January 8, 2025 | RandoTips

No Bad Weather, Just Bad Preparation

The rain is starting to pick up and mercury is falling. Often the signal for the end of the riding season.

There is often to reason to stop riding, even when the weather gets very miserable.

Just as prevention is better than cure works for colds, so good preparation can make riding through the worst of weather pleasant or at least better.

I have to deal with the cold, with fluctuations in temperature during a ride, and rain. All suggestions revolve around these. I’ve never ridden in snow (well once and that was not heavy snow) but that is a whole other ballgame.

Bike parts for the rain

So what can you do to your bike to make it better at handling adverse conditions?

Waterproof and water-resistant parts. Sealed headsets, sealed hubs, sealed bottom bracket, sealed pedal bearing and basically all sealed bearings, which is the standard on most bikes, are good for consistent bike operation when the torrent comes.

Cables should be lubricated well, or be of the Teflon variety so the extra inner coating will keep things moving smoothly. Same applies to brakes, unless you have hydraulics.

Tires should match conditions. More tread will give more grip, if you are on full-slicks avoid riding on the white lines when turning corners. Avoid grates, manhole covers and other metal things on the road surface that are super-slippery when wet. Use a bit more caution around corners and remember you braking distance is increased, so keep your eye ahead and widen the following distance.

I wouldn’t have been caught dead with fenders a while back, but are making more and more sense. Spray from the back wheel will cover your back or whatever you’re carrying on your back with water and mud. The best are the full cover style, which stretch as far down as the bottom bracket on the one end and to almost the same level down on the other side. On the front end, the spray from the front wheel will get in your eyes, cover your front with water and mud, and aid in wetting your shoes.

I have neither of these yet. But I have ridden a bike with them and immediately noticed the difference. I’ll report back on how those go when I get a chance. Might just rip the crummy ones off my other bike and see how that goes.

Clothing for the cold and rain

photo credit: johnthescone

No wooly sweaters needed for rides anymore, or animal skins for that matter. There is a huge range of choices for good clothing, keeping heat in, keeping cold and rain out.

Booties: keep the rain and cold off your shoes, and if happy feet = happy rider, then cold, wet feet = ??? (well, you get the idea)
Waterproof pants: keep the rain out. For shorter rides they’re probably unnecessary, unless commuting, on longer rides the comfort really helps. Downside is that they retain a lot of heat.
Waterproof shell: just a jacket to keep the rain out, same applies to these in that the heat that is retained can make the inside just as wet as without it

There is a host of stuff available, but these should do for just handling a bit of cold and rainy weather. Taiwan weather is typically humid, so wearing anything creates your own personal sauna pretty quickly. For now I just use arm extensions and a T-shirt under my cycling top and that has been fine so far.

How do you prepare for what mother nature has to throw at you?

Folding Bikes

So you like riding children’s bikes?

That’s the feeling I get whenever I see these diminutive creations of the hardcore commuting crowd.

I had a foldable bike once, it was really cheap and was a prize at the company annual dinner.

It did not leave a good impression with me. The steering was twitchy, I felt like I’d pull a wheely with the slightest touch and it was just too damn small.

I don’t understand the trend here in Taiwan for people to buy these teeny tiny bikes over normal bikes. My local bike shop told me that sales of the Giant Halfway (locally produced, so cheap) are great and many people want to get them. I wouldn’t ride one for more than short-distance transport, but I have been considering one for just that purpose.

STRIDA

The STRIDA is my first love for foldable bikes, because it does that one thing really well. It folds bloody small.

That triangle is NOT a bike that folds, it is a folding thing made to work like a bike. They retail for around US$600 here in Taiwan for a new one. I’ve found second hand ranging from US$140 to US$300.

Quite expensive for a tiny bike, but it does include disk brakes, it only has one gear and is rated for speeds up to 20km/h according to their website.

The folded version is almost totally non-bikey and can be pushed around like a small pushcart.

Dahon

Very popular but also very expensive (I think that about all these bikes).

The Dahon Vitesse D7 is pictured above and is typical of all their bikes and most other foldables. It has a few gears, 20″ wheels and folds up fairly small.

The bike still needs to be packed to be taken on trains and stuff because even when folded it is quite big, unlike the STRIDA.

Layout is more like a traditional bike, which gives it handling that is more typical and less of the penny-farthing style position of the STRIDA.

My folding bike that I had for a while (I gave it away ’cause it wasn’t too useful) was similar in layout to this. I will need to be convinced that this is a good ride if I ever get one.

Bike Friday Tikit

The Tikit is another popular, but even more expensive option. Bike Friday have a range of folding bikes going from tandems to carbon road bikes to super-folding bikes like the Tikit above.

There is a pretty strong following and community around these bikes, but at over $1000 for a tikit is it really that cool to be small?

No foldy for me

Although I had my heart set on a second hand STRIDA for around $140, I’ve actually scrapped the idea.

Why?

Because I just don’t do enough commuting to warrant it. I stay 5 minutes by bike from my office and both my office and home have somewhere I can put my bike. Any other place I’d ride to also has a place to put my bike, and if it doesn’t, I won’t ride there.

Abundance of public transport when necessary, and a scooter (motorbike kind) there is really no need.

I would definitely go for a STRIDA if I was ever to get a folder, but for now the money will go into a cool seat.

Do you have one? Would you get one?

Eating For The Long Haul

I don’t eat during rides.

I’ve had this mental block against consuming anything but plain water for the duration of long and short rides. It’s been that way since as far back as I remember. Friends would swear by energy drinks, but not me.

Well, I’ve changed.

I’ve realized what a drastic mistake that was.

A few weeks back while gathering more details on riding long distances I ran across this article on nutrition during long rides at ultracycling.

Whoow, that’s not what I think is best. But she quoted a lot of fancy numbers and names of organizations I’ve never heard of so she must be onto something.

Eating in the morning

First thing to change was my habit of not eating before morning training. I’ve always thought “no food, so I’ll use up more energy, which will burn fat.” Go figure.

So I added a sandwich, readily available at 7-11, before my morning ride. It’s about 300 calories, goes down well and doesn’t taste half bad.

I’ve pretty much stuck with this habit, which has been acceptable so far.

Occasionally I’ll have a Snickers and a sandwich, or spread the two out by half an hour or so.

During the ride

Not eating before rides was not a deal-breaker and I would eat before rides sometimes. But eating during my ride was a once in a blue moon activity.

So I started with chocolate and sandwiches.

Warning! Don’t store sandwiches in your bike bag, especially if they have egg or something else that can go bad really quick.

After a slightly upset stomach up a very long hill after 5 hours of riding I will only eat them fresh. If you love sandwiches, then get something with non-perishables, like peanut butter or jam.

Chocolate and mango

So now I’m onto chocolate and mango.

The reason for the chocolate is because it has a lot of calories. One bar has more calories than a sandwich and is not nearly as filling. But getting the energy is the main point, so that will do.

It’s also a wonderful, guilt-free way to eat chocolate without worrying about gaining weight.

I eat less mango than other stuff, but it does go down easy and have a lot of carbohydrates. However, beware of the side-effects of any dried fruit and make sure there’s a bathroom nearby if you insist on eating lots.

So that’s my current regime.

Combined with energy drinks this give me enough energy to manage 7 hours straight (maximum so far) without hitting the wall. Previously this would happen after 4 or 5 hours.

What (if anything) do you eat before/during your rides?