Winter cyclists not only need special types of clothing for their cold weather bike rides, but they need to understand how their various layers of clothing are meant to overlap and inter-work with each other. This video demonstrates one technique for dressing for the bike in cold-weather winter conditions. The clothing system detailed in this video will allow you to cycle in temperatures that range from 32 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit (0 to -40 degrees Celsius).

Got any other hints, tips, or suggestions for riding your bicycle during the cold winter months? Leave a comment below!

The Scratch Map Travel Edition is small roll-out poster that you can hang up in your home or carry with you as you travel around the world. As you travel, simply use a coin to scratch off the gold top foil covering the countries that you’ve visited to reveal a new and colorful world underneath. On the back of the map is an area where you can mark your flight paths as you criss-cross the globe, affix before and after passport photos of yourself, document the top five places you’ve visited on your travels, and a whole lot more.

The Scratch Map Travel Edition is available for purchase at Amazon.com and FredFlare.com.

Myself and Bicycle Touring Pro reader, Nathan Ross, recently got together and went on a long bike ride…. in the snow. The video above was shot near the border of Summit County and Morgan County, Utah, USA, and was created to document our day together. Both Nathan and myself were riding regular mountain bikes with rubber mountain bike tires. We were not using studded snow tires or any type of special gear.

The biggest question I get about folding bicycles like the Bike Friday New World Tourist is, “If the wheels are smaller than a regular bicycle, does that mean the bicycle goes slower or that you have to pedal it more in order to go as fast as a full-sized bicycle?”

The truth is, no, Bike Fridays and similar folding bike models are capable of going just as fast as your full-size bicycle (up to a limit).

The Bike Friday website explains it best:

It’s all in the gearing. A single turn of the pedals on a Bike Friday will cover the same ground as that of a regular wheeled bike — the small wheel just turns a little more. The gears on a Bike Friday are configured to match the ratios of a regular bike.

They continue by saying:

Small wheels climb better due to a smaller diameter that needs to be rotated.

Small wheels accelerate faster for the same reason.

Small wheels are more responsive — they turn and steer more easily — the feel is rather like having ‘power steering’ on your car.

Small wheels, having a lower surface area, have lower wind resistance in headwinds.

When riding in a group, small wheels enable you to get closer together and draft better.

The design of a Bike Friday allows a smaller and and lighter overall package than a regular bike, and smallness and lightness are factors in going fast.

While there is almost no difference between the speed at which a folding bicycle and a full-sized bicycle are capable of going, there is a point at which full-size bicycles become more efficient:

Tests have shown that up to 16 mph, the small wheel is more efficient than a big wheel. Between 16 and 33 mph there is little difference. Over 33 mph the gyroscopic effect of the big wheel makes it more effective. Most folks do not go over 33 mph.

I can verify that what Bike Friday is saying about the speed of their bicycles is true. I have traveled with the Bike Friday New World Tourist for more than four years and covered thousands of miles on the bicycle, and I go just as fast on the New World Tourist as I do on any of my other touring bicycles. If there is any difference in the speed of the bicycle compared to my full-size touring bicycles, it isn’t something I can noticeably feel.

The only area where the Bike Friday and similar 20 inch wheeled bicycles fail to perform as well as full-sized bicycles is in traversing over large objects in the road, such as cracks, rocks and curbs. It is here that the larger wheels excel, due to the fact that their large circumference allows them to easily roll over certain obstacles in the road. Small wheels, however, have a harder time rolling over these same sized objects due to the fact that the circumference on folding bicycle wheels are so much smaller, and the proportions between the small wheels and the object that is being crossed over, is that much greater.

Watch the video above and you will see a few samples of how the Bike Friday New World Tourist performs at speed, in sharp turns, and going up and down a curb.

The Bike Friday New World Tourist is a folding bicycle capable of world travel. The folding characteristics of the bike allow it to be checked as regular baggage with most international airlines, thereby eliminating the excess baggage fees that are usually required when flying with a full-size bicycle.

The Bike Friday New World Tourist is a great little bike for fully-loaded bicycle touring, but one of the most common questions I get about the bike has to do with the folding and unfolding process. People ask, “”How long does it take to fold and unfold the bicycle each time you decide to use it?”

The truth is, the Bike Friday New World Tourist is not a “fast-fold” bicycle. While there are other Bike Friday and folding bike models that fold and unfold in a matter of seconds, the New World Tourist is not one of those bicycles – nor is it intended to be.

The first time you put the New World Tourist together and take it apart, it may take you anywhere from 30-60 minutes. After a few times of practicing the fold, however, folding and unfolding the bicycle becomes a whole lot easier and the time required for putting the bicycle together or taking it apart can be reduced to as little as 5-15 minutes.

Watch the video above and you will see how the New World Tourist is put together with the use of two quick releases and multiple Allen wrench connections.