Winter and summer bike?
davey.davey
Posts: 89
So, I've been looking for my first road bike, had a budget in mind of around 2k so wanted to get as much bike for my money as possible. Having done a bit of research, I like the Tarmac, Emonda, and maybe the synapse.
Been to 3 local bike shops, told them what I wanted out of the bike, budget, etc and they have all talked me out of spending so much on a bike and tried to sell me a bike of around £900 ish, for winter, and wait to buy a more expensive bike next summer. Do they not want my money haha! Or are they maybe talking me out of the wanting a bike they probable can't get hold of due to low stock!?
I understand that winter is more harsh on a bike, do most 'roadies' have a cheaper winter bike and more expensive summer bike?
Been to 3 local bike shops, told them what I wanted out of the bike, budget, etc and they have all talked me out of spending so much on a bike and tried to sell me a bike of around £900 ish, for winter, and wait to buy a more expensive bike next summer. Do they not want my money haha! Or are they maybe talking me out of the wanting a bike they probable can't get hold of due to low stock!?
I understand that winter is more harsh on a bike, do most 'roadies' have a cheaper winter bike and more expensive summer bike?
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One bike,two seasons.
Two bikes here. A decent summer road bike rarely has room for mudguards for those that use them in winter. Certainly none of my summer bikes have been able to take mudguards. But the biggest consideration is the groupset. A higher end bike will possibly have a more expensive groupset than a winter bike, but so long as you ensure that you clean it down whenever it gets crudded up, it shouldn't be too difficult a problem.
Yes, they did mention about the mudguards not fitting on a higher end bike. Think I've seen some that clip on to the seat post to sort of help with that problem.
The shop I visited today also said about the higher end groupsets getting covered in s**t in winter.
I just find it really odd how they all don't want to take my money and sell me a bike I really want to ride. I think it is down to that most of the bikes I like they can't get hold of like unlike the bigger shops
If it's your first road bike then I'd suggest getting something that will take guards, even if you don't plan on fitting them now. Later down the track it might become your winter hack or commuter bike or poor weather club run bike. Clip on guards are okay, but do not compare to proper full length ones.
If it's a fair weather fun machine, screw it and spend the dosh! :-)
If you decide you like riding in censored weather then when the winter comes buy yourself a second hand winter bike for a lot less that you can abuse
Hosepipe and washing up liquid after every winter ride, takes me 10 minutes.
The 3 bikes you mention are all good bikes, I have an emonda. Really enjoy it, light, racy geometry and great fun to ride. I also have a winter bike, heavier, not as good a group set but still decent fun to ride. I don't really like the option of buying a single bike, been there and done that. End up with a Jack of all trades master of none.
Now from your choices 2 are racing bikes and one endurance (synapse), so before decide the bike decide the type. Since you like Specialized check also the Roubaix. Great endurance bike. From Trek, check the domane
Any bike north of say £500 or so will be fine for what you want. It's not like 2k gets you a bike thats 4 times as fast.
You want to look for a bike that'll take 25mm tyres at least as well as mudguards. That'll be great for getting you started and fit the guards for next winter.
Then come the summer you'll have a better idea of what you want. Campag/SRAM/Shimano - Standard or Compact ? Alu or Carbon ? Red or White ?
You'll not be giving up any noticeable speed - its the rider that's the limiter not the bike on any decent ride.
Two bikes is bare minimum for me. And I'll keep them as compatible as possible so if you have an issue - you can swap wheels over for a ride.
That was a Kinesis Racelight Tk, road bike geometry but designed as a winter trainer. (Todays equivalent is the Kinesis 4S)
If it ever stopped raining I'd take the guards off in the summer. Some years they stayed on. It was my year round bike for 7 years
Now you have so many more bikes to choose from for a winter bike, and they can take much bigger tyres and many have disc brakes.
But I'd echo the comments above. It's May, so get yourself a bike you'll really want to ride in the summer and think about how you feel about winter riding in another 6 months.
^ this.
Credit to the LBSs for giving you sound advice.
If you get a half-decent mid-range bike that will take full mudguards now you will get to enjoy riding it through the rest of this year without mudguards. You can then ride it with guards through the winter and get a seriously nice summer bike (with a high-end groupset if you wish) for next summer. Sorted!
The winter/bad weather bike has mudguards permanently attached, plus brackets for lights and a rear rack. It has some robust 35mm tyres and disc brakes.
My summer bike is a carbon frame with rim brakes.
I'd definitely advocate having 2 bikes. Another advantage is that you've then always got a bike if one is off the road for some mechanical problem or other.
Getting a more general purpose bike now will mean you can learn a bit more about how you ride and delay the choice until later.
For me - the best bit of buying a bike is the planning of it - what kit you'll get on it - what colour - what frame - etc etc etc.
Then when you buy the bike - its nice - but you forget how nice it is after a ride or two - it's just a bike.
The roads our way are fairly rural and not gritted so have little impact on the bike.
This is the advice you should take.
You want a nice road bike, so buy a nice road bike!
All this advice to get a poorer quality or CX bike is BS.
A 2k road bike is just a road bike FFS
Its not 'too much of a bike' for anyone lol
Not sure why the shops are trying to take less of your money.
What do you look like/weigh?
Its a very odd, and quite rude thing for a shop to suggest IMO.
Another option would be to spend £1500, ride the bike through the summer and poss winter, and either:
A/ Spend the £500 on a set of summer wheels next spring.
B/ Spend the £500 on a winter bike (if you really feel you need one) when you need one.
C/ Put the £500 towards a new summer bike next spring and demote the £1500 bike to the winter one.
I would not get hung up on mudguard mounts, and I certainly would not buy a CX bike if you want a road bike.
Fixed TT 2015-2016
If you are planning on any riding after September then I think your LBS is being very honest. You'll ride more if you have a dry bike.
If you live in a dry, hot country then you can disregard all the above:-)
That seems to make most sense to me, ive never understood why you would spend upwards of £2k on any type of bike and only use it for maybe 5 months before switching to a much cheaper bike so it doesnt wear out components.
totally get having 2 similar bikes set up for the diferent conditions IF you can afford/justify it.
There's often salt on the roads and mud and you're more likely to come off. That's why we ride cheaper winter bikes. They're still decent but not as expensive as the summer bike.
I've just purchased my bike for the winter (kinesis racelight t3) and will be sourcing SH parts for it to keep the build cheap and manageable. Still going to be a decent bike but no where near the replacement cost on the Domane.
But, I wouldn't agree with getting any old banger for winter duties. I like cycling and if I had a real old shonker I'd probably struggle with motivation to get out and ride it in the winter - so get something decent.
I absolutely love my new bike, I hate it when it even goes through a bit of a muddy puddle, let alone getting soaked haha!!
I've got a spare half decent set of wheels, full 105 gear set and brakset. So an option for me would be to get a new frame, saddle etc to build me a half decent bike for the poorer weather and road conditions of winter.
Does a frame come with bars, stem, seatpost or is that all extra?
Or would it be just as cheap to buy a whole new bike!?
Cheers
Have a look at something like the Ribble Winter bike - that seems very popular. Not sure how much it is.
What you do want is big clearances so you can run mudguards and wide tyres to soak up the winter potholes without getting the guards jammed with mud.