be a
challenge. Enclosing an upright bicyclist would probably
lead to big problems from crosswinds due to the huge lateral
area, and you'd have some problem with that even if you
reduced lateral area with a recumbent posture. So to prevent
wind toppling you, you might need a trike instead of a bike.
That leads to further complications, like finding three
clear paths instead of one through snow, ice or whatever.
Sorry, I can think of no practical way to ride very far when
it's very cold. My record was -4 Fahrenheit, but it was just
a brief and uncomfortable utility ride. I don't plan on
trying it again.
Well in Central Illinois is now 3 degrees a bit warmer than
my north neighbor Andrew but still too cold to ride
anywhere. Hell it is too cold to go anywhere too unless
emergency. I see Minot ND is going to -55 windchill tomorrow
night.
Do you you think the bike manufactures can build a bike that
you can ride and stay warm in that environment? They keep
going for fast a light and want warm and usable daily.
Let see......a generator heater that works off the hub and
keeps the now enclosed cockpit warm. Then you have some
wires leading to the feet for heat. A glove that plugs into
the hub to keep the hands warm.
Someone here for sure this is Rec.bicyles.tec after all.
On 1/19/2025 7:41 PM, Mark J cleary wrote:and > single speed:
Well in Central Illinois is now 3 degrees a bit warmer than my north
neighbor Andrew but still too cold to ride anywhere. Hell it is too
cold to go anywhere too unless emergency. I see Minot ND is going to
-55 windchill tomorrow night.
Do you you think the bike manufactures can build a bike that you can
ride and stay warm in that environment? They keep going for fast a
light and want warm and usable daily.
Let see......a generator heater that works off the hub and keeps the
now enclosed cockpit warm. Then you have some wires leading to the
feet for heat. A glove that plugs into the hub to keep the hands warm.
Someone here for sure this is Rec.bicyles.tec after all.
Daughter rode yesterday (19 January) along the lakefront on her DaHon
https://www.audacy.com/wbbm780/news/local/cold-weather-advisory-issued- for-chicago
On 1/20/2025 12:28 AM, Catrike Ryder wrote:
On 20 Jan 2025 05:53:42 GMT, Roger Merriman <roger@sarlet.com> wrote:
Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
On 1/19/2025 8:41 PM, Mark J cleary wrote:I don’t think a road ride at such temperatures would be particularly
Well in Central Illinois is now 3 degrees a bit warmer than my north >>>>> neighbor Andrew but still too cold to ride anywhere. Hell it is too cold >>>>> to go anywhere too unless emergency. I see Minot ND is going to -55
windchill tomorrow night.
Do you you think the bike manufactures can build a bike that you can >>>>> ride and stay warm in that environment? They keep going for fast a light >>>>> and want warm and usable daily.
Let see......a generator heater that works off the hub and keeps the now >>>>> enclosed cockpit warm. Then you have some wires leading to the feet for >>>>> heat. A glove that plugs into the hub to keep the hands warm.
Someone here for sure this is Rec.bicyles.tec after all.
Let's see: A bike to stay warm below zero? The first step is, as you
say, an enclosed cockpit. I don't have any experience riding such a
thing, but I wonder if that plus warm clothing might be all you need.
For a while, many decades ago, I had a Zzipper fairing on my bike when >>>> commuting in cold weather, and it seemed to help. And IIRC, the fully
enclosed and streamlined bikes used for speed record attempts have some >>>> problem with riders overheating.
Human muscles, metabolism etc. are only about 25% efficient at producing >>>> power. That means for every 100 Watts you output in pedaling, you're
delivering 300 Watts heating to your body. If you're inside an enclosed >>>> fairing and you use enough insulated clothing to keep that heat from
being lost, I think you'd be fine. I'm including feet and hands, which >>>> would not have the wind chill if they were inside a fairing enclosure. >>>>
But I can envision other problems. When it's intensely cold, seeing
where you're going through a windshield could be a challenge. Enclosing >>>> an upright bicyclist would probably lead to big problems from crosswinds >>>> due to the huge lateral area, and you'd have some problem with that even >>>> if you reduced lateral area with a recumbent posture. So to prevent wind >>>> toppling you, you might need a trike instead of a bike. That leads to
further complications, like finding three clear paths instead of one
through snow, ice or whatever.
Sorry, I can think of no practical way to ride very far when it's very >>>> cold. My record was -4 Fahrenheit, but it was just a brief and
uncomfortable utility ride. I don't plan on trying it again.
pleasant with added windchill etc.
In my experience off road removes a lot of that, as you tend to be riding >>> slower, plus riding in the woods can get shelter from the wind.
Clothing helps a lot, as does being young! Noting that despite being sub >>> zero temperatures last week the young lasses still had their crop tops on! >>> Which was slightly painful to view in such temperatures!
I’ve certainly ridden and comfortably in similar temperatures though not >>> necessarily same type of conditions on the MTB.
Ie larger more bulky warm clothes plus extra load ie effort of riding off >>> road potentially snow etc.
But utility and certainly road cycling is going to be unpleasant!
Roger Merriman
I had an office for a while in downtown Madison, Wisconsin near the
Capital. This was in the era of miniskirts. We used to go out for
lunch and we'd see the young girls on the street, all bundled up with
fluffy jackets on top, bare legged below. My friend used to say,
"those gals aren't cold, they got a little heater under those skirts.
--
C'est bon
Soloman
+1
At our location downtown, in the 'no autos' zone, there were
many days when most people were well wrapped in many layers
but always at least one person per day walking out of the
liquor store with a six pack in shorts.
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