Do many of you guys have a wet weather bike ?
Comments
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As a regular commuter I think a wet weather bike is important. If its wet or threatening to rain I ride my Ribble / it gets ridden a lot
For summer/racing I ride my cube there is no clearance for mudguards and I like to keep it bright and clean.
For testing one uses a tt machine which I also use on the turbo trainer
Crazy weather a mtb
Most of you seem to need more bikes )Fcn 5
Cube attempt 20100 -
lawrences wrote:It rains in the winter and it rains in the summer so what's the difference?
I'm glad you asked. In winter, they often put salt on the roads to prevent ice. This salt is rather corrosive0 -
not just that, the roads often don't dry out an in rural areas are usually caked with a fine coating of wet mud which does great things for bearings and brake tracks.
I prefer to have a bike with full mudguards for these conditions.0 -
Yep, my Boardman is my winter bike but I still don't take it out that often in the wet, purely from a cba to clean it after point of view, so it spends a lot of time on the rollers. I got it fully stripped down and serviced in Autumn and will do the same in March. The 'summer' bike will only come out on very dry days, I'm very anal about my bikes and am not afraid to admit that. I want the nice bike to last a good few years and with all the salt and crap on our roads in the winter it's more about wearing out the components, at least if I have one bike to ride only on nice days then I can just enjoy it on those days when I get to ride it.
I understand the 'Why buy a nice bike only to not ride it' brigade but also appreciate those who don't want to ride their good bikes in crap conditions.0 -
Rather than having a "bike" and a "winter bike", people should think about having a "bike" and a "summer bike".
You ride your bike whatever the weather, it should be nice enough to enjoy and practical enough to cope with mudguards and the tyres you need. If you want to have a shiny new fun machine for sports, racing, summer days and showing off, then go ahead but not at the expense of your everyday bike.0 -
Nope ! One bike here,if its raining or cold it stays in the garage,I take no pleasure being freezing cold let alone soaking wet through.
Roll on the spring !Cervelo S5 Ultegra Di2.0 -
I agree that the terminology is a little subjective.
I have a wet bike and a dry bike.
The wet bike has mudguards and sensible wheels fitted with Gatorskin Hardshell tyres.
The dry bike has no guards and is fitted with stupid semi aero wheels and Vitorria Open Corsa CX tyres.
If it is nice in January the dry bike goes out, if it is horrible in August the wet bike goes out.
The notion of summer and winter bikes is a little misleading I suppose.
To the OP yes I have more than one bike and I can see why you question whether your current bike is practical for using in wet weather. It is nice to have more than one but ofcourse many people manage with just one.Yellow is the new Black.0 -
upperoilcan wrote:Nope ! One bike here,if its raining or cold it stays in the garage,I take no pleasure being freezing cold let alone soaking wet through.
Roll on the spring !
No such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing choices. Or so I've been told anyway0 -
I bought a winter bike last week and was glad of it today. I used to use my original road bike and save my good bike for best til the old one got written off in a crash while commuting.
I bought a hub geared, disk braked commuter with the insurance payout but realised that its a bit sluggish for anything over about 15 miles even though its perfect for the commute.
So I now have a domane 2.0 with mudguards, while the good bike sits inside on the turbo waiting for better weather. It wouldn't have fancied 2 hours of sleet this morning!
I could get by without multiple bikes, but I can afford them and like bike shopping so why not?0 -
My last word on this.... if you have one bike think very carefully of using on , well basically not fit for purpose roads like what I rode on today in the company of a fair few others. A summer route is not a winter route imo... but that is one other debate.
Anyways all of 20 miles for me to hit a massivo pothole and someone behind me to call it quits for the ride... ankle deep in mud changing tubes.. both of us ... 3 hours cleaning and fettling to get it back into turbo duties again..
both rims ok.. but the tyres both had side wall damage.. rode back to the car and inner was bulging out at the end.
Aint bothered about wet weather - comes with the territory but some of the back roads really are in a disgraceful state for a wealthy country like this.
Every year .. I forget and go on rides like this and every year I say no way again..0 -
JGSI wrote:My last word on this.... if you have one bike think very carefully of using on , well basically not fit for purpose roads like what I rode on today in the company of a fair few others. A summer route is not a winter route imo... but that is one other debate.
Anyways all of 20 miles for me to hit a massivo pothole and someone behind me to call it quits for the ride... ankle deep in mud changing tubes.. both of us ... 3 hours cleaning and fettling to get it back into turbo duties again..
both rims ok.. but the tyres both had side wall damage.. rode back to the car and inner was bulging out at the end.
Aint bothered about wet weather - comes with the territory but some of the back roads really are in a disgraceful state for a wealthy country like this.
Every year .. I forget and go on rides like this and every year I say no way again..
Thank you for taking the time to reply, it really answered my question.
I have read both sides of the spectrum on this forum, people on a budget and people with abundances of buying power so it would be expected that wether you spend your last available funds on cycling or you spend vast sums of money on the best bikes available it would remain relative in that a lot is invested so to venture out in tough conditions where it is a definite fact that damage could occur at a far greater rate is far riskier when using your main chariot/pride and joy and so we would be far wiser having a hack for the bad weather.Living MY dream.0 -
^^ and breath.....Science adjusts it’s beliefs based on what’s observed.
Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved0 -
There's nothing wrong with having a 'wet weather bike'; indeed it is a good asset. If you commute it is wise to have a second bike ready to go anyway.
The fact of the matter is that a 'winter bike' is not an essential accessory that every cyclist must have; as some people seem to think. If your bike is an inexpensive aluminium thing that you ride with reasonably tough clinchers come rain or shine, it doesn't need to hibernate. If you can't handle cycling in the rain, you chose the wrong country. Granted, the road sludge can be distinctly more unpleasant in winter, but still, that alone isn't reason enough to get another bike, and it really amuses me that some peoples' choice of winter bike is just another one of the same ilk, that they put mudguards on. Far better to get something with clearance for bigger tyres (including spikes), full mudguards, and you may as well have a rack as well. In other words, a stately steel racer.
If on the other hand your bike is somewhat more specialised for dry weather, has featherweight tubs on carbon wheels, and has a Super Record or Dura Ace groupset - a full set of consumables for which costs more than many peoples' winter bikes - (even if ironically they will probably be more durable than cheaper ones), etc etc etc, a winter bike makes a great deal more sense. There is of course the possibility of crashing, but I give limited credence to this excuse because similar road hazards exist all year round. A greasy corner might fell you in December but some loose gravel might do the same in July.0 -
I have no choice, just the one bike. I am very likely to want a second "better" bike at some point though, which is when the current bike will become the commute/crappy weather bike.
That might not be for a couple of years though.
Or might be this year.
Cycling was supposed to be saving me money.
Help!0 -
Mikey41 wrote:I have no choice, just the one bike. I am very likely to want a second "better" bike at some point though, which is when the current bike will become the commute/crappy weather bike.
That might not be for a couple of years though.
Or might be this year.
Cycling was supposed to be saving me money.
Help!
I think that's what 99% of people do.
(And then they hear the shiny things calling !)Science adjusts it’s beliefs based on what’s observed.
Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved0 -
I have a winter bike, as in when its constantly wet and there is salt on the roads etc but a wet weather bike? I'm guessing you live in the UK where its not shy of raining once in a while. What do you do in the middle of the summer when its grey and overcast but dry? Do you take the dry weather bike and hope it stays dry or take the wet weather bike just in case it rains? Its a bike, its not going to melt in the rain. You can clean it and get all the debris off it without a problem. Modern tyres are not going to be dangerous to ride in the wet. I use Ultremo ZXs and they stick to the road like glue in all weather so thats not an excuse. Mud guards? again, weather can change dramtically on a long ride so how do you prepare for all conditions.0
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Many club runs expect full guards in the winter, as a curtesy to other riders.0
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smidsy wrote:I agree that the terminology is a little subjective.
I have a wet bike and a dry bike.
The wet bike has mudguards and sensible wheels fitted with Gatorskin Hardshell tyres.
The dry bike has no guards and is fitted with stupid semi aero wheels and Vitorria Open Corsa CX tyres.
If it is nice in January the dry bike goes out, if it is horrible in August the wet bike goes out.
The notion of summer and winter bikes is a little misleading I suppose.
To the OP yes I have more than one bike and I can see why you question whether your current bike is practical for using in wet weather. It is nice to have more than one but ofcourse many people manage with just one.
Similar for me:
- old Condor 531Pro bike now has full mudguards, Gatorskins and lights fitted so is the wet and "dark" bike
- Rourke 953 with GP4000S tyres goes out if its dry - its not so much because of not wanting to get the bike wet, but I don't want sh1t all up my back and everywhere from the tyres. I need mudguards when its wet to keep *me* dry!!WyndyMilla Massive Attack | Rourke 953 | Condor Italia 531 Pro | Boardman CX Pro | DT Swiss RR440 Tubeless Wheels
Find me on Strava0 -
I knew I'd only be buying the one bike, so I went for a racelight Tk so I can have proper mudguards but still have lively handling. Ride it all year round but take care of it.0
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I have thrown away only 3 bikes in the past 30years and in each case the frame was broken and all the parts and wheels worn out . Even then I stripped them of anything that might be useful;cables pads handlebars, cranks etc .. An old mud and shopping bike is a boon. When you have to park it you can be reasonably sure it will still be there when you return; and they usually start off as a first or second bike , so an afficionado would look at it and realise that it actually works rather well, but a thief would not be interested. Any of my bikes would do 100miles tomorrow, even the scabbiest. And the real thing is that bikes so often need fixing. If you have only one then when you need to mend it what do you ride ?
do you only have room to hang one?Raleigh Eclipse, , Dahon Jetstream XP, Raleigh Banana, Dawes super galaxy, Raleigh Clubman
http://s189.photobucket.com/albums/z122 ... =slideshow0