Winter Bike????

gav77
gav77 Posts: 10
edited December 2014 in Road general
So, I keep hearing about people using/buying winter bikes. Do I really need one?? I clean and lube my bike after every ride anyway taking particular attention to the components. Would forking out £600-1000 be wise move when I usually only hit the roads when they're pretty dry anyway. I work shifts so I can usually pick "dry days"

Comments

  • MichaelW
    MichaelW Posts: 2,164
    Do I really need one?
    No. winter bikes are all-weather mudguard-compatible with clearance for wider 28mm tyres.
  • arthur_scrimshaw
    arthur_scrimshaw Posts: 2,596
    If you enjoy cleaning and lubing your best bike after every ride you're probably ok but as a general rule you always need another bike. You can then clean and lube that after every ride as well.
  • arran77
    arran77 Posts: 9,260
    No you don't need one but having one is useful.

    Mine is a wet / bad weather bike rather than a 'winter' bike, it's got the mudguards on all year and because it's kitted out with cheaper components I'm less worried about the affect that bad weather and poor road conditions will have on it.
    "Arran, you are like the Tony Benn of smut. You have never diluted your depravity and always stand by your beliefs. You have my respect sir and your wife my pity" :lol:

    seanoconn
  • Dippydog3
    Dippydog3 Posts: 414
    You have used the words "need" and "bike" in close proximity, so you lost me straight away.
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    My winter bike was my best bike - it's just now it has Cruds fixed onto it along with lights and I don't worry so much about it (clean and lube after every ride?!)
    It won't take 28mm tyres - it'll take 25mm though, but I'm still on 23s as that's what I've got.

    I ride mine for commuting and club riding - it's faster than my real winter bike, but I'll switch over to that when the roads get really bad - it gets wet and dirty - but it'll clean up.
    It doesn't have the most expensive components on it because I know they'll wear down more quickly - even if you clean & lube after every ride, it's getting dirty during the ride.

    Also, if I crash it (more likely in the winter months although it has yet to happen at all - Touch wood!) I'm less bothered - ok, I don't want it trashed, but it's not an expensive machine and I could afford to lose it.
  • iron-clover
    iron-clover Posts: 737
    As with the others, you don't need a winter bike- especially if your current machine is sturdy with value consumables (chainset, wheels etc) that are either hard wearing or cheap to replace and had good mudguard compatibility.

    However, if your only bike has tight wheels clearance, and expensive 11spd groupset and lightweight race grade wheels then it might be worth getting a second hand/ entry level machine which can fit guards to protect you from the worst of the winter muck as well as have components that are cheaper to replace in the long run.
    Its also useful to have a second bike on standby if you ride a lot anyway, so if your main bike has a problem in the summer you still have a bike you can use whilst you wait for the replacement part etc.
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Didn't we do this last week?
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Imposter wrote:
    Didn't we do this last week?

    We do it every week :D
  • homers_double
    homers_double Posts: 8,293
    Even in summer?
    Advocate of disc brakes.
  • arran77
    arran77 Posts: 9,260
    homers double wrote:
    Even in summer?

    No.

    Then we ask if we need a summer bike because the weather's so lousy you might as well just ride your winter bike :wink:
    "Arran, you are like the Tony Benn of smut. You have never diluted your depravity and always stand by your beliefs. You have my respect sir and your wife my pity" :lol:

    seanoconn
  • kajjal
    kajjal Posts: 3,380
    The only winter bike I have is just riding my normal road bike more often as I retire my mountain bike for the winter. The trails our way are clay and just turn to sludge in the winter so not worth going on.
  • cyberknight
    cyberknight Posts: 1,238
    nice bike packed away , replaced with my usual commuter , commuter replaced with rigid MTB atm.
    FCN 3/5/9
  • southdownswolf
    southdownswolf Posts: 1,525
    I wish these threads wouldnt keep coming up. My wife might see them and realise that I don't need at least 4 bikes....
    http://www.stuartmole.co.uk/
  • florerider
    florerider Posts: 1,112
    southdownswolf wrote:
    I wish these threads wouldnt keep coming up. My wife might see them and realise that I don't need at least 4 bikes....

    Does she really need at least 4 pairs of shoes?
  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    Winter bikes used to be the old bike that had been the good bike till it was replaced with a shinier newer bike, and was kept as a bike to use when taking the shiny new bike out didn't seem so appealing. It's snowballed to people believing that a winter bike is necessity, not a useful offshoot of buying shiny new kit.

    In short, you don't need one. It's nice to have one, and if you've got any sense you'll buy a shiny new thing soon enough anyway and at a stroke resolve your conundrum.
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,375
    florerider wrote:
    southdownswolf wrote:
    I wish these threads wouldnt keep coming up. My wife might see them and realise that I don't need at least 4 bikes....

    Does she really need at least 4 pairs of shoes?

    Unless they are 4 pairs of limited edition hand made antique Gucci's, I would be very careful of trying that logic.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • bikes`n`guns
    bikes`n`guns Posts: 959
    Why would anyone try and think of a reason NOT to buy another bike ?

    Of course you don`t need one, but whats your point ?.
    Trek,,,, too cool for school ,, apparently
  • ben@31
    ben@31 Posts: 2,327
    In my case... I bought my first road bike for a cheapish price. Then after really getting into cycling I wanted something better. So spent a lot on a new bike, the groupset alone is £969.99

    Cycling in winter even when its not raining, it is surprising how much crud appears on your bike. I've found there is no such thing as a "dry day" as the road surface stays constantly damp. Around here they're laying down a ton of road-salt as well. My thoughts are I do not want to get all that crud and corrosive salt into the nooks and crannies of my expensive pride and joy. With the old bike the front derailleur once failed to shift and it turned out it be grit in the mechanism. Therefore, I've decided to keep the old and cheaper bike as a sacrificial lamb while the roads are bad. Saving the more expensive bike for the dry summer.

    Below is some photos of how my bike looked last week before I washed it (the last photo was halfway through washing, the cage plate is also starting to become pitted). To be fair to the Tiagra groupset, it still soldiered on despite the neglect. I wonder if a Dura-Ace groupset would still work well in a similar condition?
    frontmechwinter_zps9b67dfa7.jpg
    rearofbikewinter_zps453d8e25.jpg
    calliperwinter_zps20aceca3.jpg
    pedalwinter_zps21076954.jpg
    rearderailleurothersidewinter_zps9f0070bb.jpg
    "The Prince of Wales is now the King of France" - Calton Kirby
  • stueys
    stueys Posts: 1,332
    I figure this is a conspiracy. There's one person who creates multiple user id's solely so we can have the argument on winter bikes on a weekly basis. Occasionally, when's he bored, he'll throw disc brakes into the mix as well for the general amusement value. :twisted:
  • florerider
    florerider Posts: 1,112
    seeing all those cacked up gears must make it time to throw the single/fixed winter bike argument in :D
  • thegreatdivide
    thegreatdivide Posts: 5,807
    Imposter wrote:
    Didn't we do this last week?

    Campagnolo/SRAM/Shimano, Rapha/castelli/Assos, GP4000S, headphones, helmet, Canyon, average speed, 23mm/25mm/28mm/35mm etc etc etc
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,375
    @ Ben@31: Well done mate. Particularly mucky.

    More pics of seriously dirty rides please.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,375
    thegreatdivide wrote:
    Imposter wrote:
    Didn't we do this last week?

    Campagnolo/SRAM/Shimano, Rapha/castelli/Assos, GP4000S, headphones, helmet, Canyon, average speed, 23mm/25mm/28mm/35mm etc etc etc

    ^That must be at least 3000 forum pages condensed into one sentence.

    I'm sure there are some things missing though...oh yeah, night rides, night lights, energy bars, team kit, carbon in winter...
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!

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