Carbon Bike In Winter

Matthewfalle

Ai_1 wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

Slowmart wrote:

Would anyone buy a carbon bike which is 5 years old?


I understood and I'd be happy to be enlightend if I'm wrong but the trouble with carbon is you are unable to visually check the frame for damage and risk a catastrophic failure?


Many moons ago i used to fly hang gliders and I acquired an early model with carbon cross tubes. It was a peach to fly but I always carried some doubt as there wasn't a visual inspection to carry out to ensure the airworthiness as I used to have the occasional heavy landing….. That was fourteen years ago though and technology has moved on. Yes I have a couple of carbon bikes but the emotional investment is in my ti mtb bike which I rarely ride and after spotting that gorgeous Moots ti road bike has me doing man maths.

Would anyone buy a second hand carbon bike of any age? Now I don't want to be accused of planting seeds of doubt into people's minds but are you really, really, 100% sure of the provenance of your bike?

Now I'm not saying that people won't tell you the whole truth in order to be able to sell their bike, but ..........

....but that's exactly what you're "not" saying

It could be. But it might not be. But would you ride a bike that could kill you at anytime?

ai_1

Keezx wrote:

Prefer an old bike over mudgards as long as it doesn't rain constantly.
With mudgards a bike doesn't feel like a racing bike anymore.
Today it was dry and I went out with my better bike, glad without mudguards.

So you use your better bike when it's dry and you prefer an old bike without mudguards as long as it doesn't rain constantly. So, what if it does rain constantly?
based on your post it seems you either don't ride when it gets truly wintry or you need another bike.....with mudguards. Either way I don't really see the point in the old bike.

keezx

I ride the piece of junk all winter (only snow keeps me home) without mudguards as they don't fit....no big deal.
Don't see the need for an extra bike I would ride probably 10 times per winter at the most.
Until now I did 2 rides on the "winter"bike to give an impression and on both rides I didn't miss mudgards.
The circumstances are not that bad here (Netherlands) with not too much rain and snow.
Low temperature doesn't bother me either (-10 is the limlit which happens rarely)

pinno

I ride my 12 year old carbon C40 with mudguards and Campag Record 10 gruppo. Stick that in yer pipe's and smoke it.

damocles10

I agree with the just ride sentiment. However if the ride is particularly dirty/salty you will need to clean it. I went through a phase of not being ar$ed and some components and parts are seized, bolts are literally welded and wont budge and the seatpost is well and truly stuck.

Enjoy your new bike.

markhewitt1978

Personally I hose my bike down after every long ride; summer & winter, although much of the time in summer it's just a rinse off.

lostboysaint

This is carbon. In fact it's a shitload of carbon under slightly more load than a bike frame is under and in slightly more extreme conditions. And yet these threads still exist, it's quite bizarre.

lostboysaint

And this one went on to win this version of the race, having gone round the world, NOT being hosed off every couple of hours (although this picture suggests it got a good cleaning from that briney stuff).

You may have guessed that I sail boats - and yes, it does make me smile when yet another of these threads pops up, and yes I do ride my XXL carbon road bike all winter, with the same wheels that get used all summer.

schlepcycling

pinarello001 wrote:

I ride my 12 year old carbon C40 with mudguards and Campag Record 10 gruppo. Stick that in yer pipe's and smoke it.

Snap....ish!, I ride my 10 year old C50 with mudguards and Dura Ace Di2 in the winter and have done for the last 3 years and other than the usual suspects, (tyres, chains and 1 cassette) the components haven't disintegrated

markhewitt1978

I've usually been fitting a new (cheap) cassette at the start of winter - keeping the same chain. Then replace the chain and cassette with good ones around March / April time.

VmanF3

lostboysaint wrote:

And this one went on to win this version of the race, having gone round the world, NOT being hosed off every couple of hours (although this picture suggests it got a good cleaning from that briney stuff).

You may have guessed that I sail boats - and yes, it does make me smile when yet another of these threads pops up, and yes I do ride my XXL carbon road bike all winter, with the same wheels that get used all summer.

I've raced on those boats and many similar; carbon fibre is an extremely durable material if constructed correctly. However, get it wrong, or expose it to loads that it's not designed for and it snaps like a twig, remember Team Abu Dhabi and Team Sanya had rig and hull damage, they were exceptional seas & wind, but it can happen. Let's not forget that these boats are crewed by experts at the top of their game, often with numerous spares and high budgets.

Using some of the best boats and crews in the world as a comparison isn't really fare, a more likely comparison would be the weekend boater on a 30' Bavaria with maybe a carbon spinnaker pole at best. Even owners who can run to carbon spars and maybe even carbon rigging still suffer rig failure, as do many with steel, ali or whatever unobtainium, sales people manage to pitch to trend following loonies. Gear acquisition and subsequent doubts about performance and durability are not restricted to cycling.

You want to read the UV debates on whether dumb assed yachties should paint their rig...just the same as carbon bikes in the rain/winter.

I have a general rule of thumb, look after your kit and it'll look after you.

lostboysaint

You've raced on those boats? Nice one, who are you then?

Closest I've got is a load of sail testing on various of the incarnations.

And yes, obviously there's a "fit for purpose" argument in there. So who designs a carbon road bike that isn't supposed to ridden? (and of course someone will bring up weight limits - which is just about the only relevant argument)

And yes, I am aware of the particular naivety of some yacht owners.

VmanF3

lostboysaint wrote:

You've raced on those boats? Nice one, who are you then?

Closest I've got is a load of sail testing on various of the incarnations.

And yes, obviously there's a "fit for purpose" argument in there. So who designs a carbon road bike that isn't supposed to ridden? (and of course someone will bring up weight limits - which is just about the only relevant argument)

And yes, I am aware of the particular naivety of some yacht owners.

Who am I? Well, if we stick with cycling analogies, then I would have been a lowly domestique. I retired from racing at pro level in 2010 and went to work on ships for my sins. Still race occasionally in the odd event, may do the RORC600 next year and the Swan Euros, but I get my kicks from watching those poor suckers getting the cr4p kicked out of them. Been there, done that far too many times.

Anyway, back to bikes. In my experience, a carbon bike is just fine in winter. Carry on. Just look after it. Easy.

MichaelW

Bikes in hard, everyday, all-weather use get abuse of the wrong kind, ie dings, falls, scratches and general interaction with hard objects. The BMX bandits will throw their bike against yours at the lockup.
Race yatchs, military and commercial aircraft are all used within carefully defined parameters, eg don't drive the lugagge wagon against the side of the fusalage:

Operators of the B787, and future aircraft developed from the same technology, are actually more vulnerable in one way than traditionally constructed all-metal aircraft: carbon-fibre, unlike metal, does not visibly show cracks. When the material is struck, damage can be caused which is not visible to the eye. In such incidents, the damage is known as ‘sub-surface delamination’. US manufacturer GE launched its (ultrasonic) Bondtracer to allow ramp personnel and crews to evaluate the severity of impact damage while at the gate.

cougie

I'm sure carbon copes just fine with the wet and the grime of winter - I'm thinking more of your nice shiny components that dont like salt, and you're more likely to come off in winter with the slippy roads. I've hit black ice when it was well above freezing up until then, and come round bends after nice roads to find white and slippy conditions ahead of me.

On my winter bike I'm less fussy about the risk of damage. Cheap frame. Cheaper components.

Yes you can ride a carbon all winter - but it also gives you an opportunity to buy a winter bike if you want. And we know that two bikes are better than one. ;-)

pinno

cougie wrote:

I'm sure carbon copes just fine with the wet and the grime of winter - I'm thinking more of your nice shiny components that dont like salt, and you're more likely to come off in winter with the slippy roads. I've hit black ice when it was well above freezing up until then, and come round bends after nice roads to find white and slippy conditions ahead of me.

On my winter bike I'm less fussy about the risk of damage. Cheap frame. Cheaper components.

Yes you can ride a carbon all winter - but it also gives you an opportunity to buy a winter bike if you want. And we know that two bikes are better than one. ;-)

My winter bike is...er....carbon and my summer bike is...er...carbon and what certain protagonists are saying is that carbon is pretty durable and can take a lot of abuse.
I get the bit about shiny bits to a point - I tend to clean the transmission a little more than what I would in summer and my crudcatchers keep 80% of the sh1t off. My bits are still shiny thank you The fact is that pro riders get 1 frame a year* (unless it is crashed) who ride the things from the Paris Roubaix to the TdF and on and on to the tune of 20k+ miles a year.

*Contrary to popular belief (unless you are one of the very few like Cancellara or Froome.)

imposter2.0

lostboysaint wrote:

This is carbon. In fact it's a shitload of carbon under slightly more load than a bike frame is under and in slightly more extreme conditions. And yet these threads still exist, it's quite bizarre.

You say that - but on 'YachtRadar' right now there is a thread asking whether it is ok to sail a carbon racing catamaran in winter....

marcusjb

lostboysaint wrote:

And this one went on to win this version of the race, having gone round the world, NOT being hosed off every couple of hours (although this picture suggests it got a good cleaning from that briney stuff).

You may have guessed that I sail boats - and yes, it does make me smile when yet another of these threads pops up, and yes I do ride my XXL carbon road bike all winter, with the same wheels that get used all summer.

Going off topic, but that is a top photo!

964cup

MichaelW wrote:

Bikes in hard, everyday, all-weather use get abuse of the wrong kind, ie dings, falls, scratches and general interaction with hard objects. The BMX bandits will throw their bike against yours at the lockup.

Sure, but the OP asked about winter bike, not commuter bike. My (all-year-round) commuter is steel, for exactly the reasons you cite (and because N+1) but my winter bike for club rides is carbon, albeit a carbon cross bike with discs and guards, but road rubber and as close as I can get it to road geometry. It gets the same care and attention as my summer bike, but has cheaper bits on to reduce the costs of increased wear.