American Reacts to Why Canadians Can't Bike in the Winter (but Finnish people can)

American Guy Reacts to Why Canadians Can't Bike in the Winter (but Finnish people can)
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[@tanjamink6959]

It was -30 degrees in Oulu today 🥶 and I went to work by bike. When you do this year after year, you get used to it.😊 I personally use the same tires in summer and winter.

[@VideoDotGoogleDotCom]

Sucks to be you! Here in another part of Europe it's merely -16 now, with a 10 m/s wind. I'll think about you while I enjoy the warmth.

[@oskar6747]

Here in Helsinki it's only -18°C and people are complaining it's too cold to go outside. What a bunch of snowflakes. I cleared my balcony from snow in only a t-shirt and jeans and it wasn't even cold.

[@VideoDotGoogleDotCom]

@@oskar6747I have several close friends from northern Finland, and they _all_ say Helsinki is way colder than what they have been used to back home. The thing is, the Finns' capital city is by the sea and the coldness together with humidity is much harder to cope with than the dry cold of the north. One of my friends, though, is from Oulu, which is also by the sea, and that is even worse.

[@oskar6747]

@@VideoDotGoogleDotCom Usually it's terrible here during winter. Constant 10m/s wind from the ocean, but now when the wind is coming from Siberia it's not that moist. I actually like this weather a lot more than the normal warmer winters here. And I can see the sea from my window.

[@VideoDotGoogleDotCom]

@@oskar6747 For me, the best winter weather is a few degrees below zero, with lots of snow. It's not slippery, it's not cold, and the snow means it's not nearly as dark as it would otherwise be. The slippery sidewalks with undulating ice are absolutely the worst.

[@user-hz4jg5xh9z]

Its so cold here in finland that heated bikebaths would be useless. And its expensive

[@unknownentity8256]

There's heated sidewalks in the city centre of Oulu but not the whole city's bike paths that would cost way too much, but the roads are maintained very well during the night (snow plowed and salted) so the maintenance work doesn't disrupt public transport, and the roads do not most of the time except for maybe Sundays have snow, if even then. They track the biking in Oulu with motion sensors scattered around main intersections of the bike lanes and some software that updates the info to a database owned by the city.

[@marabello89]

I think Oulu has not so much days when the bike roads are slippery, because it's pretty far North, so the temperature mostly stays below zero celsius during winter months. When there are higher temperatures there will be some ice and slush. I live in a city of Pori, which is also a good cycling city with well maintained bike roads, but it's much more South, so during winter months the temperature often goes up and down below and above zero, and then the conditions can sometimes be icy and slippery. I'm a pretty careful winter cycler, so when that happens, I try to avoid cycling, and if I do have to cycle, I'll walk the dangerous looking parts. A cold weather is ok for cycling because when the roads are covered with snow, they are not slippery. Also when it stays above zero long enough that most of the snow and ice melt off, that's ok.

[@unknownentity8256]

2:34 You don't *need* a specialized tires or a bike but it's recommended to have anti-skid tires installed during winter when sometimes the snow melts during the day and freezes during the night so it's very slippery for a bit, but that's very rare because when this happens the roads are salted and rock pebbled to give traction the following night. I've got a electric fatbike without anti-skid tires but it's idk exactly English but the axel is in the middle so it's very good for stability since it wont pull from the front or the back axel, so I don't need anti-skid tires.

[@oskar6747]

9:13 No, it would be bad for the environment. Netherlands don't have anything that would compare to our winters. It's currently -18°C In Helsinki and probably -30°C in Oulu. We have one heated street in Helsinki and I'm quite sure it's either frozen or some terrible slush at these temperatures.

[@j3mixa]

Oulu is also by a big body of water, the Baltic sea, so we have wind and moisture, although the water is frozen most of the winter. This year the snow came early, in October and usually it's mostly gone by the end of April so we have 5-7 months of snowy season. But the amount of snow is not extreme like it can be in some parts of th US. Usually we get snow gradually during the winter and never more than 50cm (20") in a day. There are a few days a year when the bikepaths are slippery (they use sand if they really have to) but mostly they are able to keep a small layer of packed snow on the path and that is not slippery at all. Of course you have to be more careful at road crossings where the surface is not so smooth. Oulu has built separate bikepaths ever since the 70's so it's pretty convenient to get around and there are many routes where you don't really have to deal with cars at all. But there's been a big jump forward in the last 10 years. They have been building more and more wider bikepaths and the difference in winter maintenence is big. Winter maintenence of the bikepaths used to be done by the same companies as the road maintenance which of course led to bikepaths being less important. Now they have separated the contracts and bikepaths have their own priority system. With the new technique they hardly ever have to use sand anymore and even when they do they use finer sand than before which is better for the bike tyres.

[@MultiCanis]

And the employees of the winter maintenance company has to also bike around wintertime so that they'll know the condition of the bike paths during the season.

[@qualitytraders5333]

Changing from imperial to metric has to start with the people, not the government. If you want to learn a foreign language don't wait for the government to help you. It's on you.

[@ozymandiascakehole3586]

Didn't napoleon standardize the metric system here?

[@ivrishcon-abarth38]

I don´t know anything about this, but if I had to guess: no special tires are necessary, albeit those might be useful on occasion. Plows sometimes get to places sooner, sometimes later. Of course certain towns prioritize different things when plowing things. As said in the video, planning is good somewhere, and not good in other places. To my knowledge, there is no warming of bike lanes or sidewalks, it´s so cold in winter that it would be huge amount of wasted energy, and when the snow would melt in lesser coldness, it´d just freeze into VERY slippery ice, where no one could stay up. The machinery used to plow the snow can crush the ice as well, it´s heavy duty machines. Trucks come to be loaded with snow and ice regularly, and they take the snow away from the town.

[@Dqtube]

For the context Toronto has a similar latitude to Marseille (southern France) and Oulu is approximately 2300 km to the north on the coast of the Baltic Sea. This will take you to a place in Canada called White Island ( Qikiqtaaluk ) which is located in the Foxe Basin. The other difference is the amount of daylight in winter. The shortest day in Oulu lasts only 3:35, while in Toronto it lasts 8:55. Last winter @TheVelomobileChannel also created a series of excellent videos about cycling in cold conditions in Finland.

[@jattikuukunen]

Latitude is not the only factor that affects climate.

[@jopetti]

The Gulf Stream makes Nordic countries (and basically whole Europe) much warmer than they "should" by the latitude. Greetings from Oulu, Finland btw :)

[@AHVENAN]

Heated sidewalks/bikepaths would never work in Oulu, or in the rest of Finland either, we get too much snow here, larger ammounts of snow would just turn into sludge which is even worse to walk or bike in than actual snow! And with the correct road maintenance, the bikepaths can be kept very nice and safe and not slippery, it's something you kind of need to have experience or inside knowledge of snow removal to know how it's done, but it can be done. And on the rare occasions when it does get slippery, you just spread fine gravel on the surface and that gives you all the grip you need

[@SK-nw4ig]

It is too cold for heated bike paths. Couple of streets have that in the big cities. And the roads are a bit slippery, of course. But it doesnt really get that warm too often in the winter for the snow to melt, especially in Oulu.

[@leopartanen8752]

3:55 Finnish boys just happen to like that kind of bikes. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@teropiispala2576]

Canada is generally colder but finland is more north and winters are darker. It is possible to to drive normal bicyle tires most of the winter. Compacted snow and even the ice have relatively good grip when it’s below -5 and very good grip in -20C. Ice and snow becomes really slippery only when it’s wet or in some certain conditions. I used to drive 12000km per year, including winters. I used cyclocross bike with slick road tires at summer, cyclocross tires most of the winter and studded tires during worst weather. I had two sets of rims and with quick attach leavers, it took no more than a minute to change best tires. Studded ones are heavy to drive. Sometimes when there was smooth ice and no snow in top of the lake, I went there to drive with slick tires for fun. With slight overpressure, the rolling resistance was extremely low and it was possible to drive 40km/h with same effort than 30km/h in normal conditions.

[@GuinevereKnight]

He is actually being a bit serious, in Canadian english a knit cap is known as a toque! Swede here, and a lot of people bicycle in the winter here too, to work or school for example, might be a city thing (where I live, so am not sure about the countryside). It might not be safe elsewhere since it gets dark so early in the day here in the winter, so maybe you need city lights for visiblility. I guess it also depends on if there are specific bike lanes so you're not right by the cars... Not always so in smaller communities. Plowing snow is sadly not such a big priority here though... Our neighbours to the east seem to beat us there for sure. Heja Finland!

[@jattikuukunen]

Light is not an issue for me. Good lights for bikes are cheap and they pop out better in the dark. Lack of bike paths sounds like a more serious issue.

[@paanikki]

2:30 Personally I use studded tires in my commuting bike during winter months. But studs are only needed on icy surface, when temperature is around 0°C / 32°F. On colder weather and snowy surface, studs do not bring any additional grip. You can get more grip by adjusting (lowering) the tire pressure. So, it is possible to cycle safely even without designated winter tires. (no slicks though). Studdad tires have more rolling resistance than unstudded tires, so many people only use a studded front tire. 11:30 Here in Finland, the owner of the property is obligated to clear the snow off the sidewalk regularly, and also sand the slippery, icy sidewalk. If someone stumbles and breaks their leg on the poorly maintained sidewalk, the property owner may have to pay for damages. Cycling is almost impossible in so many places, because people are put into different categories. Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. Only those who can afford to have a car are considered important voters, so cyclists and pedestrians do not matter. In reality, most cyclists also own a motor vehicle, and most motorists would cycle, at least occasionally, if cycling was made easy and safe.

[@Mayhem-pv9cc]

This winter the coldest day was -36 Celsius and I ride a bike. It's not so cold, if you remember to protect your face, hands and feet. I have winter tires with studs, so I feel safer to cycle than to walk some days. I live in Joensuu, and here too, the bike lanes are somewhat well taken care off. There are days, when walking seems to be the only option, or riding among the cars, 'cos pedestrian roads are blown after roads, so the snow is blown to the pedestrian paths, before blowing to the gutter.

[@SaPekkarinen]

you can drive eny bicycle and tires during winter but it is more safe to buy studded winter tires (those can be found all sizes even in normal supermarkets)

[@philpaine3068]

"Touque" [English] / "Tuque" [French] is the Canadian term for that stupid-looking woollen thingie with the pom-pom on top, usually with a hockey team logo on it, that almost every Canadian wears in winter. This is the universal term in Canada, which I've never heard used in the U.S. I grew up in northern Canada (like, with plenty of bears and wolves) and I think of Toronto as tropical. Because it's positioned on the west end of Lake Ontario, and is sheltered by a series of ridges and escarpments to its west and north, it has a micro-climate noticeable in its original vegetation --- which is "Carolinian mixed forest," i.e., similar to the western highlands of the Carolinas or eastern Tennessee and Kentucky. Nearby Buffalo, New York is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, so it gets hit by every blasting storm moving eastwards, crossing the full length of the lake and picking up moisture to dump as snow on Buffalo. Buffalo's winters are always harsher than Toronto's. You don't have to travel far from Toronto to get much more typical Canadian winters. Montreal gets really cold, really snowy winters, and was once struck by one of the fiercest and most destructive ice storms in recorded history. Montrealers consider Torontonians to be wimps, for sure. But where I grew up, even Montrealers would be wimps. Try -55C. And I'm familiar with the Yukon, where its much worse than that.

[@DR_REDACTED]

I bike year around (and love it) as i dont hsve a car. Trust me no matter how sleepy you are in the morning you wake up pretty damn well while bikeing in the winter😂 EDIT: I personaly use studded tires and also have an off road bike.

[@petermaardananders6803]

I'm Dutch and live in Lelystad, where we sometimes have some winter. And also don't stop b""ice""cling either, but Lelystad has taken separating cars from bikers and walkers to the next level. Dont know if NJB has a video about Lelystad, but if they haven't they should Haha The Finns have got one up on us still though, those projector signs are epic!!

[@oskar6747]

3:00 I don't know much about normal bikes, but I use my cheap chinese EUC almost daily here in Helsinki and it has a really slick tire. Only when snow melts and refreezes is little difficult or when it starts to get warm and your tire goes through the melting snow. And most bigger cycle paths are kept unfrozen up to -15°C with different chemicals and sweepers.

[@hepapu]

I live in Tampere and the city is the opposite of Oulu for cyclists, shitty. I still cycled to university and to jobs around the year. I have an offroad bike and I don't have to change the tiers in the winter. It's safer to change but I don't have to.

[@kekxiite]

Honestly, I just bike with summer tires on my bike all year round, it's to the point I've had movie stunts done where my bike was almost sideways to the ground and I had to use my leg quickly to push myself up so my back tire wouldn't slip. All in -30C and heavy snow & ice.

[@palantir135]

When I was young, many decades ago, we had real winters in the southeast part of the Netherlands. I had to cycle 12 km to and 12 km back again to school through storm, rain, rain, heat etc. Only when the cycle paths were completely covered in ice I could take the bus. The Dutch still cycle in all weather.

[@merjakotisaari9046]

I live in Oulu, and our traffic planner is a cyclist

[@gedeuchnixan3830]

In Germany you have to remove snow from the sidewalk in front of your house by law, if someone slips and you haven´t shoveled you´re responsable. But than shoveling is for the stupid if you´re smart you get out with a street broom before it starts to compact, so much easier and faster than a stupid shovel when you just brush off that light snow not even breaking a sweat 😁 And how they get the numbers in Oulu, my guess would be pressure sensors in the lanes or simply cameras with motionsensors and software.

[@noseboop4354]

Montreal, Canada is doing a trial program right now with Bixi (bike share) staying open in the winter, and thus devoting more efforts in clearing the winter snow on bike paths. We'll see how much success it has. They installed studded tires and grippy pedals on the bikes in preparation.

[@riittarankinen4749]

There are counters at some points to count number of people that walked or cycled past that point. I use regular bike with regular tyres both summer and winter, but there are quite many using winter tyres with spikes (or whatever they are called in english) just like in cars in winter. Well, I have lived in Oulu basically all my life.

[@lorrefl7072]

Here in Belgium you have to keep the sidewalk in front of you house snow free. You can get fined if you don't but I've never heard of anone actually getting a fine. But if someone were to slip and fall and you sidewalk isn't snow free, you're definitely going to be in trouble. We don't get a lot of snow though... especially near the belgian coast you only get a few days snow at most, if we even get snow. Last winter we didn't get any. But people cycle here no matter what weather it is, and lately our winters have had a lot of rain. But that doesn't seem to stop people either to cycle.

[@daniellysohirka4258]

This looks nice and all, but good like trying to bike up the hills where I live in the winter on glare ice. The kids nowadays are lazy too, they do take the bus and we have lot's of lakes that have to pick up kids from surrounding areas. The town I live in Canada will do snow removal as early as 3am even.

[@Aquelll]

Heated sidewalks would not make any sense in Finland, because it would so much electricity during winter to keep them clear. Amsterdam gets just random snow and ice during winter, so there it is a viable option, because it does not have to be on the whole winter. Better just change studded tires to your bike.

[@laziojohnny79]

One flock of snow in the Netherlands means the end of life as we know it... Although tbf; our bicyle paths are very well maintained and cleaned in winter, even better as seen in this Finnish town, cause here they not only sweep the tracks but also mechanically brush it and usually sprinkle salt, sand or a mixture of the two over the roads and cycle paths keeping it from freezing over again, mostly.

[@jattikuukunen]

Salt won't help when it's actually cold. But the path won't be icy then etiher, just snowy. In that case, plowed snow will be grippy, easy to ride on, and more pleasant than a cleared road. I live in Helsinki area and I use studded winter tires because the temperature hangs more around the 0°C area where we get really slippery conditions. We have some bike paths where everything gets melted, some where ice gets crushed, and some where it's just plowed and the ice covered with small rocks. My favourites are hard packed snow or crushed ice. I actually long for riding in that condition. The worst is when the bike path is poorly plowed because the road maintainers got tired after plowing the roads. That happens probably everywhere in Finland outside Oulu.

[@perfectweather]

No special tires I would ride a fixed gear bicycle with only a front brake everyday to work through every Chicago winter for 5 years. I never missed a day of work.

[@MartinWebNatures]

At 18:42 the Netherlands has new flag? Come on Not Just Bikes. Not just flags...🤣

[@jattikuukunen]

Germany also

[@sutreB]

I still know when I cycled to school with snow. I thought it was fun. But I had a lots of training on 2 wheels. But the good part is, the train had a 2 hour delay. So I was home earlier than the students by train.

[@WhiteVanGuy]

8:00 Nah that's an SS squad from Enlised!

[@Aquelll]

In Finland the sidewalks are the city's responsibility to keep in walkable order. They need to plow and gravel them and the city can actually be held accountable, if you fall on badly taken care of sidewalk. Actually there just was a study that showed that people falling down because of slippery conditions cost the Finnish economy 1.42 billion euros a year in hospital bills and missed work time.

[@oskar6747]

Usually it's the owners of the adjacent building who are responsible of the sidewalks. At least in Helsinki.

[@fionaalgera3391]

You can get winter tyres for your bike. At least in the Netherlands, but I really never bought them. The fast way to get more grip on snow is tiewraps on your tyres.

[@PotsdamSenior]

Not if you have rim brakes! ☝️

[@user-lg7xj2lc5x]

Clearly you have never been to Canada. I'm in Manitoba and temps hit -30 and trust me, we ride our bikes all year

[@Mojova1]

We have heated walkways in the big cities but not bike paths. Like the promenades are heated in bigger cities.

[@JaikoFin]

If there is bad icy weather at Oulu, they are adding sand to bike roads. Blowed bike roads are not so slippery. If thee is slippery layer, they use blowers with "saw" pattern, so there will not be plain ice and bike tires work fine with that.

[@oskar6747]

Sorry, I can't understand what you are trying to say. Could you write it in Finnish? I can translate it to English for you. Anteeksi en ymmärrä. Mitä ovat puhalletut (blowed) pyörätiet? Ja mikä on puhallin sahajäljellä? Täällä Helsingissä tulisi sakot, jos alkaisi lehtipuhaltimella leikkimään pyöräteillä.

[@JaikoFin]

Hammastettu terä lumiauraan.@@oskar6747

[@Dewkeeper]

​@@oskar6747I believe he means plough

[@oskar6747]

@@Dewkeeper Thanks. That makes sense.

[@walkir2662]

One "easy" way to get people to actually clear the street in front of their houses of snow is what we use here in Germany... if you don't (make sure it happens, be it yourself or by hiring someone) and something happens to a pedestrian, you're personally liable. Now medical bills aren't that much of an issue here, but would probably be ten times as effective in the US... assuming it ever made it into law, which is the hard part.

[@tomixnieminen]

Most of cyclist use same tire year around. Not really need for studded or some heavy pattern tire. However some ”heavy” user chance tired for winter and of course its much more safe. Speacially I would recomment it for elderly and for children.

[@gerbentvandeveen]

I bought a new Engwe p26 in August. Because the Engwe brand always sponsored the YT channel. And when I looked at their website, it was a city bike for me. The P26, the best. I had a choice too! European style. Or the rest! The European style comes with mudguards and a luggage rack. And brake light! I've never seen that on a bicycle. I know you don't like a sponsorship deal. But maybe it's an idea? Greetings from Spakenburg, Netherlands. I'm also going to work by bike (P26) next Friday. Christmas drinks! What I found out later is? P is the street name where I live. And 26 is my house number. Engwe! A deal must be possible, right?

[@omervandenbelt]

Here in The Netherlands studded tires are forbidden. The roads get salted with a mixture of salt and sand. That prevents freezing. Both the Dutch and the German. Shows the French flag instead of the Dutch. And the Belgian instead of the German.

[@killer6ten]

@omervandenbelt yep i thought i whas crazy but this guy is just dumb learn ur flags befor make video''s lol

[@j3mixa]

In Finland winter tires are mandatory for cars from November to March and most cars have studded tires so using studded tires on bikes is also legal. But not many use them here in Oulu anyway.

[@jattikuukunen]

Are studded tires really forbidden also in bikes? In Finland, the springs are really dusty because people use them in cars, but I wouldn't expect bikes to contribute much because the weights and speeds are that much lower.

[@finnishview2933]

I never heard ice crusher either and i do live in Finland. Maybe its useless or expencive. Whatever reason, we dont have those here where i do live or where i ever visited in my life. Weird machine.

[@TomHuston43]

I found below freezing cycling in Montreal to be no problem but it is very painful on the feet and I don't know if there is a solution for that.

[@juhanivaltonen2456]

No need for winter tires. I got slick summer wheels and they grip just fine in winter snow. Plus oulu is at arctic circle and our capital helsinki is second most nordic capital in world.

[@pasiojala3227]

I agree. Regular summer tires are okay when it's a normal snowy winter. However, if there are unusually warm weeks above 0C alternating with below zero weeks, which causes ice to form, then winter tires with spikes at least on the front tire are very useful. (Tampere, bicycled every day, 8004km total this year.)

[@jattikuukunen]

In Helsinki, I really recommend studded tires because there will be a lot of ice. You can probably do better without them further up north or inland.

[@eivinherfindal6658]

We Norwegian don't feel rich , but we probably are. Government saving all the money.

[@gerbentvandeveen]

In the Netherlands. Is it required by law to be in winter. The part in front of and or behind your house. Clear snow. My neighbor does that too, as if on my side! Front and back!

[@ronaldderooij1774]

Almost nobody does that over here near The Hague. I use salt in front of my house, and feel bad about the children using sleighs, and feeling good about people with disabilities or old age. But even that minimal care for the safety of pedestrians is rare.

[@marcometachternaam6150]

Suomi = Finland 😉

[@jackofalltrades5761]

If it ain't Dutch it aint much :-)

[@euli_mo]

18:45 nice flag

[@Phiyedough]

Something that was in this video and has been puzzling me for the last few months is the use of the word "metric". This is not related to the metric system of measurement but seems to mean something like a statistic. I can't work out whether this is an example of American English that I heard for the first time a few months ago or it is just a new context for the existing word?

[@j3mixa]

Yes, the word metric(s) is used when we talk about any countable statistic, like the amount of bikers in this case.

[@pasiojala3227]

Metric is a choice of measurement(s), usually chosen to decide something, or follow the effectiveness of a decision (a taken measure).

[@coverhoeven2904]

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