Winter training

clanton

I've only been road riding since the beginning of this year having been a mountain biker for some time. I'm planning on maintaining a reasonable level of fitness through the winter. I've heard that the salt/grit on the roads can be murder on road bikes - is it common practice to have a winter training bike? Or is this not essential?
I'm currently riding a Spesh Roubaix Comp.

ash68

yeh, I have different winter bike. Prefer one with mudguards and panniers in the winter for commuting. Also cheaper gears etc. Only sora groupset on winter bike, also use puncture resistant tyres(scwalbe marathon plus) I will put the summer bike away in the next 2 to 3 weeks and use the winter one after that.Don't like getting all the winter muck and crud on my nice, shiny stead.I certainly wouldn't use a Spesh roubaix in the winter, far too nice and expensive . Some may disagree but thats my opinion.

Monty Dog

Many people have winter bikes precisely for your reasons given - it's also a good excuse to have more than one bike too! Most people when buying a new bike demote the old one to training duties rather than buying something specific. Corrosion isn't generally a problem provided you keep the bike clean. Ironically, good quality bike parts survive winter far better than cheap parts because of the quality of materials and finish - IME, it's better to demote good quality used parts to training bikes rather than buying cheap parts which wear out quicker. My training bike now sports a carbon frame, bars, stem, cranks a Record groupset - many parts that are 5-6 years old but have many years of life left in them

nolf

Give it a rinse, then give it a dry (never leave the bike wet!), then add some more lube to your chain as it will probably have come off when you hosed your bike.

Store in a dry place!!!!!

craigenty

Great thread here started a few weeks ago.
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12540974

My 3 main issues are

1. Showering your club mates in Belgian Toothpaste.

2. Ruining your best bike. (Salt and ally don't mix well!)

3. Showering yourself in Belgian Toothpaste.

(in that order)


So for me a fully mudguarded bike is essential for the UK roads and the baby gets put away in it's bag from the end of September until March.
Here in France it is slightly different because the roads are dry and salt free.
It's nice jumping on a 7 kilo bike though after riding a 9 kilo bike for 4 months

Craig

McBain_v1

Of course, some people have a bike for each season (summer, winter, spring and autumn)