New winter bike

letap73

I am considering getting a different winter bike to one I have currently. The crud mudguards I have on are starting to irritate me and the braking although very good in the dry is only reasonable on wet days. At the moment the bike appears to be redundant as I am riding my other bikes. I would like a bike that not only performs winter duties - but a bike which is stable on descents - controlled modulated braking a must in dry and wet conditions. I would like to take the bike on longer trips and if attempting a climb in the Alps - be able to descend safely and in a controlled fashion ( I am not the most confident at descending on a bike).

The sort of bike I have been looking at are the following:
http://www.whytebikes.com/2013/product. ... 6&xSec=121
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/roa ... brium-disc

The genesis "appears" to have the better wheels but the Whyte "appears" to have the better brakes. Any thoughts on these two bikes would be welcome as would any suggestion on alternatives.

bendertherobot

Both good. You're right about which has better wheels and brakes. The equilibrium is nicer but heavier. I've got a whyte mtb and love it.

Cannondale synapse disc worth a look IMO.

letap73

bendertherobot wrote:

Both good. You're right about which has better wheels and brakes. The equilibrium is nicer but heavier. I've got a whyte mtb and love it.

Cannondale synapse disc worth a look IMO.

Just looking at the synapse - not convinced about the brakes or the wheels - however, I am not too interested in the lightness of the wheel set (so primary consideration for the wheels are that they are robust) are the Cannondale brakes any good?

The Genesis and Cannondale are both stocked at Epic cycles who are apparently prepared to change the spec. If this is possible what would you change with regard to both bikes?

bendertherobot

The equilibrium is fine as is. It's just a robust bike. You could put bb7,s on the dale

bendertherobot

Oh, and have a look at some cross bikes

dave in swansea

I have just ordered the whyte suffolk.
Like you I wanted a robust bike with good braking. I am not thinking about the winter tag. I wanted a nice bike for going up and down big hills. At 100 kg the weight if the bike is less relevant than the range of the gears. But 100kg is a lot for poor brakes on a 1 in 4 descent.

animal72

First ride on my Equilibrium disc yesterday.

Heavy, but stable and handles censored road surfaces brilliantly. Very pleased with my new winter steed.

Bad things: brakes aren't overly powerful, cassette is too widely spaced so will be changed.