Winter pedal swapping - do you do it?

[NHAero]

I've got fenders now on my Strong all road (after riding the Firefly on damp roads and coming back with it covered in a fine grit everywhere, over an hour to clean it up) so it's my primary winter bike when I don't need studs. Winter on Martha's Vineyard is incredibly variable, even more so probably with climate change effects. Below freezing, I don't ride clip-in pedals, even with neoprene booties over my Luck shoes. I switch to pinned flats, which allow me to ride with 510s, light leather hikers, or even Sorels. It takes about 3 minutes to swap pedals so I do it as needed. I've been riding flats the past week, in temps from mid-30Fs down to mid-20Fs. Today it's mid-40Fs and I put the clipless back on, but the next two days are going to have highs in the 20-25F range, so flats will go back on.

Anyone else swap pedals out on a day-to-day basis?

[rice rocket]

Sounds like it's time for N+1

[NHAero]

Originally Posted by rice rocket

Sounds like it's time for N+1

Hah! I have 8 bikes. Four have fenders, and two of those have drop bars. The Bob Jackson wears 28s and has clips and straps so not conducive to using the light boots. I could (and have) run that bike in winter with pinned flats, but I'm also liking the 650Bx38 tires on the Strong for the variable conditions, like yesterday with some light snowy patches on my ride. First World Problems!

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by NHAero

Hah! I have 8 bikes.

rookie!

[Gianni Bianchi]

Originally Posted by NHAero

I've got fenders now on my Strong all road (after riding the Firefly on damp roads and coming back with it covered in a fine grit everywhere, over an hour to clean it up) so it's my primary winter bike when I don't need studs. Winter on Martha's Vineyard is incredibly variable, even more so probably with climate change effects. Below freezing, I don't ride clip-in pedals, even with neoprene booties over my Luck shoes. I switch to pinned flats, which allow me to ride with 510s, light leather hikers, or even Sorels. It takes about 3 minutes to swap pedals so I do it as needed. I've been riding flats the past week, in temps from mid-30Fs down to mid-20Fs. Today it's mid-40Fs and I put the clipless back on, but the next two days are going to have highs in the 20-25F range, so flats will go back on.

Anyone else swap pedals out on a day-to-day basis?

Road bikes go away for the winter. My Cx bike is my winter bike and it has Look X-Track (old style) pedals and I use mtb shoes in booties. That's all. I will swap on SpeedRockers if it's not dry out ... or just say eff it and Zwift.

[reuben]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

rookie!

Oof. I have 3. I should get a warning or something. I'm surprised y'all have let me hang out for the last couple of years. I musta slipped through the cracks, or there's a big backlog at the courthouse.

I have one bike, which is sort of my bad weather bike, a ~1997 Litespeed Appalachian, with a pair of Shimano pedals that are flat/pins on one side and SPD on the other.

But I wouldn't hesitate to ride the SPD-SL pedals on my other bikes in the winter if the roads are good enough.

[batman1425]

I've never used these but I find them intriguing. Add a cleat that matches your system and instant platform adapter.

https://www.flypedals.com/

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by batman1425

I've never used these but I find them intriguing. Add a cleat that matches your system and instant platform adapter.

https://www.flypedals.com/

I see potential issues with this system. Or, inconveniences, anyway. The extra weight of the platform on top of the pedal is likely to cause the pedals to flip upside down when you take your foot of them. So you may have to develop some technique to flip them back around with your toe.

The propensity to flip upside down will vary with different pedal systems, but for dual sided systems (like Speedplay Zeros or Time ATAC) they will almost certainly present the wrong side up most of the time. Speedplay used to have a platform pedal adapter that converted their pedals into two-side platform pedals (so there was no wrong side), but these were discontinued with the Wahoo take-over.

[GregL]

Yes to the winter pedal swap. My rain/snow/salt bike wears SPD-SL pedals in the warmer months and MTB SPDs in the winter. My winter cycling shoes are two-bolt SPD compatible.

Greg

[robt57]

Originally Posted by NHAero

Hah! I have 8 bikes.

I was going to ask if it was known to whom N+1 was being suggested.


FWIW; I espouse to get down to 8, good man!

[rice rocket]

Originally Posted by GregL

Yes to the winter pedal swap. My rain/snow/salt bike wears SPD-SL pedals in the warmer months and MTB SPDs in the winter. My winter cycling shoes are two-bolt SPD compatible.

Greg

That's what I do too, but he's asking about doing it daily.

I'd be afraid of crossthreading the crank arms, building another bike is much more logical.

[tuxbailey]

Originally Posted by rice rocket

That's what I do too, but he's asking about doing it daily.

I'd be afraid of crossthreading the crank arms, building another bike is much more logical.

Peak Paceline Logic

[GregL]

Originally Posted by rice rocket

That's what I do too, but he's asking about doing it daily.

I'd be afraid of crossthreading the crank arms, building another bike is much more logical.

Thanks for the catch, I missed the daily pedal swap. I don't swap that often, but will swap out pedals as the weather dictates. For example, if we get a week of dry, relatively warm weather, I'll install road pedals.

Greg

[BRad704]

Originally Posted by NHAero

Hah! I have 8 bikes.

If I've learned anything this week.. it's that 9 out of those 8 bikes are probably Serotta's.

[thwart]

Originally Posted by Gianni Bianchi

Road bikes go away for the winter. My Cx bike is my winter bike…

That’s the ticket. Titanium frameset and a relatively disposable wheelset and components. Like Shimano FD’s, for example.

Clip ins all the time, stainless steel axle Frogs. If it’s below freezing that’s no big deal, unless there is significant ice present… and then it just isn’t worth it, IMO. Broken bones and deep abrasions take too long to heal. Flat pedals won’t change that equation. That’s rollers time.