The Bike of Doom

I’ve been winter commuting now for a full week, with morning temperatures ranging from -32 to -44. Despite my fear of the winter roads, they’ve been mostly fine, and drivers in cars quite careful around me. The SuperCycle SC1800 Bike of Doom seems to be holding up well to the ordeal of winter cycling, other than some cold related failures. I’ve also noticed some key differences in the winter cycling experience, but all in all it’s been a good week.

A mild snowstorm one day made the roads a little difficult that evening, and the next morning, but for the most part the riding has been good. I have experienced no trouble with cars or drivers. I’d expected the worst but in fact found drivers to be tolerant, courteous and careful. Go figure. I saw perhaps four cyclists all week, none close enough to talk to or even to determine their age or gender. We all seemed to be going at a slow, careful pace.

The bike seems to have held up well. I have not done any maintenance work on it since early November, no air pressure check, no lubrication. I’ll take it inside tonight to warm up and give it a once over tomorrow, but so far things are feeling good.

I’ve noticed a couple of difference in the riding experience, compared to spring, summer and fall. The brakes are a little sluggish to respond, not because of the pads but because the cables are frozen and stiff. This hasn’t proved to be a problem and has probably served me well as it doesn’t allow me to apply the brakes suddenly enough to skid.

I haven’t been able to change gears either, stuck in the middle ring on the front and the middle ring on the back. Again, that suits me fine. I never have liked changing gears. If I’m looking for a summer project, I may turn the Bike of Doom into a single speed.

The odometer froze up and stopped working the first day out, so I took it off. Yes, it’s that cold. My route is identical to my regular commute and I know the distance down to a tenth of a kilometer. The cold is also killing the batteries in my headlight and tail light. I’ll have to pick up a few. That’s to be expected, as the batteries in there now are a year old at least.

I’m surprised at how good the drive train feels, responsive and quiet. I’m pretty certain the chain has stretched to the point it needs replacing, as you’d expect after 3,300 Km, but I’ll try to get some more use out of it. It seems okay. The bottom bracket and rear wheel also seem to be surviving the winter rides without complaint.

My heavy duty cable lock is a bit difficult to deal with in the cold. When the cable is very cold, it’s hard to bend, making it difficult to lock or unlock the bike. Not impossible, just difficult.

There are other issues I still need to consider if I’m going to succeed at winter cycling.

Winter cycling hydration: what do I drink? Within 15 minutes of leaving the house, my water bottle can’t be used, water frozen inside the cap. Within 30 minutes, it’s virtually solid. I suppose I could start with hot water, but the cap would still freeze pretty quickly.

Winter cycling jacket, winter cycling shoes: I’m using my winter boots, which are a bit clunky, and my yellow cycling wind jacket over many layers of other clothes. There must be a better solution.

Winter cycling gloves: after the first day, when my hands froze, I started using a pair of nylon covered Thinsulate® mittens. These work but are big and bulky. I look like the kid from Christmas Story, in his snowsuit.

All that taken into account, I have to say this first week of deep winter cycling has been a blast, and I’m sorry I took the bike off the road in November. Next year I will make a concerted effort to keep going.

I wonder if the Bike of Doom will still be around?

Related posts:

Who will survive… The Awful Bike of Doom

Other POS bikes on the road

End of the road for the Bike of Doom?