Roadies vs. winter ?

girv73

What's the deal with road bikes vs. winter?

I see mention on many threads about people getting "winter" bikes instead of their regular road ride, but I don't know why :oops:

As someone who's always ridden MTBs through the worst the weather has thrown at me, I'm puzzled. Is just that roadies aren't as sturdy as MTBs and tend to break or wear out in the winter? Are the skinny tyres too slippery in the rain? Or do you just not want to get your precious all cold and dirty? Explain yourselves!

I should mention that I'm looking to buy a roadie very soon so I want to know what I'm getting in to Does it have to stay in the garage all winter?

( I thought I'd secured a brand new Giant TCR C3 for £650 at the weekend, but that's looking like it's falling through now. Boo! )

Ta!

linsen

Having only owned my roadie since April I couldn't say. If I had to put it away and ride the MTB to work I'd need to allow loads more time, but I have wondered about this myself. At the moment it only goes out if it's dry because storage options are limited at work for a wet bike.
Limited to zero that is

el_presidente

people who've spent 4 figures on a shiny bit of kit don't want it getting muddy

girv73

el_presidente wrote:

people who've spent 4 figures on a shiny bit of kit don't want it getting muddy

MTFU and buy a sponge, I say. I've a shiny, four figure MTB and I love getting it muddy

Srsly, is that it?

cjcp

girv73 wrote:

I should mention that I'm looking to buy a roadie very soon so I want to know what I'm getting in to Does it have to stay in the garage all winter?

Blanket and hot water bottle too.

<walks away, shaking his head at these feral, mtb types >

P.S. I have a commute bike and weekend/race bike, which, as you say, I don't want to get cold and dirty/ride in anything other than sparkling sunshine.

singlespeedexplosif

On the road you get a whole lot more salt (which loves eating bike components) thrown up at your bike. Better to have a nice cheap bike to take that abuse than your nice shiny one.

Riding on snow and ice on a mtb is fun. Riding on one on a high-end road bike is not. So you get a cheap one which won't matter as much when you break it.

Plus, of course, it's an excuse to get another bike

cjcp

el_presidente wrote:

people who've spent 4 figures on a shiny bit of kit don't want it getting muddy

Magic.

lancewrite

No mudguard clearance on the best bike. Best wheels and tyres are a bit 'tuned' for ice and road salt/molasses.

greg66_tri_v2.0

girv73 wrote:

What's the deal with road bikes vs. winter?

!

It's not so much winter, as wet weather.

I have two road bikes: a dry road bike (CF) and a wet road bike (alu). The CF bike comes out in the sunshine and the alu one comes out when it's wet. There's nothing quite like riding the dry one on a cold, crisp winter morning.

There's no reason why a CF frame can't be run in all weathers. I happen to have a cheaper drivetrain on the alu bike, so to the limited extent that road grit carried onto the drivetrain by spray increases wear, it's cheaper to maintain. But I suspec this is a bobbins rationale.

Traction and braking in the wet can be challenging, but you get used to it.

el_presidente

girv73 wrote:

el_presidente wrote:

people who've spent 4 figures on a shiny bit of kit don't want it getting muddy

MTFU and buy a sponge, I say. I've a shiny, four figure MTB and I love getting it muddy

Srsly, is that it?

basically yes. They will rationalise it with "greater wear on components" and " mudguard clearance" but that's it basically


(fyi I would prob get a winter bike if i had room )

il_principe

Greg66 wrote:

girv73 wrote:

What's the deal with road bikes vs. winter?

!

It's not so much winter, as wet weather.

I have two road bikes: a dry road bike (CF) and a wet road bike (alu). The CF bike comes out in the sunshine and the alu one comes out when it's wet. There's nothing quite like riding the dry one on a cold, crisp winter morning.

There's no reason why a CF frame can't be run in all weathers. I happen to have a cheaper drivetrain on the alu bike, so to the limited extent that road grit carried onto the drivetrain by spray increases wear, it's cheaper to maintain. But I suspec this is a bobbins rationale.

Me too. Fcuk the rationale I hate getting my precious all wet and muddy. I was severely disgruntled post Etape - had to spend 1 hour removing french sheep poo from my bike, it's a bugger to get off and has ended up slightly scuffing the paintwork which, of course. WILL LOT DO! Also wet weather = crashing more likely = not time for the good bike.

kr1s

Ive got a carbon fiber roadie that will never see the winter - the last thing I want is to see 2.5 G sliding down the road at the side of me (cos crashes do happen).

Ive also got a pretty sh!t hot MTB which is 6 month old and will get plenty of abuse this winter.

Fact is - the MTB is built for abuse and the roadie built for speed - speed and winter dont mix in my book - unless you have a winter machine, insurance and a death wish or 2.5 G to throw away

girv73

I'd read some of the "greater wear" rationale but what I didn't get was if that was the case, why didn't it apply to the MTB components as well? Anyway.

I can understand it if you don't want the shinyshiny scuffed or broken with crashes, I know I wouldn't, whereas you expect - nay, demand - a MTB carries some battle damage. Sort of like having a Ferrari vs. a Land Rover Defender

Cheers

biondino

I think also there is a subconscious feeling for a lot of "nice bike" owners that this will be their nice bike for the foreseeable future and see every time they ride it as wearing it out a tiny bit more. So, to make it last longer, use it less. Works with, say, cake.

Nick6891

i would ride a rode bike through rain in the winter but snow or ice and it would have to be mountain bike, much better for snow

DonDaddyD

A man has a Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari or Aston Martin. Soft Top or hard top does he (i) Commute (ii) Drive around inner city London in the winter or does he (iii) Drive his everyday car (Alpha Romeo Bera) to work in the winter and save his best car for weekends and sunny days?

Its a bit tarty but for me my best bike (or what will become my best bike) is what it would be like to own a Ferrari or some other Super Car. I wouldn't mistreat by thrusting the harsher side of English weather upon it.

Sure say it 'MTFU', stop being a tart but it is what it is and that's all there is to it. Roadies are a little precious with their bikes.

il_principe

Anyway proper roadies get out their SS in the winter - now that's proper MTFU time.

Littigator

You'd have to be mad to spend all that money on nice shiny dura ace or similar and a carbon frame and take it out in slippery conditions when crashes are more likely. Also taking it out when the roads have been gritted, you might as well store the damn thing in a salt bath!

MTBs are made for it, that means all the components as well as the frame are more durable. Road components are much less so being as light as a feather...oh and about as tough as one!

Slow Downcp

Just bought an Enigma Etape (almost built now ) for winter - no less expensive than my Kuota but it does have mudguard clearance. Yes, I know it's only dirt and water but if I'm doing 8 hours mid December I don't want icy water splashing up my ass.

greg66_tri_v2.0

Littigator wrote:

You'd have to be mad to spend all that money on nice shiny dura ace or similar and a carbon frame and take it out in slippery conditions when crashes are more likely. Also taking it out when the roads have been gritted, you might as well store the damn thing in a salt bath!

Pssst - Litts - carbon fibre doesn't rust...

stilltortoise

I have a cheap road bike and only ride it in good weather. When the weather gets cold and wet and dark that's when the four figure MTB comes out.

Oddly I seem to be alone in this behaviour

unclemalc

My 'nice'/'summer'/'best' bike is all clean and shiny and restored to better than 'out-of-the-box' condition after a hard season hauling my fat ass around. So its hung up in the garage, in smug mode, until next spring.

The 'old'/'winter'/'second' bike wears hand-me-downs, sports mudguards, and has dirty, split bartape. IT has to do the salt and muck riding from now on - that's just the law in my garage. It complains a bit, but I keep its drivetrain in A1 condition, so (It gets its own back when I want to go uphill as it has a 52/39 chainset, as opposed to the 'nice' bike which has a compact....)

Now, if I had a VN titanium mount, I would never get off it....summer OR winter. But I can't let the other bikes know that.... :shock:

wgwarburton

Yup, winter is harder on bikes- the rain & grit wears things out faster, the salt attacks everything and with wind, rain, poor light and cold legs you don't ride as fast anyway.

The "winter hack" has cheaper parts, full mudguards, more lights & reflectors and lower gearing than the summer lightweight. It's still a "road bike" in the sense that it has narrow bars, 700c wheels etc.

Winter commuting can ruin a drivetrain really quickly- salt and grit form a grinding paste inside the moving parts and on wheel rims, and everything corrodes... Riding in the dark makes it harder to float over road junk (which is more common, anyway) and poor conditions make it more likely you'll drop the bike and ding it up.

Cheers,
W.

CiB

Mine cost 4 figs but it gets used through the winter, granted not as much as the summer tho. I don't see the logic in buying something that good and hiding it in the garage for 6 months just because it might wear out a bit quicker, or get dirty. And when it does wear out, I can justify buying a new one, rather than having to explain that red on black as a colour scheme is a now bit outdated - it didn't work this year, it won't work next year. The art of surprise might be called for - 'ta-daaa - my new bike. Whadya think???'

I can see the argument about falling off and dinging it, but you can only spoil it once - after that it's just another annoying mark to try to ignore, and the only time mine's been upside down was in June when some clot brought me down on a corner.

biondino

Good point - I was almost relieved when the Focus got its first scratches. Now they're a badge of honour - it's clearly biked the f*ck up.

spasypaddy

jashburnham wrote:

Anyway proper roadies get out their SS in the winter - now that's proper MTFU time.

ive M'dTFU and bought a SS with full guards for the winter, my Planet X has been restored to its former glory and is now hidden at the back of the garage for winter sunday mornings!

peejay78

i have a bob jackson winter hack, it's converted to fixed, old lugged 531 frame. it's very nice but perfect for winter, it needs a respray. i also have a raleigh conversion too, that's the pub bike.

for summer i have a condor acciaio, i use this for proper rides wherever possible, i.e the beacons, ventoux. i also have a 1979 colnago super, this is like a sunday best bike. as is my holdsworth zephyr (1953). having renovated them i'd like to keep them in the kind of condition they are now. riding through much and slurry to work will not help in this.

Milkie

I used to commute to work on my MTB in the summer, then took the car, as summer didnt happen.

I've been cycling to work a couple of weeks now, I think I have seen 2 other bikes! Usually I see a lot of roadies to and from work. They have all disappeared now the weather has become worse.

Although I still see the same guy that I've seen for 6+ years on his yellow GT mountain bike, spinning his legs like a maniac.

...but snow or ice and it would have to be mountain bike, much better for snow

If it snows, then you've gotta ride the MTB to work or just for fun, for the novelty!

nasahapley

As a pretty much clueless newbie I bought my first road bike at the end of last summer, a Scott CR1 Pro. Having spent all my cash on this I then discovered that according to roadie lore winter will trash a bike as if it's made of talcum powder, so it's not unusual to have a second bike. Great, I thought, it's either not ride my new pride and joy for the next six months or wreck it over the next six months. I chose the latter, riding it through all sorts of c**p along mucky Dales lanes but being reasonably fastidious with post-ride cleaning. When it came to it's spring spruce-up, instead of the whopping bill for parts I was expecting, LBS said it was virtually good as new!

Thus I'm very sceptical about the value in having a winter bike - it seems a bit odd to spend £400 (or whatever) on a bike not as good as the one you'd ride otherwise in order to save a lot less (in my experience) in replacing components on the good bike. And won't the cheaper components on the winter bike wear out quicker than the pricey stuff on the good bike anyway?

jedster

The real answer is to have a commuter and a best bike rather than a winter bike and a best bike.

My commuter has guards, rack, dynohub, bolted on lights. Weekends tend to get occupied by the kids, my (pretty expensive) MTB and an occasional longer spin on the commuter.

Now I would like a best bike and that could be completely minimalist without all those accessories that make commuting easier. I'd likely still ride the commuter when guards would be a good idea...

J

Dustine

I would agree with jedster, its about a commuting bike and a best bike, rather than a winter bike per se.

I run fixed wheel Salsa Casseroll with full mudguards and saddlebag, 23mm tyres, lights etc for my commuting (though the lights come off in the summer), and havent ridden any of my other bikes since i got it. That said, if i headed to the Peaks next weekend, i would want to take my nice shiny geared bike, whatever the weather. I just dont want to commute at ANY time of the year on a bike without full mudguards; i used race blades on my fixed last winter and hated the fact that they marked the paint badly on the seatstays and fork blades, ruining the look of an otherwise beautiful classic bike. And the water ran off the bottom of the front mudguard onto my feet...

For the REALLY sh1tty weather i have a mountain bike (On One Inbred), again with full guards and a rack, but with knobblies for the snow and mud. I love winter commuting, if only for the challenge of me versus the elements. Feels good to be alive, somedays.