Hunter Seyfarth, owner of Evergreen Cycles and Repair, 314 Evergreen Ave., doesn’t ride during winter or poor weather and said he doesn’t see half as many people in his shop during the winter as in summer.

But he said he knows many people who have had fairly serious falls during the winter.

Using good lights at night — and even during the day — and dressing in brightly colored clothing is essential, said Tim Potter, MSU Bikes Service Center coordinator. Potter, who drives to the Commuter Lot every day and rides into campus, recommends turning lights on during the day because the sunlight is lower in the winter.

“I see people in dark clothing with no lights darting around traffic,” he said.

“It’s a wonder they don’t die.”

Potter also said it’s important to wear a helmet. While helmets are important safety accessories year-round, ice and snow on the streets make falling an even greater possibility.

Seyfarth said looking out for ice and wearing a helmet are winter safety basics.

Seyfarth also recommends using studded tires, which have metal knobs on them, to increase traction during adverse weather.

While he said studded tires are available at any bike shop, it’s possible to make them at home by screwing small screws into the knobby portions of an old mountain bike tire.

He said such an operation should be safe as long as the screws aren’t sticking out too far and only a little metal is showing.

Running tires at a lower pressure than normal also improves traction, Potter said.

While the typical mountain bike has a tire pressure of 60 pounds per square inch, during the winter a tire pressure of 30-40 pounds per square inch is better.

More than any other time of year, it’s important to keep gears well lubricated now, since salt and water cause a bike to lose lubrication really fast, Potter said.

One piece of equipment winter bikers often overlook is good eyewear.

Potter wears goggles when he rides into campus during the winter.

“A lot of people don’t realize how much their eyes water when it’s cold out,” he said.

“Sunglasses would be OK to use, but your eyes can still water up and in a split second you can get yourself in an accident.”

One thing Potter said he notices more during the winter is bicyclists riding on the sidewalk on campus, which might be safer because it gets bikers away from cars and slush.

Riding on sidewalks is technically prohibited, according to MSU Ordinance 33.13.

But Thomas Baumann, a physicist at MSU’s National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory and a year-round commuter bicyclist, said bicyclists and pedestrians who don’t yield to traffic signs or lights are more dangerous than cars on the road.

One time when Baumann was riding at about 20 miles per hour on the road, he said a bicyclist on the sidewalk pulled out in front of him.

Baumann used his horn, and to avoid hitting Baumann the other cyclist hit his breaks so hard he fell over.

Baumann said he didn’t feel bad for the fallen cyclist because the biker didn’t look before crossing the road.

“When you ride on the sidewalk on the wrong side of the road, you’re asking for trouble,” Baumann said.

“On campus almost all cyclists ride on sidewalks where they have to yield to pedestrians, which is slower. “It’s much more dangerous with cars when they cross intersections.”

While it is important to be prepared for winter riding, Seyfarth said it’s really about constant maintenance, since riders should always make sure their bikes stay clean and well-lubricated — and should always ride cautiously.