
The MacGyver Approach to Winter Biking (Zip Ties) - MikeCapone
http://www.dutchbikeco.com/_blog/Dutch_Bike_Co_Weblog/post/Seattle_Snowpocalypse/
======
chaosmachine
Good winter tires can make the difference between life and death (ie: sliding
under a car).

My recommendation: Don't trust your life to a couple dozen plastic zip ties.
If you're dealing with ice on a regular basis, pick up some Schwalbe Ice
Spikers. 304 tungsten steel studs per wheel. They're expensive (about $100
each), but I've never had a fall or lost a stud in 4 years of daily winter
biking... and I live in Ottawa, a city that regularly experiences -20c weather
(cold enough to make plastic very brittle).

~~~
icegreentea
Somewhat off topic, but does the term MacGyver mean the same thing to everyone
here? In my mind, they're always temporary/in a pinch solutions, and the
parent's post could go unspoken (though I'm glad he spoke it). Macgyver
solutions work to get you to the point where real solutions are now possible.
In other words, a subset of hacks (you can have long-term, or superior to
'standard' hacks).

I mean, even MacGyver didn't invent his own Swiss Army knife everytime he
needed it... though he probably did once.

~~~
zacharycohn
I've always used the term to mean "a temporary, short term hack that will
serve the purpose until we have the time/resources to create/implement
something that can be long term."

~~~
mwsfc
Agreed. This is exactly how I've always understood it.

------
TimMontague
This requires a bike that doesn't have hand brakes, otherwise the zip ties
would get caught on the brake pads.

~~~
digitallogic
Also, it is gonna be even more of a pain to change a flat.

~~~
tomjen3
You just need to have a cutting tool on you at all times, but you should do
that anyway since a knife is very useful.

~~~
jessriedel
But then you have to put on a whole new set of zip ties too.

------
blasdel
I've done it before on bikes with coaster/drum brakes and on the rear wheel of
a fixed gear, they do actually give you a bit more traction in snow.

You can put the heads on the tread side for studdedness but then they break
right the hell off the second you hit clean pavement. You can also put the
heads on the rim side for a plain paddlewheel effect. They still like to break
off easy, especially with cheaper zipties.

Overall it's not worth it at all, since they don't last and don't help on ice
where it would actually matter. Even true carbide-studded tires from Nokia or
Schwalbe aren't really worth it unless you live somewhere with ice on the
ground from freeze-thaw cycles for months out of the year.

If it's just slush, relatively narrow normal tires will cut through to the
pavement just fine. If it's snow, larger volume tires at lower pressures helps
more than anything, and knobs are relatively pointless (much less studs) — you
just want to float on top of it like sand.

------
gst
Just switched to studded tires on my bike today (Schwalbe Marathon Winter).
They make a HUGE difference. With my old tires I nearly hadn't any grip at all
today. With the studded tires I can break on black ice and it feels like
breaking on dry concrete.

Yes - they've been somewhat expensive. With shipping I've payed about 110
Euros. But I'll prefer investing some money in good tires, compared to
crashing and landing under a car.

------
slug
How about getting a pair of decent tires? When riding my bike during the
winter my usual problem is the fact the bike lanes become the dump site for
the snow and mud mixture or the new parking lane.

------
schultzor
This is clever, but I'd be curious to see how long the cable ties will last
before dulling/breaking off. If you plan on riding with any regularity in the
winter on snow/ice, the $100 for a set of studded tires is well worth it.
They'll last multiple winters and don't present issues with changing tires or
using rim brakes.

~~~
GrooveStomp
By the sounds of it, Seattle is very similar to Vancouver. We average about
two weeks of snow a year - roughly one week in November/December, then another
week in January/February. Each time there's only about 3 or so inches of snow.
Usually it's not a problem on main roads, but this year we got a little more
snow than usual. The zip-ties would come in extremely handy for the several
days of on-road-snow we actually have to worry about. For us Pacific
Norwesters, $100 studded tires is overkill.

------
T_S_
Great hack! Not mentioned: They have to be yellow (as pictured) to get the
desired effect.

Cable ties are also used to ward off magpies in Australia during the nesting
season.

~~~
RK
I had to look up this magpie thing, because it sounded really bizarre.

[http://www.bv.com.au/bikes-&-riding/10754/](http://www.bv.com.au/bikes-&-riding/10754/)

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES_n4DgJDHs&NR=1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES_n4DgJDHs&NR=1)

~~~
T_S_
I've been personally swooped there. Not fun. It only lasts a few weeks a year.
Pretty much only in September.

------
msisk6
This works with motorcycles, too.

I was told about this method several years ago by an old Harley biker. He said
zip ties should be in your bag incase you get stuck off-road or surprised by
some snow. They won't last long, but they'll get you out of a jam.

I've never used 'em, but I keep a package of extra-long zip ties in my bike's
saddlebags just in case.

------
hopeless
Seems like a good hack for shoes too (admittedly, just the toes section). This
might come in handy as we in Ireland are about to experience some severe
snow/ice storms over the next week and are perpetually unprepared for the snow
which briefly hits each year. I'll be trying out the shoe-variant at the
weekend!

~~~
eru
Socks over your shoes also work well.

~~~
jac_no_k
Research and recognition for this: <http://improbable.com/ig/ig-
pastwinners.html#ig2010>

PHYSICS PRIZE: Lianne Parkin, Sheila Williams, and Patricia Priest of the
University of Otago, New Zealand, for demonstrating that, on icy footpaths in
wintertime, people slip and fall less often if they wear socks on the outside
of their shoes.

------
hop
Some much better DIY bike chains:
[http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/11/diy_bicycle_tire_ch...](http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/11/diy_bicycle_tire_chains.html)

These could probably be improved further by ditching the zip ties for
something reusable like velcro.

~~~
watchdogtimer
Not recommended. The cross-chain links will gradually wear from grinding on
the pavement to the point where they'll break. When that happens, the loose
chain can get snagged in the frame (or--even worse--the fork) and lock up the
wheel. I went over the handlebars when this happened to me on the front wheel
several years ago.

Carbide-tipped studded tires made by Schwalbe, Kenda, or Nokian are definitely
the way to go. We've operated a bike delivery business for the past 18 years
in the upper Midwest US and have tried almost everything. Nothing else works
as well nor as reliably. The tires will last a few years so the cost per year
is not huge.

------
burgerbrain
I'm fairly certain they had to pack up an entire streets worth of snow to take
those pictures. Seattle hasn't gotten shit for snow this year, unless I
somehow slept through it.

------
enjo
Ahh dang it.. this was going to be my answer for hacking the system if I ever
needed to apply to YC:)

------
bobx11
Good luck changing a flat.

~~~
jrockway
His support van is right behind him. Swap the wheel and change the tire in the
shop.

If you're commuting, just buy studded tires. Amazon has them and two-day
shipping is free :)

------
JoeAltmaier
You call that snow? It gets that way in April here.

------
jrockway
Interesting. Seems reasonable.

