Winter Hack

smeev

Hi all,

Is it worth investing in a winter bike?? I am ruining my spesh allez riding it in the winter elements. Have got cruds on & all that, but it is slowly deteriorating.
Any thoughts?

Chip \'oyler

There is another idea. Carry on using your Spesh for the winter and then treat yourself to a new bike for the summer

smeev

Yes,

lol, that is a possible option. Unfortunately, my wife will possibly kill me if i spent in the excess of £1000 on another bike.

GavH

Out of interest, deteriotating how exactly?

Buckled_Rims

So what happens if you buy a winter bike and summer arrives?

softlad

Buckled_Rims wrote:

So what happens if you buy a winter bike and summer arrives?

it usually means you've bought it at the wrong time of the year.....

Scrumple

Deteriorating??? Another one who wonders what you are on about.
eh?

STEFANOS4784

Didn't you lot know? Bikes melt n the rain. :roll:

Seriously though, what is it that's going so wrong so soon? Even with winter your bike should last a good few years :?

hells

Iv had the same mountain bike for a few years, Iv only had to replace the chain and casette once so far and thats a machine that gets hammered in awful conditions and compeltely gunked up with various types of mud. Your road bike will be fine. Iv got a 1k cx bike that hasnt yet been damaged from the abuse I throw its way and it gets used daily in all conditions its got shimano 105 drivetrain same as my road bike, Bikes are not as breakable as you think.

John.T

My winter bike is where the left over bits from upgrading my best ones go to die. Hence 9sp Dura-ace shifters and Ultegra rear mech and cassette. Just a cheap Sora front mech and old Tektro brakes. 9 year old Ultegra hubs with their 3rd set of rims. Only the frame was new, and that because I was sick of the old steel Olmo one.

cougie

If you don't wash the salt off after each ride - you will lose the nice shiny alloy finish on your drive train. As my hack is cheaper than a new groupset - I consider it money well spent !

STEFANOS4784

cougie wrote:

you will lose the nice shiny alloy finish !

I think a lot of truth lies within this comment 8)



EDIT; Along with, can't afford/misses wont let me, buy a shiny new,expensive, bike every year just cos it aint shiny

thexvw

Winter will accelerate the wear on your bike. A lot depends on how often you ride it in the winter. I rode my specialized roubaix 5 days a week through last years winter. In the spring I ended up replacing rear sprocket, chain and bottom bracket. The rear wheel rim (Mavic cx22) now needs replacing after another 6 months of "summer" weather. Despite having the rear hub (105) serviced on a regular basis, the freehub now also needs replacing.

This winter I managed to pickup a genesis singlespeed with full mudguards for about the same price as replacing the above. This in theory should be a bit cheaper to maintain. It seems to be standing up better so far.

Scrumple

I think the OP has gone the same way as his (her) bike....

pianoman

But won't anything used in winter such as an alloy Dolan/Ribble custom build etc also corrode?

If you're worried about the wheel rims (and rightly so) then either use super cheap wheels (and sensible tyres) in winter or, dare I say, get some handbuilts on the cheap (e.g. Mavic Open Sport with Mirage hubs and plain gauge spokes) and save the fastest wheels for when they're really needed.

As for bottom brackets etc, are you talking about the grit and salt that can get in? I've been wondering about the benefits of ceramic components in this respect - would they be better sealed and be more resistant to wear? You always hear positive comments about ceramic bearings, bottom brackets etc. Might treat myself to a Van Nicholas ceramic bottom bracket when the Veloce one needs replacing

greasedscotsman

If your running two bikes, you'll be using each bike half as much as you would use one. So it terms of component wear, will last double the amount of time! What better excuse do you need to get more bikes! Don't just have a summer and winter bike, have one for spring and autumn too. Imagine the money you'd save, you'd be a fool not too

Chip \'oyler

greasedscotsman wrote:

If your running two bikes, you'll be using each bike half as much as you would use one. So it terms of component wear, will last double the amount of time! What better excuse do you need to get more bikes! Don't just have a summer and winter bike, have one for spring and autumn too. Imagine the money you'd save, you'd be a fool not too

I like your thinking

Pross

Took my new bike out on its first outing a few weeks back after days of heavy rain. Rode it through a flood that was up to its axles. Gave it a good clean and oil as soon as I got back. I don't feel that a bit of winter weather will increase the rate of wear significantly as long as it is cleaned and oiled after each ride. I've never had a winter bike until now (my old best bike has been relegated but isn't ready yet) and used to ride regularly in the winter months. 15 years on the bike is still fine and has had very few components changed. If it's a case of just wanting to keep the bike looking its best rather than worrying about it falling apart then there's nothing wrong with having an old bike for the winter. It also means you can fit the lights and guards to one bike an keep them on there whilst keeping the other bare. Think of it as having a training bike and a racing bike rather than a winter bike

amaferanga

Does anyone who rides their bike every day actually wash it every day? :?

Pross

Probably not (I don't ride everyday myself though) - I've always been bad at washing mine which makes the amount of time it lasted with not problems even better but after riding in particularly bad conditions like my first ride on my new bike then I would wash it straight away. Probably should have said cleaned and oiled regularly.

pianoman

Maybe by the same token, those of use who have just bought new cars should also buy an old banger for use in the winter as a "winter hack" - after all I've only had my new KA for two weeks and already needed to wash it once.

If you're rich, then I guess you can't have enough cars either.........

cougie

Why on earth would you NOT want two bikes ?

I have my carbon bike for the good weather and racing.

I have my steel fixie for the winter - full guards, lights, reflectives - its perfect.

If you have a mechanical issue with one of the bikes - then you do have a back up and dont need to miss a nice weekend ride.

As to the Ka - it wont suffer cosmetically as much as a dura ace groupset would if it has salt on it for a week or so...

Bikes can be relatively cheap - you dont have to go OTT with a winter bike, and a lot people have their old bikes converted into winter bikes.

stomith

Chip \'oyler wrote:

greasedscotsman wrote:

If your running two bikes, you'll be using each bike half as much as you would use one. So it terms of component wear, will last double the amount of time! What better excuse do you need to get more bikes! Don't just have a summer and winter bike, have one for spring and autumn too. Imagine the money you'd save, you'd be a fool not too

I like your thinking

On that basis....If you buy two new bikes......33% wear and tear....etc..

pianoman

Or buy TEN bikes, 10% each way, and then once you're too old to race anymore at elite level, start a racing team with them

smeev

i think i may be possibly panicing about nothing. i suppose it comes with the territory with winter riding. Yes, it is plastered with salt/grit & everything else & i wish i could of cleaned it before i went away working up north this week. It is my 1st road bike for some time & i suppose you get better with experience.

Tar.

John.T

If you have left it covered with salt for any length of time you will know why I have a bike I do not worry too much about how it looks. It just has to work properly and keep most of the cr*p off me.