Do I chance it?

jangle

I got my first ever nice shiny new road bike delivered yesterday. Trouble is at -6C and ice do I take a chance and try to commute? Hate not even being able to ride it but also don't want to drop it on it's maiden voyage. Especially as I need to get used to drops and skinny tyres as well..

Opinions?

ellieb

Not if you've never ridden a bike with drops before. That is just asking for trouble.

always_tyred

Or even a bike you aren't familiar with.

Patience young Luke.

il_principe

No no and no. Anyway do you really want to get grit and salt all over your lovely new steed? Tis the weather for the winter bike.

cjcp

All the above.

jangle

Thought I was going to hear cries of MTFU but everybody has there sensible hats on.. Will go with my head then.

soy_sauce

I was going to commute to work this morning like any other days since i got my bike 2 months ago, after just less than 100m and came off it twice (lucky, there were no car behind me at that point) because of the icy road :x . I went home, got change and asked a workmate for a lift.

not worth it in this weather. specially with a new bike.

AndyOgy

I got my first ever shiny new road bike (2009 Specialized Allez) a few months ago and I know exactly how you feel. That first ride scared the siht out of me. No amount of riding mountain bikes can prepare you for how a road bike will feel, nor for how fast they are. I took it for a short, well known route on the night I picked it up and it felt so strange. Just the slightest steering input and the bike is on the other side of the road. Your first long downhill, you will realise that you cant just jam on the brakes like you would on knobly tyres with disc brakes.

Don't get me wrong, it was/is a fantastic learning curve and I love the bike to bits. It's just that simple things, like your first 'out of the sadle' sprint might not go as planned. I had some close calls....... and I got my first road bike at the tail end of last summer. I dread to think how it would have panned out if I'd only picked it up yesterday.

I recommend using the Trek for short pleasure rides on sunny days, when we get them. And when the clocks change/weather improves, you'll find that your new steed is a faster commuter than any hybrid or mountain bike. My 11 mile rural commute is a clear 8 or 9 minutes quicker on the Allez than it is on my Rockhopper with knobbly tyres. That said, none of my bikes are making it out much atm cos of the icy weather. Driving to work is hell!!!!!

jangle

Thanks Andy.

That is exactly what I have been thinking, just hate having the bike just sit there. I will wait until the weekend as it is supposed to be getting a bit warmer and take it out midday, when hopefully most of the ice will have gone.

Oh well. At least the Focus was a bargain

biondino

Focus, eh? What did you get?

joew4ll

When I got my Focus last April, it was 6 days before I could use it due to crappy weather - it was worth it though to take it out for the first spin on clean dry roads with no fear...

As AT quotes "Patience young Luke"

itboffin

That's why lots of us have winter bikes, something old & cheap which you don't mind getting damaged or dirty, like Greg66

jangle

biondino, I got a variado expert 2008. One of the last Been price watching it for a while but they started to go so I took the plunge. Ultegra all round with is far more than I need but I was (probably foolishly) hoping that it would stop me wanting another bike later down the line.

I am commuting on a slick spesh hardrock at the moment, so I have a winter hack but it is slow and heavy. I want to go faster but also don;t want to trash it (and me )on its first outing!

il_principe

jangle wrote:

biondino, I got a variado expert 2008. One of the last Been price watching it for a while but they started to go so I took the plunge. Ultegra all round with is far more than I need but I was (probably foolishly) hoping that it would stop me wanting another bike later down the line.

Great bike, I have the 06 model.

jangle wrote:

far more than I need but I was (probably foolishly) hoping that it would stop me wanting another bike later down the line

Foolish thinking indeed, it won't! I've upgraded twice, although I still have the Focus - Winter Bike now.

iain_j

AndyOgy wrote:

That first ride scared the siht out of me. No amount of riding mountain bikes can prepare you for how a road bike will feel, nor for how fast they are.

Same here when i bought my first road bike, my Giant, 5 years ago. Riding it home from the shop was fraught, especially the bit where I had to make a right turn off a wide one-way street halfway up a steep hill. Even looking over my shoulder made me swerve out. I was wobbling like a kid with the stabilisers off for the first time

Ten minutes later i had the hang of it, and i was enjoying the new-found speed.