Best bikes - do you actually ride yours in anger?

Escher303

I'm always seeing classifieds for bikes saying 'dry miles only', 'bike immaculate, no marks on frame', 'I look after my bikes, so this is in mint condition' etc. etc.

Do these bikes actually get ridden in anger? My 'best' bike is certainly not immaculate and has plenty of marks but it is also well looked after and works perfectly but I like to ride it hard. On descents roads can be lumpy and in places a bit of chain slap is inevitable. Regardless of whether I intend my bike to be dry weather only it sometimes rains unexpectedly or there is standing water, tractor mud, gravel or something that cannot be avoided. If you cycle a long way you get what you get on British roads. So my bike gets dinged, gets marked, gets dirty and gets wet even though I try to avoid it happening but if I want to actually ride my bike rather than polish it and admire it in my garage only to then sell it on as 'mint', all this is surely inevitable.

So are best bikes for posing or for riding?

sungod

i ride mine year round as long as the roads aren't icy, that's walking/running time

was out on it in the monsoon yesterday, certainly felt like anger at yet another miserable 'summer' day, i finished off my ride as planned, it was pretty grim though - lots of cycling refugees were seeking shelter under trees, but it was raining so hard there seemed little point, at least on the bike you stay warmer, plus there's the training value of extra suffering - that which doesn't kill us makes us stranger

i did have to pop out the bb to check/regrease afterwards

but i can understand not going out if it's hammering down, risk of accident is higher on wet ironwork etc., and depending on route/traffic some areas may be iffy, and i'm sure if you've had to save really hard/long to afford a nice bike there'll be a natural wish to pamper it

dodgy

Not commenting about wet weather particularly as I don't think that's what the OP is referring to. I apply fablon (sticky back plastic, like helicopter tape but cheap) to the underside of the down tube, inside of the forks, along chainstay etc, basically all the vulnerable areas. I recently sold a 'best bike' that had been used for 3 years and had 11,000 miles on it, no scratches, dings or other damage.

It is possible.

Headhuunter

I went on a club ride a whiole back and 1 of the guys who came along had an absolutely immaculate looking steel framed bike from the 80s or 90s with period groupset. The bike was OCD clean, I mean it probably wasn't as clean when it rolled off the production line! I didn't want to ride behind him in case I got blinded by the sun reflecting off the shiny rear gearset... I keep my bike as clean as poss but I really can't be bothered to make it so shiny that it glints in the sun as I know full well that I'll be out on a ride in the near future and the heavens will open on me and I'll be back to square 1....

thiscocks

My best one I usually ride just when its dry but in this country its not easy to judge if it will be dry all day so it has been through a fair few showers. Surprising how quickly it gets dirty after just a few wet rides. Recently I've given up and have been on the commuter every time, including club rides. Just cant be arsed to spend an hour cleaning the best one after a ride at the moment!

Bozman

A bike is bought to be ridden..........except when there's salt on the roads.

adm1

I have only one bike. Oh - wait, I have two (MTB and Road) and both get ridden year round, but get cleaned and lubed very well especially after muddy or wet rides. Both are in great condition - some minor scratches to paint on chain stays, dropouts etc, but so what?

I don't think I'd want to have a Sunday Best bike - I'd be afraid it was going to get dinged or scratched.

amaferanga

Totally agree with not riding your best bike when there's salt on the road, but not riding it when it's wet is crazy. What exactly do people think happens to a bike if it gets wet? It does no harm. Presumably those that don't ride their best bike in the wet only ride it a few times a year because there aren't that many days in the UK when you can be 100% sure it won't rain.

Scrumple

Anything below and including showers for mine.
Helps my winter bike aint half bad!

No point buying a bike to look at.

Hoopdriver

Never anger. i'm always in a splendid mood when I'm aboard my best bike - which I ride as much as possible!

dubcat

What happens if you ride when there is salt on the road? Surely you just rinse the bike off with a hose pipe thoroughly when you get home?

Maybe my attitude towards salt is formed by the fact that the north downs and Surrey hills are covered in a sandy grit which covers my MTB every time I ride it.

BlakeysFC

Still very much in the honeymoon phase with mine still.

Done 61 miles on it so far and it hasn't got any noticeable scratches/marks on it yet, I'd love to keep it as clean and scratch/mark free as possible forever but I know that's impossible, its bound to get scratches/marks eventually so I'll just accept it when it happens and move on.

Been very lucky with my rides so far that I only had 1 where it rained for about 30 minutes of the ride, just carried on as normal and hosed the bike off when I got home afterwards.

Thinking I maybe should of regreased the chain now though?!

amaferanga

Dubcat wrote:

What happens if you ride when there is salt on the road? Surely you just rinse the bike off with a hose pipe thoroughly when you get home?

Maybe my attitude towards salt is formed by the fact that the north downs and Surrey hills are covered in a sandy grit which covers my MTB every time I ride it.

That's true, but if you ride most days then it can get pretty tedious rinsing your bike all the time. Less hassle to just have a bike you care less about. I guess the other thing with winter bikes is that most folk will have one that'll take mudguards. With Crud road racers there are certainly more bikes that'll take mudguards these days, but there are plenty of bikes that won't take Cruds even (e.g. my P-X Nanolight).

lawrences

I'm spending £2000 on a bike soon and for that sort of money I plan to ride it everyday. come rain or shine. This doesn't mean I wont be looking after it.

I really don't understand people who own 2 bikes and never ride the best 1.

slowbike

Escher303 wrote:

So are best bikes for posing or for riding?

I always ride my best bike ...

it's also my worst bike ...

rolf_f

amaferanga wrote:

Totally agree with not riding your best bike when there's salt on the road, but not riding it when it's wet is crazy. What exactly do people think happens to a bike if it gets wet? It does no harm. Presumably those that don't ride their best bike in the wet only ride it a few times a year because there aren't that many days in the UK when you can be 100% sure it won't rain.

True - but wet days are still those days that all the wear and tear and chipping tends to occur on. My b) bike isn't so far different to my a) bike (same groupset etc - but heavier frame and Cruds) so if the weather is at all likely to be crap I'll take the b) bike as it makes me appreciate the a) bike all the more!!

But, it does depend on how good your b) bike is. And I plan to keep both bikes forever!

Silly Old Hector

I've ridden my Focus in all weathers (incl. snow) since November. I just give it a good clean / lube after the bad weather rides. Seems OK (I can prove that carbon doesn't dissolve in the rain).

My philosophy is, use it, wear it out, then you can justify buying a new one. Unfortunately, with good maintenance, they don't seem to wear out that much....

dubcat

Silly Old Hector wrote:

My philosophy is, use it, wear it out, then you can justify buying a new one.

This is the most senible thing written on this thread Worn out components are an opportunity for an upgrade

Mark Alexander

Bozman wrote:

A bike is bought to be ridden..........except when there's salt on the roads.

or cow crap. That's stuff's evil.

mine's been ridden to work for months as my commuter's been stuck elsewhere. Not happy about it TBH.

Swos

Nope I ride my bikes with a big smile on my face

jonomc4

I ride my "best bike" most of the time (including commuting (though it is a bit over the top to be on a £3,500 bike through London Traffic) but I try not to use it in the wet only because it gets all gunked up and I like to keep it clean. I suppose the main difference is my best bike gets cleaned very regularly and the commuter every month.

DrKJM

I don't have a best road bike but bought mine second hand which removes the first ding stress. I only really relaxed once my best guitar got its first ding. Afer that it was possible to use it normally rather than treat it like it was made of glass. Guess a best bike would be the same for me.

desweller

If I ride my light bike in all weathers then it starts to require an awful lot of work in the maintenance department. The chain gets gunged up and I have to keep a beady eye on the external BB as it's so vulnerable to water ingress.

The heavy touring bike is 8-speed and has v-brakes, square taper BB, dynamo lighting and mudguards, which means it basically doesn't know about weather; it just works brilliantly all the time.

To me, that makes the 8-speed my 'best' bike. So yeah, I ride it in all conditions.

99thmonkey

I ride rain or shine, lots of fussing about geting it dirty or ruining the parts, well bottom line is a BB is all of £20 and a 5 min job to swop so hell you could put a new one in every 2 months and its still not heartbreaking.

Get on the bloody thing and ride it, clean when required, lube, and re ride it