Winter riding in the Midwest

WAIT, can we get a vendor here to make snowmobile like tires for the back? That would be sick :joy:

2 Likes

Great, thanks for the info!

1 Like

Yes. Face and fingertips are the critical areas.

If your board has been outside (while not in use) for a while, let it warm up before you plug the charger in. If it’s in-use outside, you can plug it in straight away.

2 Likes

100% this. I commuted though the last Portland winter (which, admittedly, is not anywhere near the level of Chicago haha) and my full face is the only thing that made it bearable. Even 40°F is really uncomfortable when you are going 20mph head on into a 35mph wind. Full face and a scarf, and you’re golden.

I got a Bell Qualifier. Its warm as hell, so not really suited to the summer months, but for winter it is perfect. Its a little heavy, but not too bad. Also very cheap for how much protection it provides. Its overkill for our application, but I like overkill when the alternative is brain damage :joy:

3 Likes

Hell yes!!!:grin::grin::grin:. I rode all the way from winter park town to the resort at like 15 degrees!. :laughing: had guys coming off gondola asking me about boards. No lie. And my battery was saran wrapped at the time!!. :laughing:.

1 Like

These made a big difference for me.
Could actually enjoy 15 mile rides in 40s…

4 Likes

Oh and yes on the full face.
Got my tsg last winter and it was way better than just balaclavas.

2 Likes

I mainly used lipos in cold conditions and never made huge tours (all under 1h) but I never had big issues with performance or range.
I did have issues once with my drone but it was a different story as the battery came out of a cold environment.
So let’s assume I sit at home, charge my pack at home at idk 25-28 degree C than go for a ride at -10 degree. The ride is fast with terrain, no big stops. Means the cells would heat up and hold the hole pack st maybe 5-10 degree Celsius during the hole ride. Why should cells perform worse at this temperature than at 45-50 degree when the outside temperature is higher?
Would love to hear your professional thoughts about my hypothesis @Battery_Mooch :smile:

4 Likes

As others said before a face mask is highly recommended and I wear my snowboard goggles as well. Super helpful especially if it’s starting to snow :sweat_smile:
Besides that I just wear winter closes with my protection under.
Don’t use the trampa wand when it’s cold. That alu case will froze your fingers in no time as minimum if you need to have the tips of your fingers free from gloves for the remote like I :sweat_smile:

3 Likes

I use these when its really bad here, I have gone out in -3 , feet start to go numb and ice over

2 Likes

Professional? Moi? Nah…not a materials scientist or electrochemist or battery engineer. Just a guy who tests a lot of cells and reads a lot. :grin:

Packs that don’t get cold won’t suffer the effects experienced by packs that get cold. “Cold” can be a pretty subjective term though.

But a pack with its cells at 45°C-50°C will have lower internal resistance, resulting in less voltage sag when being used, compared to a pack with its cells at 5°C-10°C. This means more voltage to the ESC and/or more run time before the pack drops to the cutoff voltage. Whether the difference will be noticed or not during a ride is subject to a huge number of variables. But the difference is there.

You’ve had your pack stay at under 10°C when being used in -10°C weather? I am surprised that the packs were running that cold. Are the exposed to the outside air or in a sealed box/enclosure?

Being at room temp before you rode, and (probably?) being in an enclosure insulated under tape and fish paper, the cells would have started rising up above room temp quickly. It doesn’t seem like the cells would be influenced much at all by the outside temps while being used. I would have thought that the cells were at least warm during your cold weather ride.

1 Like

Is there a point where it turns into the other direction? I thought the warmer the cells get, the worse is their performance.

About the temp of my packs I can’t say for sure 10degree Celcius as I did not measure the temperature. Maybe more maybe less but for sure not cold but also not as warm as in the summer. It was more an assumption to explain myself why I do not see a big difference in range and performance even in cold weather.

2 Likes

Li-ion cells perform better when around 40°C-45°C vs room temp or colder, due to their lower internal resistance. R/C racers will often warm their packs up before a race with a very fast charge. Some cells even continue to improve a little more all the way up to around 60°C.

But, these higher temperatures accelerate the aging of the cells and will result in shorter overall life. At around 70°C-80°C some materials inside the cell actually start to decompose resulting in exothermic reactions that, if not stopped, will lead to the cell self-destructing (“thermal runaway”).

At above 45°C or so the internal resistance doesn’t drop much more but the huge voltage sag from running them at high current levels means your run time will be much shorter. This isn’t really a temperature issue though. The reduced performance is due to the voltage sag.

2 Likes

I am not sure this is the best place for this, if not apolagies, we all know i am kinda a dumb ass.
Regarding winter riding, i ride no mater what unless the sky is crying.
I obviously ripped active heating elaments out of heated jackets and wired my armor and my Aerostich riding suit, but the thing i use that makes the most diffrence is my RS Taichi windproof riding suit. i had this from motorcycle track days. It will make a perforated leather suit feel not perforated. for the money it has zero bulk breathes well. i have the first gen so i cant comment on thenew black suit, mine is blue, make sure you dont buy the suit liner by mistake,it has no warmth value at all. RS taichi uses Japanese sizes, for refrence i am just shy of 6’2" and 200lbs, wide shoulders(46),waiste like a girl (31) and i wear a 3L

now if one of you savy fellows can make a heated remote or heated remote sleve, ill buy it. I have my Hillbilly wrist guard/gloves wired for heat, but a warm remote,however silly would be nice. i have lots of pins,screws and plates in my hands(recycling value!) so my hands hurt when cold.
i hope this helps someone out. also im not relly trying but i have textile and leather suits id sell really cheap ,particularly if you are in the sf bay area.

2 Likes

yes i live in california and think 28 degrees is cold on a esk8. respect to those of you braving real cold. i have no body fat,(18% )so my flacko ass gets COLD.
The hispanics at work call me “loco flcko weddo” i dont speak Spanish but im told this means “Highly respected fellow”

2 Likes

This guy is a game changer. Remove ice scraper from ice scraper mitt and sew/hot glue the seam back closed. Super easy to chuck a hot hands packet in. Shouldn’t be hard to toss some heating element wire in there with a battery pack either.

I’m telling you, this is the best way to hold a remote when it’s freezing out. Plus you look hilarious with giant mittens on while skating.

4 Likes

So I’ve been searching high and low for multiple years for something that beats the ice scraper solution and this year I reached out to the folks who make pogies for bike handlebars, ski poles, and rowing / kayak oars. If you’ve ever used a pogie in cold weather, you know how nothing really beats them for maintaining warmth while retaining dexterity in freezing temps, but they need a pole or rod to anchor themselves to. For a pogie to work on your hand without a bar, it would need to cinch around your wrist. One of the manufacturers (Bar Mitts) got back to me and told me if I sent over some photos of my hand around the remote with some rulers in the photo for reference, he could do a custom. I replied with some photos using a Hoyt puck and he’s going to give it a shot. I honestly don’t care if it’s janky – if it performs as well as decent pogies do (and Bar Mitts are good) this could be it.

I’ve tried a couple different solutions, including modifying hand warmers / muffs, doing extensive searches for “thumbless mittens”, and trying to find a high end shell jacket that you can shove your hand into (usually via pocket access to the insulation layer) without it being too uncomfortable; nothing’s been too promising. I’ll let people know if it works out.

3 Likes

Hahaha that’s too funny! I actually explored the handlebar covers this year as a solution and have them in my loft just waiting to be sewn up. Keep us posted, that would be awesome to have.

Ummm just put a piece of enriched uranium inside your puck :nerd_face:

Don’t worry if all your pics start turning fuzzy…

1 Like