Bicycle: This is how you prepare yourself and your bike for winter

Driving in the cold season is always a special challenge, but one that you can prepare for. Basically, you should divide the winter into days with and without snow and slippery roads.

Regardless of the temperature, the days are getting shorter, and those who cycle to work are out and about in the dark in the morning and in the evening. The lighting of the bike is therefore even more important than usual.

See and be seen on a bike

The lighting system must work and correspond to the technical standard. And that means today: LED. The light that good systems now provide cannot be compared at all with the yield from filament lamps from earlier times. If you still have an old system, you should replace the lights. And think: Hell alone is not enough! The headlight must not be dazzling and must cast a good cone of light on the ground.

The purpose is also important: In the “bright” city, you want to be seen by others above all else. In the country, the headlight should be able to completely illuminate the path – you should be able to fade it up to do this. However, suitable headlights for driving on pitch-dark paths are expensive – you have to reckon with costs of 100 euros. The Lumotec IQ Cyo Premium T senso plus front light from Busch & Müller is recommended for the city.

Widespread, but the much worse solution, are light sources that run on batteries. They go out when the battery runs out, are often misaligned, or are simply stolen. A dynamo as an energy source is much more reliable. Incidentally, a complete front wheel can easily be retrofitted with one with a hub dynamo. As long as the bike does not have special high-quality rims, this is also possible for a modest amount of money. One are available for 50 euros.

Spoking a dynamo into an existing rim is an art; if you have it done in the workshop, it becomes more expensive than replacing the wheel.

Reflectors also mean that you can be seen much better. You can stick it on the frame as a film or wear it as a vest. If you don’t want clothing in warning colors, you should to choose.

Warm clothing

You don’t have to freeze on the bike. Special winter clothing is also available for cyclists. If you drive with normal clothing, the cotton jeans are not warm enough. For them you either have to wear trousers or tights underneath. Hands and feet are particularly sensitive to cold – warm functional gloves can help. If you don’t want to wear heavy, lined boots while driving, you have to switch to thermal socks. The time on the bike is usually limited. Socks, shoes and gloves preheated on the heater bridge the cold.

But there is one thing you can’t get out of the world: Even at distances of five kilometers you start to sweat noticeably. Functional underwear transports sweat into the air, so you are not in “your own juice”. But even the most expensive functional underwear doesn’t change the fact that you arrive sweaty. A change of linen may therefore be necessary.

Driving on slippery roads

When it comes to snow and ice, the enjoyment of cycling decreases rapidly. The clear advice: If you are not exactly a cyclist, you should leave your bike at home when it is slippery. If you don’t want to, look at studded tires. If they cover the entire running surface, they can only be used on ice and snow – driving on asphalt or concrete is torture. An example would be this .

As a compromise, they offer tires like that from Schwalbe on, which have a normal running surface, the edge of which is limited by spikes. You can use it on both surfaces. The braking effect and the power transmission on smooth surfaces are significantly improved.

But because the bike only has two wheels, unlike a car, it tends to topple over. And that is clearly noticeable. In a situation in which a car driver notices a loss of traction because the car breaks something, the ESP lamp flickers or the tires slip when braking, a cyclist will usually fall. It can be helpful to lower the saddle in order to be able to support yourself better in clippy situations.

In winter, salt and dirty water clog the bike. Regular greasing of the chain is necessary. Remember that the bike is warm after use and can defrost. If the spray turns into ice, the circuit is blocked. A small distance between the rubber tire and the mudguard looks good, but should be corrected in winter so that there is some play between the surfaces, otherwise the tire can simply freeze.

Lighter with an engine

E-bikes have the advantage that they can be moved largely effortlessly. As soon as you use the full engine power, you can dress up thick and warm without breaking a sweat. In the future there will be connections for heated gloves and the like, today you still have to forego this convenience. When it comes to e-bikes, it is important that the battery is not unnecessarily exposed to the cold. In the long term, this affects its service life, in the short the range decreases. The battery must therefore be stored and charged in a warm place. A clear advantage for bikes where the battery can be easily removed. For the very cautious, there are neoprene covers that delay the battery from cooling down.

Despite all the effortlessness, riding an e-bike in winter is not without its dangers. Thanks to the motor, you can reach a brisk speed, but in terms of braking and driving stability, the e-bike is not superior to a normal bike. You should therefore not necessarily max out the top speed.

This article contains so-called affiliate links. Further information are available here.

Also read:

Cycling in ice and snow? For professionals only!

Why don’t we fall down while cycling?

This is how you make your bike fit for snow and ice

: Here it goes to the racing bike comparison.

: Here is the bike rack comparison.