Are bikes for standing admiring or for riding ?

Raffles

What inspires this question is the following situation which occurred to me when on a sunday club run. I turned up for that particular difficult ride on my new Caad8 which has the full 105 groupset fitted . Now the terrain is really hilly and its all on country back roads some of which were muddy or had cow*hit on them . One of the riders asked me what I was doing using such a nice bike for that particular ride :? I said to him any guitars id ever owned were for playing and not for standing with folded arms admiring and I applied the same chain of thought to bikes. Dont get me wrong, one day ill probably pickup a cheapy btwin triban 3 for rides in the soaking wet and for terrains that are virtual mudpits , but ive no hesitation in using my caad8 for any club rides and all it takes is a hose to get things gleaming again.........no biggie.

So are bikes for standing with a smug grin and admiring them or do you too just say sod it and get on the bloody thing and go riding ?

john1967

My scott foil is now snug ,warm and awaiting the return of the sun.My old claud butler will take the winter strain.
Would you cover your guitar in mud and other assorted road crud while playing it??

mouth

For riding. They wouldn't have been made to be so comfortable if they were for just looking at. Although any seriously nice bike I ever saw was delivered sans pedals. Maybe that's a clue?

john1967, the purpose of the guitar isn't to roll it around in a mud pit but a bike is unequivocally designed to be ridden. If you were to invest 150k in something like a Ferrari, I'm sure Enzo would be very pleased but ultimately disappointed if you never drove it in anger.

My bikes get ridden whatever the weather. The same will apply to my Harley Davidson when HID eventually lets me have one.

Raffles

Ive gigged with a £3500 Gibson Historic 1959 reissue flame top Les Paul I used to own and brought it home drenched in sweat and crud from the show. Id rather enjoy playing it than standing smiling at it.

Neale1978

Are bikes for standing admiring or for riding ?

Both of course

I'm sure Enzo would be very pleased but ultimately disappointed if you never drove it in anger.

Only if you dident look after it or wrote it off

nunowoolmez

I say both. Of course i love riding my bikes more than anything but i also take great joy in looking at them, appreciating the great time, effort & money i have put into them to build them up. I still never get bored of admiring how sweet they look. I have them in my flat & it is nice to have them to look at. It cheers me up coming home after a cack day at work!

Second to riding them I love cleaning them & making sure the components are well maintained & in good condition. It gives me no end of joy. Jeez i'm sad!!

Neale1978

Jeez i'm sad!!

There is nothing sad about having a passion for anything thats worth it

nolight

1st for riding. 2nd for looking. Shiny nice-looking bike that can ride is the best!

BillyMansell

From the limited information we have it appears someone asked you a civil question about taking your nice bike on a dirty ride and you have taken exception to this.

You're free to ride whatever bike you like but many will have a winter bike that is a cheaper knock about or made up of hand-me-downs from their better bikes so someone turning up on a brand new bike may stand out like a sore thumb.

If you are going to ride your road bike in wet and dirty conditions on a club run then please ensure to fit some race guards out of respect for the other riders.

NewTTer

Some might consider a 105 equipped alu frame bike, a winter bike anyway. Just a thought. My winter bike ia a Spesh Allez running 105 and a pair of Aksiums

DavidJB

Seems like a winter spec bike to me.

charlie_potatoes

NewTTer wrote:

Some might consider a 105 equipped alu frame bike, a winter bike anyway. Just a thought. My winter bike ia a Spesh Allez running 105 and a pair of Aksiums

+1
You cut the cloth according to it's width.

One of the benefits of being a 'mamil' is increased buying power in many cases. 8)

ETA. One poor chap from Leeds has just had his winter bike stolen that had a Dura ace groupset fitted.
See here...... http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40013&t=12890768&hilit=winter+bike+stolen

That'll be the North/South divide :shock:

saprkzz

I have one bike that doesn't get used in anything but dry dry sunny weather, but that's a 21 year old retro MTB. My modern bikes? well the expensive one gets used in sun up to light rain, if it's really horrible wet windy weather then I will use the winter bike, just because if I am going to crash it then I would rather do it on the cheaper one. That is the only reason not because I fear components will get wet and dissolve

hipshot

Raffles wrote:

What inspires this question is the following situation which occurred to me when on a sunday club run. I turned up for that particular difficult ride on my new Caad8 which has the full 105 groupset fitted . Now the terrain is really hilly and its all on country back roads some of which were muddy or had cow*hit on them . One of the riders asked me what I was doing using such a nice bike for that particular ride :? I said to him any guitars id ever owned were for playing and not for standing with folded arms admiring and I applied the same chain of thought to bikes. Dont get me wrong, one day ill probably pickup a cheapy btwin triban 3 for rides in the soaking wet and for terrains that are virtual mudpits , but ive no hesitation in using my caad8 for any club rides and all it takes is a hose to get things gleaming again.........no biggie.

So are bikes for standing with a smug grin and admiring them or do you too just say sod it and get on the bloody thing and go riding ?

I think you possibly got this reaction because the bike looked brand new, not because it was too nice.

If it had some road muck on it I think it would have blended in.

Markjaspi

Well unfortunately I only have one bike a Spesh Allez sport 2013, with Aksium wheels and some 105 upgrades so his is my all year bike currently.

But I do enjoy taking it out in what ever the weather, and I enjoy admiring it once its been cleaned (which I do each time I come back in, even if I'm going out again the next day). I think the aesthetics of the bike are what drove you to the purchase in the first place.

markos1963

I tend to view bikes as tools for particular jobs. I'm lucky I can afford to have a 'stable ' of bikes and I suppose certain bikes fall into the 'best' and 'winter' catagories for obvious reasons ie my winter bike will be single speed with mudguards and heavier tyres whereas the best bike is lighter, carbon and has lighter parts. I love them both equally and wouldn't hesitate in riding the 'best' bike in poor weather if I had to, it's just I don't need to.

cougie

If you have one bike - then use it - you dont have much choice and we'd all rather ride than not.
The older guys in the club will have more than one - so their winter bikes may not be as nice as yours.

You just need to look after it a bit better - especially if there's been salt on the road - you dont want that hanging around on the bike.

diy

When a bike is new, smooth, silent, everything is crisp etc. You want to hold on to that as long as possible. It only seems to take one heavy shower and the never ending process of diagnosing niggles seems to start.

I can see why people want to keep their bikes nice. Not me - I jet wash them on a fine spray and I have never yet had any issues with water ingress.

mallorcajeff

Both but I think they are great t admire too if kept well and in the right surroundings. When money allows I want to have my bike room looking like this. Then you have best of both worlds, something to look at then when you want take one out for a ride.

inkz

Well I've only got my Roubaix Elite and I wouldn't take my mountain bike lol. Guards stay on all year round cause it's my commuting bike, winter bike and summer bike lol.

moscowflyer

I started a similar sort of thread recently;

viewtopic.php?f=40013&t=12888466

I still hate riding any bike in the crap weather, other than my Sora equipped Allez Sport which I'm STILL gutted about having sold.

simon_masterson

john1967 wrote:

My scott foil is now snug ,warm and awaiting the return of the sun.My old claud butler will take the winter strain.
Would you cover your guitar in mud and other assorted road crud while playing it??

I ask this question very often, but again, what exactly do you think will happen to your bike? The roads - at least where I live - do not throw up concentrated sulphuric acid. Who cares about the mere fact that it's getting dirty? It's a bike; this happens to a certain degree all year round. If you clean it, that dirt disappears; just like that.

So yes, bikes are for riding. By all means clean and maintain them properly (which you ought to be doing anyway) , but it's not going to melt; no matter what it is. My main electric guitar ('06 MIJ Ibanez RG for those that care) looks like Steve Vai has taken it around the world a few times. Yes that's because I'm clumsy, but it's also because I play it.

xixang

it all depends on your best bike I suppose.

For years I used to have one do-it-all bike but slowly built up a stable. My best bike has more expensive groupset (record) and wheels than my winter bike. I wouldn't want to take it out in winter because the cack and salt will speed up the wear and tear, which in turn costs a lot more to replace than having a dedicated winter bike with cheaper to replace stuff. Additionally it doesn't have clearance for full mudguards, so a winter bike suits me better. Cheaper components to replace - winter riding and salt etc off the road does speed up the wear and tear on chains, sprockets, rims and blocks etc - plus full mudguards to help keep me and my riding buddies cleaner and drier (thus warmer). Its not about bikes "melting" or other ridiculous comments. We all know they won't :roll:

Buckie2k5

mallorcajeff wrote:

Both but I think they are great t admire too if kept well and in the right surroundings. When money allows I want to have my bike room looking like this. Then you have best of both worlds, something to look at then when you want take one out for a ride.

i dont think he will care which bike he takes out in winter

DavidJB

Simon Masterson wrote:

john1967 wrote:

My scott foil is now snug ,warm and awaiting the return of the sun.My old claud butler will take the winter strain.
Would you cover your guitar in mud and other assorted road crud while playing it??

I ask this question very often, but again, what exactly do you think will happen to your bike? The roads - at least where I live - do not throw up concentrated sulphuric acid. Who cares about the mere fact that it's getting dirty? It's a bike; this happens to a certain degree all year round. If you clean it, that dirt disappears; just like that.

So yes, bikes are for riding. By all means clean and maintain them properly (which you ought to be doing anyway) , but it's not going to melt; no matter what it is. My main electric guitar ('06 MIJ Ibanez RG for those that care) looks like Steve Vai has taken it around the world a few times. Yes that's because I'm clumsy, but it's also because I play it.

Component wear is much greater, when a rear cassette costs £160 to replace that makes a big difference. Wheel wear is also much greater on the rim because or all the crap you're rubbing against it every time you break...theres more chance of you coming off etc etc.

Raffles

For some of you cycling must be no fun at all :shock:

Opens door and its oh dear that barometric pressure might exude stealth pressures on the wheels and oh my god the council havent been around to hand polish the roads , no way im getting my gp4000 tyres desecrated with road dust................Im not going out and am going to sit and watch Jeremy Kyle and Cash in the attic on daytime telly instead.

thegreatdivide

Buckie2k5 wrote:

mallorcajeff wrote:

Both but I think they are great t admire too if kept well and in the right surroundings. When money allows I want to have my bike room looking like this. Then you have best of both worlds, something to look at then when you want take one out for a ride.

i dont think he will care which bike he takes out in winter

That's the Pave store in Madrid isn't it?

edewer

My Felt gets used to commute three times a week, and has done a few mucky rides the past week, with one more to go. Its gone completely brown now, and no chance of me cleaning it any time soon!

saprkzz

Raffles wrote:

For some of you cycling must be no fun at all :shock:

Opens door and its oh dear that barometric pressure might exude stealth pressures on the wheels and oh my god the council havent been around to hand polish the roads , no way im getting my gp4000 tyres desecrated with road dust................Im not going out and am going to sit and watch Jeremy Kyle and Cash in the attic on daytime telly instead.

Ahh you see your wrong!.

It is a ton of fun when you get to decide which bike you want to ride. Not just the same old boring one "all year rounder, does it all" type bike (<--- lots of smilies so you know I am joking and not to take my post to serious!)

BillyMansell

saprkzz wrote:

Raffles wrote:

For some of you cycling must be no fun at all :shock:

Opens door and its oh dear that barometric pressure might exude stealth pressures on the wheels and oh my god the council havent been around to hand polish the roads , no way im getting my gp4000 tyres desecrated with road dust................Im not going out and am going to sit and watch Jeremy Kyle and Cash in the attic on daytime telly instead.

Ahh you see your wrong!.

It is a ton of fun when you get to decide which bike you want to ride. Not just the same old boring one "all year rounder, does it all" type bike (<--- lots of smilies so you know I am joking and not to take my post to serious!)

Indeed. Many of us aren't poor like Raffles who is stuck on a run of the mill bike shaped object as we can afford a stable of bikes which includes very expensive bikes that we don't have to ride all year round.

simon_masterson

DavidJB wrote:

Component wear is much greater, when a rear cassette costs £160 to replace that makes a big difference. Wheel wear is also much greater on the rim because or all the crap you're rubbing against it every time you break...theres more chance of you coming off etc etc.

The argument that I'd normally make, though it's worth noting that higher quality components may last longer than cheaper ones anyway...

But these are all valid concerns. The best reason to have a 'winter bike' is that your 'summer bike' is particularly specialised for that season. Featherweight tubs, carbon fibre wheels and the like. The point I'm making is firstly that 'My bike might get dirty waaaaaaaaah' is not a good reason to not use it, secondly the wear from riding it in winter is not nearly as bad as some people make it out to be, and finally that if your bike doesn't have fancy wheels and groupset, you have very little to worry about.