Full Carbon Bike For All Year Use??

NWLondoner

I am seriously considering getting myself a full carbon road bike early next year and I am looking at spending between £1600 - £2300 for the right bike and wheel-set (fulcrum 3 probably). Probably a Focus Cayo Expert or Bianchi C2C but will wait to see the 2009 range.

Now I have read about many people that have "winter" bike and just wondered what they meant by this?

I do not have the cash or space to store yet another bike.

I have read about the whole "is carbon strong enough" debate and am satisfied with the safety of carbon. It's just that when riding in the winter months so much crap/stones etc get thrown at the underside of the frame that i am worried about the frame getting chipped.

Also what are your thoughts on Carbon Chainsets??

JC.152

Most people have a winter bike as well as a race bike to train on in the winter to protect their best bike and it gives you an advantage once winter is over when you swap from a heavy winter bike to your summer bike.

No one really has a carbon bike for winter, not really because of how strong it is but because its too light and expensive to smash up over the winter

PeteinSQ

I think the key motivation for having a winter bike is to protect the components on your nice bike. In winter your bike is going to get wet more often, the brake pads are likely to get more grit stuck to them and will wear the rims down more etc etc. So you don't want to be riding round wrecking your Campag Record components in winter since they cost so much to replace. However if you have a dirt cheap (by comparison) Ribble Winter bike the components will be cheaper to replace and you can have full mudguards so your arse will be dry too...

redddraggon

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12580896

This covers the same info

JC.152

redddraggon wrote:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12580896

This covers the same info

Is that the same question posted twice or something?