Help Me Keep Riding Bicycles Year-Round

For the last couple years, I've been repeating the same pattern- ride a lot all spring, summer, and part of fall, and then stop riding as much and feel worse and get slower because of it.  I really really want to keep riding all winter (which we do get in Pennsylvania), have the clothes for it, and hate riding a stationary bike indoors.  Help me brainstorm.

Current bikes:

Kona Process 153 w/ Fox Factory suspension- this is my primary bike when it's nice enough out, but every damn time I've ridden it below 40F ambient temp I've blown out some part of the suspension.  I'm ok with accepting that this thing just hates the cold, although I do miss it when I can't ride it:

Trek Stache 5- this is technically Sara's bike, so it's a little small for me, and the low spec shows.  On the rare occasions that I ride it, I almost always break something, so it now has an upgraded rear hub and stronger rear wheel, but I do think I'll just keep smashing stuff unless I ride it more gently.  Apparently I don't have a picture.

Peugeot Iseran- an ancient road bike with little tiny gravel tires on it is somehow my most reliable ride.  This thing is fun in its' own way but obviously requires different sorts of trails than the other two, and honestly might be the reason I eventually get a real gravel bike:

So what should my solution be?  Embrace gravel riding all winter?  Go slow on a fatbike?  Get some sort of invincible singlespeed hardtail with a coil fork that has nothing to break?  I'm tired of my winter riding choices being "break the bike, or ride the Peugeot" unless it's unseasonably warm out and I'd love to have some more interesting ideas for this winter.

I went back to a fully rigid, 90s mtb over winter one year and that turned into my full-time bike. 

Turns out I really, really like light, nimble and fast over anything else.

I guess the kids these days would say I ride a gravel bike.

I have the opposite problem here in Florida were I ride a lot in the fall through spring but stop riding as much in the summer because of how hot it gets. 

This year I started going to a spin class at the gym as much as I can and that has helped me keep up my strength for hitting the trails now that I am going back out once a week to ride in the evenings. 

I used to ride through the Canadian winter on a fully rigid mountain bike with thumb shifters. Studded tires, fenders and the right clothes. The bike never failed, partly because it was built with Deore XT shifters and derailleurs so it was all quality, simple tech with no plastic. Thumb shifters are basically bombproof and you can still use them with lobster gloves :)

I don't ride off-road in the winter much here because the wet weather damages the trails, but I do get out on the road bike.  Our winters are mild so it's not difficult. 

Winter mountain biking does generally require a bit more care and caution. For me it's usually ~10% off of "full speed" spring/fall pace on clear ground, and slower on snow . But I've never had any durability issues, on either the current FS bike with basic fox suspension or the previous slightly nicer stache than you have (I did eventually kill a rear wheel but not from winter riding) in 20-30* weather. There definitely is logic behind a hardtail or full rigid bike for those conditions though if you can justify another bike. You can make a very competent/fast fatbike, it's just not a budget friendly endeavor.

Yeah, I was surprised the first couple times I blasted a seal out of a shock or got air into the oil but it does seem to be a consistent cold weather issue.

And yes, those old rigid mountain bikes might well be called "vintage flatbar gravel bike" these days, although the wheels are a little on the small side.  Interesting thoughts so far.

I've ridden a lot in the winter in the past here in Southern Ontario on everything from Road, CX (gravel now) and MTB (also track but that was indoor so doesn't count). 

We get a lot of freeze/thaw cycles here so studded tires are nice (must have for myself). They aren't needed for the first snowfall but when it warms up and refreezes things get really icy. Make sure you can keep your hands/feet warm, mtb will be easier than road/gravel for that as you are protected from the wind and more active on the bike. Lights can really extend your ride times to with the short days, having a bright LED on your helmet and bars turns the night into day and keeps some light on where you're going even if your bars aren't pointed that way yet.

If you're on the road/gravel something with proper bolt on fenders is the way to go as you'll run into sloppy/wet conditions and you'll want to stay as dry as possible. 

For MTB I'd say something a bit simpler than your full suspension is the way to go. The Stache actually looks like a good choice in that you already own it and it has the 29+ tires to handle some snow (just drop pressures way down). I rode many years on my normal MTB just swapping to a set of studded tires, our trails aren't rideable until they are frozen here and falling on ice isn't something I'm fond of. I finally broke down and bought a fat bike in the fall of 2021 and really love it even outside of winter riding, it kind of feels like an oversized BMX bike with monster truck tires, a nice change from a trail bike. During the winter I run studded cake eaters which have enough studs to handle shear ice but not too many that they hurt your speed when not needed (they're surprisingly light for what they are too). The fatbike is nice for a few reasons, it's fully rigid so a simple bike and it can handle any conditions, dry trails, icy trails and softer snow where a regular tire just isn't enough.

I found I was always slow riding in the winter, dropping atleasy 5 km/h average speed when I'd be out on the road, that can be disheartening but the speed always came back once it warmed up outside. For me it was about getting out and putting in the time rather than trying to go fast/far.

I have ridden the Stache in snow a good bit, and you're right-on that it's fun with low pressures- I added a foam insert in the rear too so I hopefully won't damage another wheel.  I could definitely keep riding that one in snow and slop and just keep replacing the weak links as I find them, we do have ice but it's rare that it covers the entire trail so I've gotten away without studded tires thus far.

I'm not particularly worried about speed in the winter either, just riding enough to stay in shape and get some outdoor time; generally if I go more than 2 days without a ride I start feeling more irritable and I'd like to keep that at bay.

Lights are interesting and not something I've seriously shopped for, any budget recommendations there?  Some of the local trails do allow night riding during the winter.

The niterider lights are a little bulky but otherwise very good for the price. Keep an eye on fb marketplace for lightly used nicer stuff. The expensive lights have wider beam patterns which is really nice but can mostly be made up for by a helmet mounted light. With two narrow beam lights I can run basically 95% of daylight pace and rarely ever wish I had more light.

Following.  Winter riding is hard in some places because a) trails are wet and b) its dark.

On a dry weekend it usually isn't a problem where I am because there is no snow buildup to keep things wet.  But I'm not sure how you could handle that up north.

I'd really be tempted to bike indoor and use one of those apps that gamifies it.  Especially if you have a friend who does it you can challenge.

It's better further north because the ground is just frozen once it's been cold enough for a while. If you get a stretch where temps are consistently 20-30 degrees that's basically perfect. Ride early to mid day before the sun can soften up the top layer of ground. Or live in the midwest where there's also minimal sun exposure for most of winter (the one instance where that's a positive). Snow is fine too, it works on the same cycle - melts a little in the afternoon but solidifies overnight and is rideable again the next morning. The real trick is keeping idiots from riding in the afternoon and turning the melting snow into mud puddles which then freeze into ice overnight.

Hmm... I ride in the same area as you all year (I was on that trail in the picture a couple of weeks ago)... rode all winter last year (at least until Feb when I broke my collarbone) and I haven't had any issues with the suspension on my bikes.  My Spot also has Fox Factory suspension, ridden all year, every year since I bought the bike new in early 2020.  

Check the bearings and bushings on the suspension and especially the shock linkage.  That model Kona's suspension design is known for putting side loads on the shock which will accelerate shock wear.

I keep saying I'm going to ride my hardtail more during the winter... and then I never do.  I've pondered getting a fat bike... except I really don't have room for another bike... although I'm sure if I bought a fat bike it would guarantee we would never get snow again. 

For off-road lights, I recently bought a set (bar and helmet) of Outbound lights.  Seems to work well.  Modern lights are so much better than the lights I had back in the 90s. 

My friends and I generally only ride trails during the winter when it's cold enough for the ground to stay frozen all day.  Riding during freeze-thaw mud wrecks the trails. 

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

Interesting, I've damaged this rear shock twice, the fork once, and previously had seal issues with both ends of the original rockshox suspension in the cold.  Maybe my stuff is just old.

I'm in CT and mountain bike year round. Unless there's snow on the ground, I ride my Ripley. I have an older rigid fat bike (26x4.7) for snow days that's alright. It's better than not riding but I don't love it... I usually forget myself and blow my ankles out over a drop. 

I zwift when it's below 15F... It's just so hard to leave the warm house when it's that cold. Zwift racing makes for a great workout!

Lights: can't say enough good things about Outbound Lighting. Great quality, especially the new helmet light now that it has similar battery life to the bar light.

Re: durability - I've never had shock issues in the cold, but have noticed the ride is a good bit more harsh. Similarly, brake feel sucks sometimes when the fluid gets thick.

I haven't figured out a good clothing combination to keep from freezing on the gravel bike paths when it drops below 40-50. The constant wind is a killer!

I've found this light to throw a surprising amount of light on the trail when combined with a headlamp: $25 rechargeable headlight

I am shocked that you have problems with your suspension in cold weather.  

When I lived in PA, I rode year round.  I did not have fox suspension, but in my 37 years of mountain biking, I have never had a fork or shock fail / break / etc from cold weather.

I have had derailleurs freeze while riding.

This is the light that I bought.  I REALLY like it.  You can mount it on your helmet or handlebars.

https://a.co/d/5h3yMNn

I decided to Google this issue.  Pink bike did a little write up on what to do to your suspension for cold weather riding.  It involved more air pressure and less dampening.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/pinkbike-tech-winter-season-tech-with-fox.html

My informal observation of bike commuters in Minneapolis in the winter time is many or most of them have gone to fat tire bikes, often with studded tires.  Their clothing varies, many have gone to motorcycle-style helmets instead of the usual ventilated bike helmets (besides more protection, they'll keep their ears warm.)

Fat tire bikes came out of snow biking, it's not surprising they're good at it :)

Thank God we gave up on elastomers...

ShawnG said:

Thank God we gave up on elastomers...

Can't tell if joking....  back in the day, we would put our bikes on the trunk mounted bike rack with the forks near the exhaust so they would function for at least a little bit of the ride before the elastomer turned solid.

wvumtnbkr said:

ShawnG said:

Thank God we gave up on elastomers...

Can't tell if joking....  back in the day, we would put our bikes on the trunk mounted bike rack with the forks near the exhaust so they would function for at least a little bit of the ride before the elastomer turned solid.

Back in the 1900s...

I test rode one elastomer fork (Manitou 2), ordered a set of Marzocchi XC500s and never looked back.

Elastomers were almost as bad an idea as URT suspension. 

Keith Tanner said:

Fat tire bikes came out of snow biking, it's not surprising they're good at it :)

They didn't invent fat tire bikes but I believe Surly (based in Bloomington, MN) popularized them.

(Surly Brewing in Minneapolis makes a fine beer, if you find yourself in the area check out their beer hall.  They're not really related to the bike company, they just have an agreement to share the name.)

Brotus7 said:

I haven't figured out a good clothing combination to keep from freezing on the gravel bike paths when it drops below 40-50. The constant wind is a killer!

I don't ride in temps below the mid-30's too often, but here's what I've figured out that works for me.

I'm most sensitive to cold around my ears, neck first, hands & feet second, and then the rest of my body. So I ride with a headband around my ears, gaiter around my neck, a pair of fairly thin winter cycling gloves, and warm socks. 

I have a pair of winter cycling leggings & sleeves that I wear with my chamois & summer jersey, and a pair of long MTB pants. As the temps drop I'll add a pair of REI thermal pants & shirt on top of those, then top off with a jacket as needed. 

I used to have some long Lycra pants with nylon on the front to cut the wind. A windproof cycling jacket with pit zip. That plus some lobster gloves would take me into the 20s. Below that I needed a neoprene balaclava and earmuffs. 

If anyone is looking for justification to buy a fat bike, giant is clearing out old stock at 60% off MSRP: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/yukon-2-2022