winter bike......I can't go back there

popette

I don't think I'm going to ever ride my old, supposedly "winter" bike, again.
New bike is so lovely. Old bike is so slooooooow.
how do you go back?

Robspedding

Stop showing off...

on the road

I've never had a winter bike.

redddraggon

popette wrote:

I don't think I'm going to ever ride my old, supposedly "winter" bike, again.
New bike is so lovely. Old bike is so slooooooow.
how do you go back?

If you love your good bike so much, you won't want to wreck it during the winter.

Does your good bike have the fittings for mudguards for the winter?

popette

yes, I know it's a very fortunate "problem" to have (i.e. not a problem at all really). :oops:

You're right Red, I wouldn't want to wreck the lovely new bike and it doesn't have fittings for mudguards. I feel a bit guilty when I look at the old bike, sat in the garage, doing nothing - it got me through my first year of cycling and yet I've dumped it. Poor thing. I'll treat it to a proper good clean over the weekend before razzing off on my new bike.

shockedsoshocked

I've considered going back to my winter bike when the weathers a bit iffy but I don't think I could. My new one is perfect, i'd rather spend some time cleaning it.

robbie the roadie

Spending the winter grinding away on your 'winter bike' really makes you appreciate just how wonderful your best bike is.

Harry B

popette wrote:

razzing off on my new bike.

:shock: :shock: :shock: :? :oops:

wors

What are your new and old bikes out of curiosity?

shockedsoshocked

wors wrote:

What are your new and lod bikes out of curiosity?

Giant OCR3 = old

Scott CR1 Team = New

The Giant has served me perfectly, but it's a size too big, and riding a bike that fits me perfectly makes me wonder if I could ever be comfortable on it again.

Burton

Winter = OCR3
Best = Bianchi 928L

No prob riding winter bike in the summer if the weathers cr*p!

wastelander

I guess it depends on what you're swapping between - I made sure that the geometry on 'best' and 'bad weather' bikes was the same along with saddle, bars and a very similar transmission. Aside from a little extra weight the two bikes feel the same and in a blindfold sit-on test I doubt I could tell the difference between the two.

As others have pointed out - there's no way I'm going to let winter grime and salt grind it's way into my best bike. Both bikes sit happily side by side in the garage and I simply pick the right tool for the job - the prospect of an hour commuting in the wet (regardless of season) means that I use the bad weather bike with lights/mudguards, a nice dry day means I reach for the best bike.

BTW, Foul weather bike is a Columbus zonal tubed Borghini Audax based bike, best bike is a Ti/Columbus Muscle carbon fiber Somec Titano.

wors

my one and only road bike is an OCR3!

I have upgraded the wheels and groupset though and suits me fine. Summer or winter

Burton

My OCR is exactly as it came off the plane from the USA four years ago!
Only change - tyres tube and BB, oh and removal of the daft cyclo cross style brakes! Thousands of miles fair weather and foul and still going strong!

popette

Old = Giant SCR3
New = Felt Z65

Stupid but I didn't realise that how much of a difference the bike would make to my speed. I'm not feeling great at the moment but knocked 5 minutes of my 20 mile loop time on the new bike the first time I tried it.

SteveR_100Milers

Hey Popette, don't anyone ever let it be said that the bike makes no difference eh? I too have "dumped" my winter bike, unless I have to go out and its raining/snowing etc and NOT a race.
What wheels have u got on the felt? I have just put some decent wheels (Fucrum 3's which suit me) on my Focus carbon express and bl00dy hell it flies! I am faster after 2 months of little riding than I was last year after some serious ride during March.

For me, if I just simply want to ride and do some low intensity stuff in the winter, then the winter bike is fine, and u can ride through piles of crap without worrying about expensive repairs, or even washing it afterwards..! But somehow the sun makes you want to ride, and ride fast, so its summer bike all the way! My winter bike is a beat up Trek 1000.

portuguese mike

When i got my new bike last summer i was adamant that it would only get ridden in the dry, in the summer.

So much for good intentions. It's so much faster and comfortabl than my old bike though that i've ridden it every weekend throughout the winter rain or shine. i can no longer bear the thought of riding my old bike for anything longer than an hour. The only concession i've made to winter riding is i fitted a pair of 'winter wheels' (open pros on mirage hubs) and i make sure a i clean it thouroughly after every wet ride and as a result it still looks brand new after 2000 miles.

I won't ride it to work though - i'd spend more time cleaning it than riding it - i still use my old one for that.

Harry B

SteveR_100Milers wrote:

Hey Popette, don't anyone ever let it be said that the bike makes no difference eh? I too have "dumped" my winter bike, unless I have to go out and its raining/snowing etc and NOT a race.
What wheels have u got on the felt? I have just put some decent wheels (Fucrum 3's which suit me) on my Focus carbon express and bl00dy hell it flies! I am faster after 2 months of little riding than I was last year after some serious ride during March.

For me, if I just simply want to ride and do some low intensity stuff in the winter, then the winter bike is fine, and u can ride through piles of crap without worrying about expensive repairs, or even washing it afterwards..! But somehow the sun makes you want to ride, and ride fast, so its summer bike all the way! My winter bike is a beat up Trek 1000.

What Focus have you got? I've got the Cayo Expert which came with Easton wheels. Is there much difference between the Eastons and the Fulcrums?

allaction

I have a slight reverse of this problem. Even if I think it might rain or be bad conditions I use the winter steed, as I feel guilty about using my good bike now! Have ridden it a bit so far this year and agree it is hard to go back to something so comparably slower.

Sumer ride BH carbon frame, Open pro on Ultegra hubs (Hewitt), Ultegra groupo', carbon bar, stem and seat post.

Winter Giant SCR 3, with upgraded wheels, bar, stem, seatpost, seat, brakes... all but gears! All upgrades bought second hand or old stock, made a pretty fast bike in reality.

McBain_v1

Hmmm...

I have a winter bike (Olmo Giro with 105 throughout - heavy as a tank)
I have a spring bike (Raleigh 531c with Shimano 600 throughout - nice)
I have a summer bike (Enigma Esprit with Dura-Ace throughout - fuggin' brilliant!)
I have an autumn bike (Raleigh 631 with Ultegra 9-spd throughout - also lovely)

I find the steady transition between bikes, lower weights and faster times to be a real incentive, plus it is nice to have a number of bikes to fall back upon if one is ever at the upgrade clinic (which happens quite a lot :oops:)

How do people manage with only two bikes :?: :shock:

Roger_This

and I'd just decided to get meself an SCR3...

Two Felts it is then, in case one gets dirty

SteveR_100Milers

Harry B wrote:

SteveR_100Milers wrote:

Hey Popette, don't anyone ever let it be said that the bike makes no difference eh? I too have "dumped" my winter bike, unless I have to go out and its raining/snowing etc and NOT a race.
What wheels have u got on the felt? I have just put some decent wheels (Fucrum 3's which suit me) on my Focus carbon express and bl00dy hell it flies! I am faster after 2 months of little riding than I was last year after some serious ride during March.

For me, if I just simply want to ride and do some low intensity stuff in the winter, then the winter bike is fine, and u can ride through piles of crap without worrying about expensive repairs, or even washing it afterwards..! But somehow the sun makes you want to ride, and ride fast, so its summer bike all the way! My winter bike is a beat up Trek 1000.

What Focus have you got? I've got the Cayo Expert which came with Easton wheels. Is there much difference between the Eastons and the Fulcrums?

I have a 2006 expert with the FSA RD220 wheels, which are quite light but not very stiff and a bit spongey. The R3's are massively faster, but then I am 98kgs.....difference might not be so big ir you are significantly lighter, in which case get a lightweight wheelset. Point is the Cayo frame is soooo upgradeable.

Burton

Yey - first trip out on the good bike tonight, way better than an hour on the turbo that's for sure!
Safely tucked away again before the weekend rubbish weather arrives!

geoff_ss

on the road wrote:

I've never had a winter bike.

I don't think I've ever had a Summer bike Apart from when actually racing, all my bikes/trikes tend to grow mudguards and rear carriers else where would I put my packed lunch?

Geoff

OldSeagul

When I came back to cycling about four years ago I bought an old, slightly rusty, Falcon Barracuda 21 spd 'racer' on eBay for £20, which I used for commuting. Last year I bought an Edinburgh Country for summer and used the Falcon for Autumn/Spring. This year I've got a Specialized Sirrus Elite for summer and will use it for the winter too. The Edinburgh Country is really too slow to be enjoyable even though I've put 32c slicks on, so I'll probably get rid of it.

The Falcon is sat outside in the snow and is available free to anyone who wants to collect it from my house in Leeds, otherwise it will be left behind the local supermarket attached to a railing with a very cheap lock. It might make a good fixer (but needs new tyres).

oldwelshman

I have:
turbo bike raliegh road ace 531 with 105 now on it
winter Ribble 853 with some dura ace some ultegra
summer bike1 merida carbon with dura ace and soon to have 7850 cl wheels
summer bike2 cominn in 5 weeks, Pinarello prince

I am currently still on winter bike