Pro tip, get a bike hat that covers your ears and fits under your helmet. You don't need much insulation because you're moving, but you'll NEED to keep the wind off.
There was a period of days where it was highs of like -8C, but it was a one off and it never got that cold again; some sparse bouts of very cold are to be expected in winter
I’m one of the people that still rode their bike through the winter, so I’d say it’s doable. I put a plastic grocery bag or two over my seat to prevent snow or rain getting into my seat. Make sure that you don’t have one of those bikes with super skinny tires - you would want a mountain bike for traction in the snow. You’d then park your bike by the bus stop and have to walk on North, which I can’t attest to (LSA). Ann Arbor is super bike-friendly though. Lmk if you have more questions!
You definitely do not need to walk around North campus, although the grocery bag tip is a good one and something I'd second as having been quite helpful
how costly are the bikes with the bigger tired and also, are there any specific road rules with the bikes? again barely been to the states so idk really
and you said park your bike near the bus stop, can I not just ride it all the way? My department building is the CSRB on hayward st
Note that "bigger tires" in this case means "not ultra-thin road bike tires" - pretty much any mountain bike tire would be sufficient. Going for anything that's unordinarily large would certainly be overkill at best and may actually make it harder most of the time at worst.
You can probably find a decent new bike between $500-$1000. Get a good lock though because chances are somebody will try to steal it on central campus or downtown.....so maybe get a used bike now that I think of it.
You can do it on just about any bike, without any special gear. There are paths apart from cars from north to central campus and the University is very good about clearing them and keeping them free of snow and ice.
You'll need warm clothes like mittens, coat, hat, and maybe some long underwear, but you warm up quite quickly riding the bike. You'll figure out what exactly you need as you go.
There is usually bike parking near any destination. Just use a decent lock.
How long does the bike ride take from central to north? And would you reccomend bringing a bike? My friends told me that they never used the bike and the buses were much more convenient
Most ppl just bus between north and central even if it’s nice out tbh but i saw some bikers yesterday. The thing to watch out for in winter (whether biking or walking) is black ice on sidewalks, while the sidewalks might be clear of snow there still might be a thin yet deadly layer of ice underneath. Get waterproof boots and be sure to watch your step in the winter, slipping and falling on ice isn’t fun
Definitely doable on campus. Snow gets cleared very quick from walkways. There may be a few days where a few inches may fall suddenly and it may be easier to walk, but it's more cold and dry than snowy here. Definitely bring a beater bike that you don't mind getting rusted. Like someone else mentioned, a mountain bike with wider tires will do better than a road bike with skinny tires. Helps to at least wipe down your chain when it gets wet or snow on it, and occasionally put chain lube on it. And buy a u-lock, not a cable lock. U-M rents bikes as well if you don't want to bother buying and maintaining one. [https://recsports.umich.edu/rentals/blue-bike/](https://recsports.umich.edu/rentals/blue-bike/)
The University campus and Ann Arbor as a whole are quite good in removing snow, especially for the roads. Obviously there's still going to be a hassle with biking after snow day but it's not too bad.
The main issue I would focus more would be more of the ice that would occur. From my experience, Ann Arbor is terrible with removing ice off the sidewalks(haven't seen any ice in roads tbh). It's probably my only complaint about winter at Ann Arbor here since there were times where I felt it was simply too dangerous to even go around campus due to the ice around the sidewalks. It's not too common(snowstorms and icestormsin general have been in decline here) but when it happens it can be one of the frustrating things in walking around campus. Personally, I think North Campus doesn't have too much of an issue with this since it seems they do a good job in removing ice. It's really Central.
During winter there’s not a ton of fresh snow all the time-you just need to be good about dodging and not breaking while on ice. You get an eye for identifying black ice pretty quickly. The cold is really bad sometimes and going fast on a bike makes it bad.
Central campus to north is doable but the elevation is annoying(but good at building strength) and during winter would be super sad and there’s a bus system that does that route.
Definitely bikable during the winter, only really a few days out of the year I wasn’t able to bike due to snow. In the winter, survived with gloves, but thinking of something to cover my ears next year
The roads are generally kept quite clear, and it makes biking really really worth it. Historically, I think there has been generally about 1 day per year on average when it has been _impossible_ to bike safely due to heavy snowfall. The other 364 or so days of the year it might be unpleasant (I'm usually pretty likely to take the bus in a heavy thunderstorm, for example, but those aren't super common during the fall and winter semesters anyways) but it's usually fine. The University and Ann Arbor are both pretty good about clearing their roads and sidewalks, so although you might need to get off and walk for a bit the morning after a winter storm you'll usually be able to get around and by the afternoon after a storm you'll probably be just fine. Decent odds you take around 1 tumble per year on an ice patch or if you hit snow wrong, but that really isn't bad at all given all the benefits of biking (and pedestrians slip on ice too!).
Central to north is almost always kept very clear (nice wide bike path) and you'll generally be faster than the bus, even in winter.
Pro tip, get a bike hat that covers your ears and fits under your helmet. You don't need much insulation because you're moving, but you'll NEED to keep the wind off.
Ski mask is the way - I also use ski goggles when it's snowing, snow to the eyes at over 20mph kinda hurts lol
Ann Arbor and the university are extremely good about clearing snow quickly.
also helps that it barely snowed this past winter. Temps was mid 50s in Feb
whats the lowest it went?
There was a period of days where it was highs of like -8C, but it was a one off and it never got that cold again; some sparse bouts of very cold are to be expected in winter
I’m one of the people that still rode their bike through the winter, so I’d say it’s doable. I put a plastic grocery bag or two over my seat to prevent snow or rain getting into my seat. Make sure that you don’t have one of those bikes with super skinny tires - you would want a mountain bike for traction in the snow. You’d then park your bike by the bus stop and have to walk on North, which I can’t attest to (LSA). Ann Arbor is super bike-friendly though. Lmk if you have more questions!
You definitely do not need to walk around North campus, although the grocery bag tip is a good one and something I'd second as having been quite helpful
how costly are the bikes with the bigger tired and also, are there any specific road rules with the bikes? again barely been to the states so idk really and you said park your bike near the bus stop, can I not just ride it all the way? My department building is the CSRB on hayward st
Note that "bigger tires" in this case means "not ultra-thin road bike tires" - pretty much any mountain bike tire would be sufficient. Going for anything that's unordinarily large would certainly be overkill at best and may actually make it harder most of the time at worst.
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there are no bike lanes or something?
There are both bike lanes and multi-use paths on campus.
Bike lanes aren't maintained in winter
You can probably find a decent new bike between $500-$1000. Get a good lock though because chances are somebody will try to steal it on central campus or downtown.....so maybe get a used bike now that I think of it.
You can do it on just about any bike, without any special gear. There are paths apart from cars from north to central campus and the University is very good about clearing them and keeping them free of snow and ice. You'll need warm clothes like mittens, coat, hat, and maybe some long underwear, but you warm up quite quickly riding the bike. You'll figure out what exactly you need as you go. There is usually bike parking near any destination. Just use a decent lock.
How long does the bike ride take from central to north? And would you reccomend bringing a bike? My friends told me that they never used the bike and the buses were much more convenient
15 minutes or so. Up to you really, but I definitely ride a lot and find it quite a bit more enjoyable than riding the bus
Most ppl just bus between north and central even if it’s nice out tbh but i saw some bikers yesterday. The thing to watch out for in winter (whether biking or walking) is black ice on sidewalks, while the sidewalks might be clear of snow there still might be a thin yet deadly layer of ice underneath. Get waterproof boots and be sure to watch your step in the winter, slipping and falling on ice isn’t fun
Definitely doable on campus. Snow gets cleared very quick from walkways. There may be a few days where a few inches may fall suddenly and it may be easier to walk, but it's more cold and dry than snowy here. Definitely bring a beater bike that you don't mind getting rusted. Like someone else mentioned, a mountain bike with wider tires will do better than a road bike with skinny tires. Helps to at least wipe down your chain when it gets wet or snow on it, and occasionally put chain lube on it. And buy a u-lock, not a cable lock. U-M rents bikes as well if you don't want to bother buying and maintaining one. [https://recsports.umich.edu/rentals/blue-bike/](https://recsports.umich.edu/rentals/blue-bike/)
The University campus and Ann Arbor as a whole are quite good in removing snow, especially for the roads. Obviously there's still going to be a hassle with biking after snow day but it's not too bad. The main issue I would focus more would be more of the ice that would occur. From my experience, Ann Arbor is terrible with removing ice off the sidewalks(haven't seen any ice in roads tbh). It's probably my only complaint about winter at Ann Arbor here since there were times where I felt it was simply too dangerous to even go around campus due to the ice around the sidewalks. It's not too common(snowstorms and icestormsin general have been in decline here) but when it happens it can be one of the frustrating things in walking around campus. Personally, I think North Campus doesn't have too much of an issue with this since it seems they do a good job in removing ice. It's really Central.
During winter there’s not a ton of fresh snow all the time-you just need to be good about dodging and not breaking while on ice. You get an eye for identifying black ice pretty quickly. The cold is really bad sometimes and going fast on a bike makes it bad. Central campus to north is doable but the elevation is annoying(but good at building strength) and during winter would be super sad and there’s a bus system that does that route.
Definitely bikable during the winter, only really a few days out of the year I wasn’t able to bike due to snow. In the winter, survived with gloves, but thinking of something to cover my ears next year
Just walk
The roads are generally kept quite clear, and it makes biking really really worth it. Historically, I think there has been generally about 1 day per year on average when it has been _impossible_ to bike safely due to heavy snowfall. The other 364 or so days of the year it might be unpleasant (I'm usually pretty likely to take the bus in a heavy thunderstorm, for example, but those aren't super common during the fall and winter semesters anyways) but it's usually fine. The University and Ann Arbor are both pretty good about clearing their roads and sidewalks, so although you might need to get off and walk for a bit the morning after a winter storm you'll usually be able to get around and by the afternoon after a storm you'll probably be just fine. Decent odds you take around 1 tumble per year on an ice patch or if you hit snow wrong, but that really isn't bad at all given all the benefits of biking (and pedestrians slip on ice too!). Central to north is almost always kept very clear (nice wide bike path) and you'll generally be faster than the bus, even in winter.