When I got to the lake, I did a lap on the ice, staying about 50-100 feet from shore. I had thought about doing a second one, but the headwind while finishing up the first lap changed my mind. So I snapped a few pics, and headed back the way I came.
It's hard to say for sure, but I think the 2.1" studded tires were the ticket today. There were a few spots where I broke through a top layer of crusty ice, but it looked like the fat bikes were also having the same issue. The studded tires definitely had the advantage on the freshly frozen sections and under the bridges where there wasn't any snow. The 45Nrth Arcwelders never lost traction for any significant amount of time, but I think the added bite of a DIY tire might be in my future.
One nice surprise during the ride was the Gravity Dropper seatpost. It's on the GED simply because I wasn't using it on any other bikes, but it was unexpectedly handy today, allowing me to ride under a couple low bridges without stopping to lower my seat.
Seeing the Husker Du tracks has got me thinking... the tread looks pretty good. It's knobby but not to the extreme like Nate. Low tread profile like Larry, but it's a bit more aggressive. So now I'm thinking a Husker Du front/Big Fat Larry rear (or maybe even two Husker Dus) might be the way to go on my custom fat bike project. I do like the fact that the Husker Du is relatively light, for a fat tire.
Stopping is half the fun...
7 comments:
My ice spikers are as yet unused, Uk shops are full of them after to below record winters, yet no cold spell yet!,
sounds like you enjoyed the tyre tread spotting, i do that too!
Isn't it great to have fat tire options? No longer is it the Endomorph or nothing.
CK - It's crazy how often I see fat bike tracks now. A year ago it used to be a rare thing to see one Endo track. Now I see all sorts on a regular basis.
Hope you get some cold weather soon!
Doug - Options are great, but the price needs to start coming down!! We're at a point where there are different tires for different conditions, but buying multiple fat tires is a budget buster for me.
The one nice thing about "Endo or nothing" was that you didn't waffle on trying to decide which tire is best for you and where you ride...
Now I'm thinking 2 BFLs will be best for the custom, with a long term goal of a Husker Du for the fat front Fargo.
Yo FTMN. I dig your site and have been following for quite some time now. I did a ride with my friend on Friday on the creek. we went from just above the falls all the way to about 169 in St Louis park. we ended up riding about 28 miles on the creek. I wrote a post on my blog here
http://deathrideradventure.blogspot.com/2012/01/winter-on-minnehaha-creek.html you might like it Later: Death Rider
Thinking out of the box and the innovation I've come to expect and enjoy.
Thanks Herringbone!
DR - I've been reading your blog for a while too... I actually looked at it Saturday morning before I headed out for my own creek ride. I assumed some of those tracks were yours.
I'm surprised we haven't run into each other
Post a Comment