Almost winter bike time? :(

Almost winter bike time? :(

Author
Discussion

TheLemming

Original Poster:

4,319 posts

264 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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Curious as to when everyone's shiny carbon goes into hibernation and the winter bike emerges.

It's coming soon....

ReaderScars

6,087 posts

175 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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Winter bike?rofl

Is this bit of marketing based on the success of the fashion industry when it made women rush out and buy summer coats?

TheLemming

Original Poster:

4,319 posts

264 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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Gutted at the thought of putting my bike on the wall for the winter but running that through the worst of it would be a very expensive exercise in "how quickly can I wear out bits I cant really afford to replace".
It's gone full RED since that pic.

Last winter (including one crash on ice) was pretty hard on my winter bike - 500 to 1000 miles a month in all weathers and conditions

okgo

37,860 posts

197 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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Its a boardman, I'd be tripping over myself to run it into the ground wink

Anyway, as said above, I use my cervelo with di2 all year round, just with a set of winter wheels. What is the worst that happens, I have to buy a few new bits in March, better than riding a heap of st around all winter that costs probably 4x the cost of the replacement parts and still needs service to maintain anyway.

Edit - I wouldn't ride any road bike if I thought there was a chance of ice, injury is a far greater worry than breaking a bike.

Edited by okgo on Thursday 18th September 15:58

MadDad

3,834 posts

260 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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There is no such thing as a winter bike, it's just an excuse to buy a more expensive 'summer' bike, then relegate your current bike to the status of 'winter' bike.

I think the term 'winter bike' was actually invented by a cyclist trying to justify buying a new bike to their partner when his current one was perfectly ok.......

richardxjr

7,561 posts

209 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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Eh? about 25 degrees here in sunny Sussex today cool

S10GTA

12,645 posts

166 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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I'm with the OP, I don't use my best bike during the winter. I ride commute daily and don't often use it during the summer months!

JEA1K

2,485 posts

222 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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Best thing I ever did was buy a winter bike ... less than 10% of the value of my other bike so makes sense to me. Having guards and not getting covered in crap (countryside roads) plus when I do have the odd 'off' which I did last year, replacing Tiagra bits is far cheaper than DA bits.

okgo

37,860 posts

197 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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Yes, but the value on your other bike is not in the bits that are likely to suffer wear over the winter most likely. The frame and wheels are the big costs on bikes, the frame is waterproof and can be cleaned, the wheels you do hang on the wall and use some cheap ones. Beyond that, I really cannot see what is such a big deal about replacing a few drivetrain bits, they're not expensive. And you'll have to do it on the winter bike at some point anyway.


RGambo

847 posts

168 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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Main reason I have a bike that I use in mostly in winter is that it has full mudguards . Keeps you nice and dry on the wet rides.

Gruffy

7,212 posts

258 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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RGambo said:
Main reason I have a bike that I use in mostly in winter is that it has full mudguards . Keeps you nice and dry on the wet rides.
This will be my setup too. The current Triban is shortly to be replaced by something 10x its value, but it will remain in service with permanent mudguards and 28s so that I make it as easy as possible to keep up the training rides through the winter. Its components are very cheap to replace compared to the incoming 'best' bike, so it'll save money too. It's also not really worth selling given that it only cost £280 to begin with.

TheFungle

4,069 posts

205 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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okgo said:
Yes, but the value on your other bike is not in the bits that are likely to suffer wear over the winter most likely. The frame and wheels are the big costs on bikes, the frame is waterproof and can be cleaned, the wheels you do hang on the wall and use some cheap ones. Beyond that, I really cannot see what is such a big deal about replacing a few drivetrain bits, they're not expensive. And you'll have to do it on the winter bike at some point anyway.
I seem to be doing 3k a year on each of my bikes so for me it makes sense to run a second bike during the worst of the weather, it also means I don't have to clean it each and every time which is what I would do with my best bike.

My winter bike was created from my previous 'good' bike which had it's frame written off so the only cost was £200 for a generic alu frame, the fact it has eyelets for guards is an added bonus.

ShampooEfficient

4,266 posts

210 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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I've possibly used the excuse of needing a winter bike to get myself a new one... Specialized Crosstrail. Lovely thing, through CTW, and it has some tread on the tyres so it should be better than my roadie was last winter. I may have had a few offs due to ignoring the laws of physics...

Chicken Chaser

7,744 posts

223 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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Full guards is the difference between a summer and winter bike for me. My Supersix struggles with even raceblades. My Kinesis takes the big old full plastic guards, which keep me and the bike from getting covered in st when its miserable and wet.

AC43

11,436 posts

207 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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My best bike is my winter bike. Would far rather commute on a bike with discs than cantiliver brakes.

Matt_N

8,900 posts

201 months

Friday 19th September 2014
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Yep my winter / commuter is an old steel frame with mudguard mounts made up with a mix of Tiagra and 105, so the consumables are cheaper to replace than the Ultegra and Campag on my other bikes.


Dammit

3,790 posts

207 months

Friday 19th September 2014
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My old winter-trainer:



New one:



Which is just having the front wheel rebuilt to house a dynamo at the moment, then I'm going to fit this as a front with the rack-mount Supernova rear:



And I'll get the SRM serviced ahead of winter when I'm in Colorado at the end of the month.

Dracoro

8,662 posts

244 months

Friday 19th September 2014
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Chicken Chaser said:
Full guards is the difference between a summer and winter bike for me.
But surely you can just put mudguards on the "summer" bike. Put gripper/treaded tyres on your wheels (or have spare set of wheels already shod with these tyres) and what else needs to be done? Certainly a lot cheaper then splashing out on another bike (which then has to be maintained etc.)

Dammit

3,790 posts

207 months

Friday 19th September 2014
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You can't fit 'guards to a lot of the more focussed bikes.

Dracoro

8,662 posts

244 months

Friday 19th September 2014
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I had a mudguard on my old hybrid, that would fit to any bike as long as it had a seat post biggrinbiggrin
The front guard fits to the downtube (either bolted or strapped).