Allez for a winter commute?

CJPJ
CJPJ Posts: 7
edited September 2013 in Commuting general
I have a Specialized Allez Compact Sport and I absolutely love it. I commute the 20 miles home from central London to Surrey in just over an hour and I really enjoy the experience - not put off by the traffic or the poor quality of the roads.

I would love to use this in the winter but riding this home on Friday evening in the *pouring* rain, getting dark, I realized that the brakes were next to useless. Is there anything I can do to improve the braking ability on this bike - I don't think I can put discs on - that would allow me to safely commute on it over the winter? I am running GP 4 Seasons which are awesome tyres and I certainly wasn't wanting for grip.

The alternative is to get a winter bike and I've spend so much time on the www looking at Hardrock 29er, Sirrus, Norco CX, Secteur etc and I'm finding it really hard to justify spending cash on any of these when I feel I have a wonderful bike I love already . . . . save for the brakes!

Has anyone upgraded their brakes on their Allez or similar which has made a step change in performance, suitable for winder riding?? The bike has Sora kit on it at the moment which, up until this point (c 1,500 miles of riding), I've not had any cause to complain about.

Thanks.

Comments

  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    My wife's Dolce has Sora kit on (my Allez has 2300) - yes the brakes are rubbish!
    First off is to change the brake pads - Swissstop Green are better - as are the Dura-Ace ones.
    Next is to change the calipers - I did this for my wifes bike - bought a set of Ultegras from the classifieds. I wouldn't say it's transformed braking - but it's better than before.

    Allez is ok if you put guards on - Cruds work fine, but you won't get any fixed ones on there. As my commute gets muddy during the winter I got a second "wet" bike and ended up with a Tricross - brought it in today as the roads were wet ... but it's rim brakes and they're worse than the roadbike!
  • CJPJ
    CJPJ Posts: 7
    Slowbike wrote:
    First off is to change the brake pads

    Good shout - hadn't thought about that basic step. Think I am running basic Shimano ones at the mo


    oxoman wrote:
    What I do though is wipe my rims down every day on getting home as muck build up on them

    Thanks - mine were probably quite greasy and being the first time out in the rain (pretty much ever on that bike!).
  • cookeeemonster
    cookeeemonster Posts: 1,991
    One thing I will say about clip on mudguards is they often mark the paintwork (can be negated a bit by using helicopter tape, but that gets tatty too) and also they tend to not stay in place, especially I find in bad weather (when you need them the most!) Basically they'll rub on the tyre and drive you mad (in my experience, especially if the road surface is bumpy etc). Plus they dont give quite as good coverage.

    A seperate winter bike with full mudguards would be better...says someone who's road bike with clip on' s is my only bike :)

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