OK so I'm new to cycling and only own a road bike but I've been told that it's not suitable to ride in the winter in Canada. Winter here goes from -15°C to -35°C and there's plenty of ice and snow.
The only other spare bike I have is a BSO my parents bought for my birthday 2 years ago and I really want to keep cycling as a mean of commuting even in winter. I'll be mostly riding on flats for that matter and my average speed on my BSO in summer is 20km/h. (For a 15km trip)
I can only speak from my experience, as a winter rider in Norway (around the capital).
When the winter sets in I usually just end up putting more clothes on myself, and studded tires on my bike. I avoid hard biking (biking so that I get tired, breathing heavy) when it's below minus 10/15 degrees C, because breathing in such cold air can be damaging for your lungs.
Of course, with all the extra salt (at least in Norway) the bike parts get worn out faster, and I usually end up changing at least the chain after the winter, and maybe also the cassette. I have some friends that usually buy used cheap MTB and throw them away or sell them at the end of the winter season.
Edit: One other thing that is important, is to be visible. Depending on the road you're riding, you may share it with other cars or cyclist/runners/walkers. In Norway it is mandatory to have light (yellow in front, and red in back), plus a bell. In the winter I also use a safety vest (they may look silly, but it's not cool to be hit by a car!), plus a stronger light in front, than in the summer. Just be aware that the light should point down, so you don't blind other people.
I think the best solution is just to try it out, and take it easy. Wider studded tires will help you.
Also, be careful about sharp turns. They are dangerous in the snow/ice/winter.
I've been an ice biker for 10+ years in as cold as -20C (-5F) in the Black Hills of South Dakota and West Michigan US.
Safety in winter cycling comes down to your gear both for your bike and your person.
Bike
Cyclist
Some Additional Tips:
So is it safe? Yes - as long as you're careful and use appropriate gear!
Cycling-specific rain pants -- What are the features that make these cycling-specific? Do you have some that you like?
– compton Aug 29 '16 at 17:55If you have to ask, I'd say it's likely the answer is no. If you have lived in Canada all your life and own appropriate gear to those temperatures, you probably have a better chance. I have been commuting and riding/racing in temperatures similar to and lower than those for several years. Prepping a bike for such temperatures is fairly involved and likely as expensive as a BSO. Simple modifications (like decent studded tires) can end up that expensive (or more) again. Even with proper preparations, A 15 minute summer commute can turn into a 45 minute (or longer) commute in winter as frozen grease and stiff sidewalls absorb all the power you are putting out. Without proper prep, it's likely you'll just be pushing (or carrying) the bike.
Riding in a serious (well below zero) winter ends up being a fairly expensive and intensive proposition to do safely. Moisture management is (among other things) a key skill you will need. It can most certainly be done, but it really isn't a thing I'd recommend for a casual rider.
Whether it is safe to ride does not depend on temperature, but on road conditions. If the roads are dry and free, there is no particular risk. If the road are covered with a shiny layer of ice, you'd better stay home.
I typically ride all year round, however this is in Germany, where winters are typically mild, and there is only snow for a few weeks.
In practice, I'd check road conditions every day to decide:
Note: With studded tires (and a lot of care) it is possible to ride even on ice. However, studded tires only make sense if this happens frequently (because they are expensive, and not that good for regular riding). So unless you have icy roads for weeks in winter, I'd recommend just avoiding ice.
So, in short:
Of course, the usual caveats apply about proper clothing and increased maintenance (washing off salt regularly); see e.g. Biking in the winter more difficult?
I would say that riding your bike on the road in the winter is not a safe option. This has very little to do with whether you and the bike can physically accomplish it. A consideration that hasn't been mentioned, that probably bears the most significance, is that motorized traffic also has reduced traction and visibility. At least around here (Chicago), motorists drive too fast for the conditions, creating hazards for everything in their direction of travel.
If you want to ride outside in adverse conditions, your safest bet is to ride on off-road bike paths, or if your city has them, barrier protected bike lanes. Or purchase an indoor bike trainer. That's cheaper than a gym membership, more convenient and entertaining with a suitable app on your phone, tablet or computer.
I live in Buffalo and I know a bike-nut that has a fat bike that he uses for riding on snow. If the roads are cleared and salted you'd probably be fine with the BSO but if there you have a bike path you'd prefer, it might not be cleared and you might want to consider this option.
Another issue is that at around -21C (-6F) you reach the Eutectic Temperature of Salt, and salt won't melt snow or ice. Even above these temperatures, it's not very effective. It never get's to -35C (-31F) here but if it's single digits or lower (F) salting is halted and the plows leave a layer of snow. The snow isn't very slippery in these low situations (unless there's lots of salt on it) but it will give under normal bike tires unless it's firmly packed.
I understand you wanted to use what you have already but I think it's worth mentioning anyway.
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Presuming it's some kind of mountain bike, you could just get studded snow tires. They work well and are a lot of fun. Good ones like Nokians last a long time.
This is based on cycling many years during winter in Finland, where I have been commuting all year long to school quite some years back. One of the things I remember best is that at -30°C or so (and below, naturally), you can start experiencing problems with the equipment, especially changing gears and chains (at least mine started to freeze, so they were jumping over the gears and causing somewhat jerky power output to wheels which lead to difficulties with traction - keeping them well oiled helped but did not eliminate the problem).
Though you may know this already, it is very important to evaluate weather in total - not just the temperature:
It is relative safe to cycle all year long as long as you and your bike are prepared for current conditions (was covered in other answers so omitted here, but being extra visible is worth highlighting!). It is much more about adjusting driving speed to the conditions, with the cave-eat that you have to adjust for the chance of others not having adjusted enough (cars not being able to stop as fast as they did during summer for instance).
I see a lot of answers from people living in northern Europe. Canada's winter weather is much worse. You'll have to have your face fully covered, because of the wind chill.
Thing is, in Canada, with few exceptions, most cities have a lot of space between buildings, which makes riding the bike much more difficult than Europe's dense cities due to the wind. Also, winters last long, it could be 0 Celsius in May.
You could also check the elevation you have to "climb" on hills while riding. At least in Ontario, you climb a lot of steep hills and than use the brakes when going down the hill because of traffic lights.
I Rode in an European city and in Ontario as well, in both summer and winter. In my opinion, even mild winter weather in Canada is a pain for a cyclist. You'll get to hate it.
There are two problems with using the cheapest BSO's for winter ride:
Under these two conditions, a BSO is likely not safe enough to ride.
There are two questions here:
For (1), I can say winter riding feels cold -- the colder it is, the less weight your body has and the faster you go, the colder it feels. You have all the time to have appropriate clothing. The difference between too little and too much clothing can actually be rather thin, and neither being overdressed (you become sweaty) nor being underdressed (you are in the danger of frostbite on hands or feet) is fun.
I recommend avoiding long bike trips when it has become suddenly much colder than it used to be. If it was +2 and now it's -8, please do only short trips to ensure you are properly dressed and once you are confident, you may do long trips at -8.
The most important parts are your hands and feet. Your lower legs and arms should be covered by thick clothing and whatever shoes or gloves you have, they must be tight. Any air gap puts you in danger of frostbite.
As for pants and jackets, you may need several. Some materials to consider are wind-proof materials and thick fleece. Sometimes, I wear both: a wind-proof jacket and a thick fleece jacket over it.
For (2), please, don't cheap out on tires. If you have a BSO, you probably haven't invested a lot of money into your bike. Please do buy proper studded tires, preferably the thickest ones that fit into your bike. Don't cheap out on tires. If there are two studded tires with one having less stud rows and smaller tread blocks, pick the one with more studs and thicker tread blocks. Also experiment with tire pressures: generally winter tires are run with a very low pressure that creates lots of rolling resistance (except on good days you may increase the pressure for reduced rolling resistance).
However, there are conditions where riding even on proper tires is unsafe. Here's a video of someone trying to ride on such conditions on a fatbike:
Snow that has been unevenly packed by pedestrians walking on it in a thin line is generally unsafe. Snow that has been compacted and then partially melted into snow-like slush is unsafe. Basically, only ice, fresh snow that has fallen and not partially melted, and plowed roads are safe -- and if your tires don't have studs, ice is unsafe (even with studded tires but no studded shoes, you can fall on ice when stopping at a traffic light for instance).
If lots of pedestrians start walking on the road before it becomes plowed, it may become unsafe. If the snow partially melts before it becomes plowed, it may become unsafe. Generally at the end of the winter, when most snow has melted but there are some sections of snow-like slush, it's unsafe to ride over those sections but you can walk your bike over those if you just take the time to stop.
Two kinds of problems, (1) is attacked by proper clothing especially on your hands and feet, and (2) is attacked by wide low pressure studded winter tires with deep tread blocks.
