Winter bike

friedpizzainbatter

Hi,
Looking for a bit of advice, I'm needing to use my bike over the winter for commuting and training. I currently have a Specialized Allez, now my dilemma is do I use the allez and by a set of crud road racers mk2 for it to prevent spray and salt build up, or should I sell the allez and get a Ribble winter trainer with proper mudguards. I can probably afford to get one as the Allez will get around 600 quid, and I have a couple of hundred set aside.

Whichever I go for I'll be looking to get a nice bike for the summer next year..

Have read mixed reviews about the road racers, it seems like it's difficult to get an effective pair of mudguards for a bike without the mounts. Was wondering if anyone had positive/negative experiences with them.

zx6man

go to decathlon and get a triban 3 for the winter....

MarksMintness

I can heartily recommend Cruds, they work fantastically and were a doddle to fit in my case.
However I can also strongly recommend the Triban 3 as my dad has one and it is brilliant for the money. I can also vouch for the performance and reliability of Sora/2300 shifting as my Trek has this and it has performed faultlessly.
So you have a couple of choices dependant upon your attitude towards money/space I guess!

zx6man

Which model of the allez is it? I woudl take it out in winter as oxoman said, but only if it was the low spec model :shock:

friedpizzainbatter

Hi,

Thanks for the advice. I was leaning towards the road racers, but read a few bad reviews of them, and was worried about the bushes slowing the bike down.

It's an allez elite, the one with Tiagra gearing.

cheers.

MarksMintness

I wouldn't worry about the bushes, you don't even know they're there. No noise or anything. They are just there for lateral movement of the guard anyway which happens rarely.
If you follow the instructions and fit properly, they are mint.

zx6man

friedpizzainbatter wrote:

Hi,

Thanks for the advice. I was leaning towards the road racers, but read a few bad reviews of them, and was worried about the bushes slowing the bike down.

It's an allez elite, the one with Tiagra gearing.

cheers.

I would not take my 1000 quid bike tbh, myself I would rather a seaprate bike. I have SKS gaurds on my roadie but for winter I tend to commute on my MTB. Both are carrera bikes @ 300 quid, just prefer to keep my roadbike cleaner

simon_masterson

zx6man wrote:

friedpizzainbatter wrote:

Hi,

Thanks for the advice. I was leaning towards the road racers, but read a few bad reviews of them, and was worried about the bushes slowing the bike down.

It's an allez elite, the one with Tiagra gearing.

cheers.

I would not take my 1000 quid bike tbh, myself I would rather a seaprate bike. I have SKS gaurds on my roadie but for winter I tend to commute on my MTB. Both are carrera bikes @ 300 quid, just prefer to keep my roadbike cleaner

Why would you do that? Bikes are for riding. It's a low-spec bike, so you have nothing to fear...

But there seems to be widespread misconception about the purpose of a 'winter' bike around here. I'm confused as to why anybody would want to complement a low-end aluminium bike (like a Specialized) with a slightly lower end aluminium bike (like a Triban). What have you gained? It seems to me that people are paying out for a singular mediocre solution to a) riding in bad weather and b) bike cleaning. I can't see the point, myself.

'Winter' bikes are for people who own high(er)-end bikes, with one or more of: carbon wheels (which won't like the road muck), lightweight tubulars, high-end groupsets (the consumables for these are very expensive!) and so on. If you have really gone the whole hog with your 'summer' bike, it won't be ideally suited to grimy winter conditions anyway. You could buy a set of cheap clinchers and armoured tyres to swap in, and some clip-on mudguards, but I don't see why you would when for the same money or less you could get a much more suitable bike.

As I said in the other thread, if you want a 'winter' bike, you should treat yourself to some vintage steel (which is the best kind of bike anyway ). These are great bikes with bags of character, wonderful ride quality, rock solid reliablility and (often) luggage and mudguard facility. For about £200 or less, I can't see why you would buy anything else.

Mikey41

friedpizzainbatter wrote:

I currently have a Specialized Allez,

Put some Mk2 Cruds on it, clean it if it does get dirty, keep up with your maintenance and save the £175 you will still have towards your next bike.

I'm gonna get some too.

Sprool

no contest - mudguards! If the brushes slow you down (i've heard its negligible) then think of it as a bit of free extra resistance training.

zx6man

I have an old steel peugeot but riding position is too extreme which is why I bought a new one anyway. I look after my cheapo "summer" carerra in preperation for when my 2 yr old and my wife allow me more pocket money for something more fancy :-)

bluedoggy

I am in the same dilemma at the moment. Winter bike or not?
I have a Carbon Wilier Iozard with Cosmics and middle of the road groupset etc. Love riding it to work.
Do i really need to buy another bike? I have cruds on, plastic film etc.
I religiously clean my bike after wet/muddy weather. My bike looks showroom everyday! My bike is looked after very well.It is cleaned from top to bottom and sprayed with all sorts to repel and protect- thats just me because i'm proud of what i ride on and want to preserve it. I know there is going to be wear and tear but do i really have to buy another bike after all that TLC?
Plus my groupset are not high end, and to be honest i think i'd like to regularly change 'tired' looking chainrings and cassettes regularly anyway so to keep the bike running smooth.
I just feel there is pressure to get one. Plus the space of keeping one. I don't want this sport that i love to take over the house and possibly- my life. If i had loads of money, single, well yes i would buy two 'Expensive' bikes. But i dont.
Ultimately i want to feel good on my bike to work and having a much lessor bike to work would in some ways defeat why enjoyment of the sport

zx6man

In winter I tend to stay more on the back routes and parks etc as well, so the MTB takes over as the winter bike in that respect.

logitech208

Simon Masterson wrote:

zx6man wrote:

friedpizzainbatter wrote:

Hi,

Thanks for the advice. I was leaning towards the road racers, but read a few bad reviews of them, and was worried about the bushes slowing the bike down.

It's an allez elite, the one with Tiagra gearing.

cheers.

I would not take my 1000 quid bike tbh, myself I would rather a seaprate bike. I have SKS gaurds on my roadie but for winter I tend to commute on my MTB. Both are carrera bikes @ 300 quid, just prefer to keep my roadbike cleaner

Why would you do that? Bikes are for riding. It's a low-spec bike, so you have nothing to fear...

But there seems to be widespread misconception about the purpose of a 'winter' bike around here. I'm confused as to why anybody would want to complement a low-end aluminium bike (like a Specialized) with a slightly lower end aluminium bike (like a Triban). What have you gained? It seems to me that people are paying out for a singular mediocre solution to a) riding in bad weather and b) bike cleaning. I can't see the point, myself.

'Winter' bikes are for people who own high(er)-end bikes, with one or more of: carbon wheels (which won't like the road muck), lightweight tubulars, high-end groupsets (the consumables for these are very expensive!) and so on. If you have really gone the whole hog with your 'summer' bike, it won't be ideally suited to grimy winter conditions anyway. You could buy a set of cheap clinchers and armoured tyres to swap in, and some clip-on mudguards, but I don't see why you would when for the same money or less you could get a much more suitable bike.

As I said in the other thread, if you want a 'winter' bike, you should treat yourself to some vintage steel (which is the best kind of bike anyway ). These are great bikes with bags of character, wonderful ride quality, rock solid reliablility and (often) luggage and mudguard facility. For about £200 or less, I can't see why you would buy anything else.

You Sir talk a lot of sense, I don't get this want or need for a winter bike unless you have something super expensive where the consumables are really expensive, A bike is for riding why would you want to take something as basic as an Allez of the road for winter..???

zx6man

I have a carerra TDF which was 264 notes, to me the allez elite at a grand is not really basic :-)

logitech208

zx6man wrote:

I have a carerra TDF which was 264 notes, to me the allez elite at a grand is not really basic :-)

I get the point but what do you think is going to happen to your Allez if you ride it through winter.

JamesB5446

zx6man wrote:

I have an old steel peugeot but riding position is too extreme which is why I bought a new one anyway. I look after my cheapo "summer" carerra in preperation for when my 2 yr old and my wife allow me more pocket money for something more fancy :-)

In what way is it too extreme?

simon_masterson

logitech208 wrote:

You Sir talk a lot of sense, I don't get this want or need for a winter bike unless you have something super expensive where the consumables are really expensive, A bike is for riding why would you want to take something as basic as an Allez of the road for winter..???

Cheers. Exactly.

logitech208 wrote:

I get the point but what do you think is going to happen to your Allez if you ride it through winter.

Bingo!

zx6man wrote:

I have a carerra TDF which was 264 notes, to me the allez elite at a grand is not really basic :-)

Oh it's very basic. There isn't £700 between them. Try listing the parts and prices of a nice frame and fork with good components and groupset and some decent wheels. Fundamentally all you are getting in either case is a cheap, mass-produced aluminium frame with a cheap, mass-produced carbon fork, a pair of cheap factory wheels made from cheap hubs with cheap rims with few enough spokes to look cool but not be durable or light, some truly unremarkable parts, and a cheap, incomplete Shimano groupset. It's just that in one case you get to say that you didn't buy your bike from Halfords.