If the temperature is at or below freezing (°C), know that if there is any water on the ground it could freeze and become ice which is slippery.
If you’re cycling on what could be ice, you need to turn and pedal and brake very slowly and carefully - which is to say, don't be abrupt. If you're cycling on a wet surface, the same applies, but less so. The less your tires are gripping the surface they're on, the more likely a slip caused by loss of traction. Braking, turning and a strong pedal-stroke all reduce traction. If you already have low traction, your action could be enough to make your bike slip.
You can’t always see ice.
More ice-related road accidents happen when drivers don’t expect ice because they don’t know it’s freezing temperature.
You can get thicker tires for the winter.
The all-around good type of bicycle is a “hybrid” bike, which doesn’t have really thin tires and doesn’t have a very forward-leaning, speed-oriented build.
It’s generally better to be more upright and then you can see around better.
Recommendations:
Visibility:
✓ High-Vis vest/jacket, and other high-vis elements optionally at night. During the daytime: yellow fleece top, or High-Vis vest over a rain shell for example.
✓ Daytime flash front handlebar light / light used at night obviously + helmet light so you can see where you’re looking as well as where you’re going
✓ Red back light should be on during daytime and night-time
✓ Brightly coloured helmet
Armour:
✓ Cycling knee pads (e.g. 7idP Transition pads if you're trail riding)
✓ You could even wear covert shell body armour (e.g. PPSS Group)
✓ WaveCel/MIPS helmet
✓ Fitting gloves for cycling, so at least if you fall off your bike and catch your fall with your hand, you don't lose skin on your palm
Something you can wear as your outermost torso layer for outside, particularly when cycling, is a Milwaukee premium hi-vis vest. It's hi vis for night and day, has great pockets and is light and ventilates well.
It means that whatever layer you wear under that<does not need pockets.
Put your helmet on properly, covering your forehead. Tighten the strap enough that you can slip a couple of fingers in between the strap and your neck. Don’t let it hang loose.
For navigation and to avoid traffic when following a route, you need the Cyclers app, or similar, on your phone mounted on a handlebar phone holder. You could have a waterproof pouch designed for phones, so you can use yours even in a heavy downpour. The Cyclers app requires a yearly subscription or one-off payment to use important features.
Cyclers (with Plus) is much better than Google Maps for cycling.
In my experience, Google Maps can easily lead you to cycle on motorways.
Don't break hard while turning.
At most, lightly "feather" your brakes while turning. In other words, lightly "tap" your brakes.
If you need to brake to reduce your speed in order to make a turn, brake to reduce your speed before - not during - the turn.
When braking, ideally gently pull both brakes in an even manner, and don't brake continuously for more that one second. Doing so, you are less likely to skid on a wet surface, and your brakes will last longer and you'll access more braking power. If going downhill, especially on a road bicycle, using the rear brake can cause instability, however, using only one brake on a steep descent as opposed to both makes the used brake more likely fail due to the heating from friction, and pulling the front brake too hard can lift up the rear wheel and relatively thrust your body forwards while the bike slows quickly.
In the UK, your right hand brake is for your front wheel, but in Europe and the US, your left hand brake is for your front wheel.
If you do serious off-road/mountain biking, you should look into wrist guards, elbow guards, and a full-face helmet. If you can find a WaveCel full-face helmet, you could wear it even when not mountain biking [meaning, wearing it when cycling but not mountain biking].
ETC makes good handlebar lights. I have a mixed experience with Cateye.
The Bontrager Circuit WaveCel Helmet has magnetic mounts for a powerful front-facing light and a rear light.
Bontrager Circuit WaveCel Helmet
The powerful front-facing light in question is the Bontrager Ion Pro RT Front Bike Light, suitable for properly lighting up the dark for hours. It comes with Bluetooth on, which you can turn off.
Avoid<taking up space and slowing down cars by cycling on busy roads. This is to say, do not do that.
Generally cycle on cycle paths and quiet roads, at least if you’re not going as fast as the cars.
Generally either be one with the cars, or don’t be with the cars. Don’t make it so lots of cars regularly have to overtake you/slow down because of you.
The night (after 22:00) is a good time to start cycling on streets and roads that are otherwise busy.
Your hearing ability is important for noticing traffic behind you or anywhere around you, so be sure not to damage it by use of headphones, or using speakers at unnecessary volumes.
¼ 2020s teenagers have hearing loss.
The closer a source of sound is to your ears, the more easily it can damage your hearing.
You can get a hearing test to find out how relatively deaf you might be.
Be learned of how junctions work and hand signals work, and what traffic goes first when the light goes green.
Unless you’re absolutely sure of what you’re doing and trust other road users who may be stupid, avoid big intersections as a cyclist (when they are busy). I was on a bus that hit (on the side) and probably killed a cyclist at a busy Oxford intersection. If you get hit at a busy intersection, it’s not just an inconvenience for you, but also for the entire city’s traffic that is messed up because of you.
Every 15 minutes, you might wish to check that your back light hasn't run out of battery. You may wish to pack a spare back light. +Or just spare lights generally, if you’re gonna be out for long, which is unlikely at night. It can start feeling cold around 6AM when the sun is coming up if you haven’t slept.
I'm no bike mechanic, but this is what I do and believe, having watched a lot of bicycle maintenance videos and using my intuition:
After cycling in the rain, if you're not going to immediately clean and dry your chain, ready for new lubricant, then you should still dry it.
Before applying new lubricant, at least if your chain is dirty and hasn't just been soaked with rain, then you should clean it first, using a chain-cleaning contraption (I use the big blue Park Tool chain cleaner, less than half-way filled with Muc-Off drive chain cleaner liquid).
For a quick clean, I may use the Muc-Off chain cleaner contraption which fits on the Muc-Off chain cleaner spray can.
The process for drying your chain after it's been in the rain or you've cleaned it:
I recommend drying your chain first with a rag, by running the chain through the rag, applying pressure using your fingers on the side of the chain and also on the top and bottom, and then doing the same with a thick, premium microfibre cloth. There's only so much pressure you can apply to the chain while running it. So, you can apply extra hard pressure in strokes while not running the chain.
Then, take an extra large cotton bag or other rag-like thing to protect the braking surface from the MO-94 you're about to spray, and back-pedal while spraying MO-94 down on the chain. I back-pedal almost as quickly as I can while spraying the MO-94 down through a thin tube attached to the nozzle, for about five seconds. First, I start back-pedalling using my hand and reach the desired speed, then, with my spray can in position using my other hand, I start spraying.
After the M0-94 is applied, I leave the chain for a brief moment (e.g. 1 minute) and then run it through a rag, applying minimal pressure, to remove excess MO-94.
Then, I do nothing to the chain and do not cycle, leaving the MO-94 to cure for 3-4 hours.
Then, if I believe the chain lacks lubricant and it is clean enough to apply lubricant, I do so.
I apply to each roller individually. To keep track of what rollers I've already lubricated, before starting the lubing process I take a washable pen (STAEDTLER Non-Permanent Marker) and draw on a location on the chain.
How To Lube A Bike Chain | GCN Tech's Guide To Oiling Your Bicycle Chain
After the lubricant is applied, I back-pedal as fast as I can for several seconds to pull lubricant into the chain.
Then, applying light pressure with a rag to remove excess lubricant, I run the chain.
After that, the chain is ready for use.
Note:
I clean and spray other parts of the bike as well, but they don't take so long for satisfactory short-term maintenance.
For example, I spray MO-94 (or Bike Protect) on the cassette and chain rings and cranks (assuming I have had a quick go at drying them) and I pull the brakes and spray MO-94 into the gaps. I spray Bike Protect up at the metal parts under the seat. I spray some M0-94 onto/into the turning joints under the handlebars, if you know what I mean. I place a rag on the jockey wheels while back-pedalling to remove dirt, then spray them.
Some maintenance procedures I do less often than others.
For example, I may only apply lubricant and MO-94 to the spring in the derailleur every two weeks if I use my bike every other day.
I use Bike Protect and MO-94 somewhat interchangeably for some tasks. However, Bike Protect is, as I understand, designed for spraying over almost your entire bike. I spray Bike Protect on the wheel hubs, on the handlebars, on the frame and other non-moving parts.
I shake Bike Protect and MO-94 vigorously before each spray, as per the instructions. This means that I don't spray more than five seconds after having shaken the can.
(More to come)