Almost winter bike time? :(
Discussion
Yes, they're not very good mudguards though - if you are doing serious mileage over winter in poor conditions you'll want (in general) to have mudguards that wrap the wheels as much as possible (I'm changing the ones on the Time Machine due to insufficient wrap).
Also, you will win precisely zero friends in your cycling club with a seat-post mounted mudguard, as it won't protect them from spray at all.
Also, you will win precisely zero friends in your cycling club with a seat-post mounted mudguard, as it won't protect them from spray at all.
Dammit said:
Yes, they're not very good mudguards though - if you are doing serious mileage over winter in poor conditions you'll want (in general) to have mudguards that wrap the wheels as much as possible (I'm changing the ones on the Time Machine due to insufficient wrap).
Also, you will win precisely zero friends in your cycling club with a seat-post mounted mudguard, as it won't protect them from spray at all.
Fair enough, so for bikes that do not have anyway of attaching guards, you may need a separate bike. For all (which I suspect is most) others, just get the mudguards you mentioned and fix to the "summer" bike.Also, you will win precisely zero friends in your cycling club with a seat-post mounted mudguard, as it won't protect them from spray at all.
You may also want to put 25mm tyres on which don't even fit in lots of higher end racing frames. If I was in the market for another winter bike it'd definitely be one of these:
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bbd/road-track-bike/...
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bbd/road-track-bike/...
Dracoro said:
Fair enough, so for bikes that do not have anyway of attaching guards, you may need a separate bike. For all (which I suspect is most) others, just get the mudguards you mentioned and fix to the "summer" bike.
I suspect you are wrong. Most "nice" bikes have no fittings for proper guardsokgo said:
SKS make raceblades with the cable tie attachments they fit nearly any bike and are very good, they don't have that bit by the front mech, but they do a good job, I have fitted them to the cervelo as a test.
oh come on, even you know raceblades are pretty crappy for daily usage. Maybe they are acceptable if you only use the bike a few times a week, but any more and you would really want fitted guard (plus they make a mess of the frame)S10GTA said:
oh come on, even you know raceblades are pretty crappy for daily usage. Maybe they are acceptable if you only use the bike a few times a week, but any more and you would really want fitted guard (plus they make a mess of the frame)
No, they work very well, I use them on my single speed all the time, and they have lasted two years of daily use, only recently did they succomb to a pothole impact and snap off near the rear. They're very good IMO. They don't make a mess of the frame if you use helicopter tape, like I did.I agree with an earlier poster, its all fashion and tradition b
ks, like most of cycling. My race bike gets covered in st at various points during the 'summer' because the weather here is poor, so makes little odds to me, 10 minuntes with a jet washer and its clean again, not too much work.
i think everyone's missing the point. the reason for a winter bike is quite straightforward really - it enables us all to convince not only ourselves and our credit cards, but also the wife/'er indoors, that we are 'allowed' more than one bike...It was certainly my excuse anyway, and she bought it :-)
My "Race" bike has tubs, caliper brakes, and no pretence of being anything other than a bike for going as fast as I can make it go.
The winter-trainer has larger volume tyres, mudguards, disc-brakes, a highly efficient dynamo and permanent lights - I've grown sick of cutting a ride short due to the Exposure changing from green to amber.
I could, obviously, run the race bike through winter, in the same way that people can (and do) run a windscreen-less Caterham through winter.
I'd rather use the Volvo for when it's cold out, however.
The winter-trainer has larger volume tyres, mudguards, disc-brakes, a highly efficient dynamo and permanent lights - I've grown sick of cutting a ride short due to the Exposure changing from green to amber.
I could, obviously, run the race bike through winter, in the same way that people can (and do) run a windscreen-less Caterham through winter.
I'd rather use the Volvo for when it's cold out, however.
okgo said:
No, they work very well, I use them on my single speed all the time, and they have lasted two years of daily use, only recently did they succomb to a pothole impact and snap off near the rear. They're very good IMO. They don't make a mess of the frame if you use helicopter tape, like I did.
I agree with an earlier poster, its all fashion and tradition bks, like most of cycling. My race bike gets covered in st at various points during the 'summer' because the weather here is poor, so makes little odds to me, 10 minuntes with a jet washer and its clean again, not too much work.
Fashion ??? There's nothing about my winter bike that is remotely fashionable. I'm not sure about tradition either - wouldn't be so long ago that many people could only afford one decent bike anyway.I agree with an earlier poster, its all fashion and tradition b
ks, like most of cycling. My race bike gets covered in st at various points during the 'summer' because the weather here is poor, so makes little odds to me, 10 minuntes with a jet washer and its clean again, not too much work.We all know okgo rides so fast that the water literally evaporates off his tyres, so he wouldn't need mudguards anyway.
As a mere mortal, I'm much happier to put a cheaper bike with cheaper components and proper mudguards through the rigours of winter, than my P&J with some sort of wobbly strap-ons.
The question is not whether or not Okgo is fast - he's clearly very fast.
The question is, rather, whether he'd be faster if he get more out of his training by using a bike designed for the conditions.
Race frame design has changed from "as stiff as we can possibly make it" to "allow some flex so we don't beat the rider half to death", I submit that riding a bike designed for pot-holes, rain and the other manifold joys of the British Winter would allow you to focus more of your energies on riding the bike, rather than cursing it, the weather, the highways department etc etc.
The question is, rather, whether he'd be faster if he get more out of his training by using a bike designed for the conditions.
Race frame design has changed from "as stiff as we can possibly make it" to "allow some flex so we don't beat the rider half to death", I submit that riding a bike designed for pot-holes, rain and the other manifold joys of the British Winter would allow you to focus more of your energies on riding the bike, rather than cursing it, the weather, the highways department etc etc.
il sole said:
i think everyone's missing the point. the reason for a winter bike is quite straightforward really - it enables us all to convince not only ourselves and our credit cards, but also the wife/'er indoors, that we are 'allowed' more than one bike...It was certainly my excuse anyway, and she bought it :-)
Yep, a lot of that..Winter / commuter at the front, race bike at the rear.
WRT to mud guards, yes as a courtesy measure for club rides but otherwise why bother? I'm harder than Rule 5 preferring to break out my Hagakure (or maybe Ghostdog) - "There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything."
;-)
Dammit said:
Mudguards allow you to train harder as you stay warmer and drier, therefore you can take on more training load without risking illness.
You could of course advance the same argument for mittens and a balaclava, but you have to draw the line somewhere (in the UK).
I'm with okgo You could of course advance the same argument for mittens and a balaclava, but you have to draw the line somewhere (in the UK).
You're out in rain, you're going to get wet, whether it comes off your wheels or falls out of the sky is irrelevant. Put on some decent clothing, accept you're going to get wet, and pedal hard 
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff