All rounder/winter bike or road bike?

I started road biking in a summer, so the issue of winter bikes never really hit me. I bought a superb bike and used it. When winter came and the roads were always wet, gritty and slippery I struggled a bit, but did lots of turbo time instead.

This summer I went even further and bought a bike that was even less suited for winter. Small tyre clearances, white frame that looks dirty before I reach the end of my driveway, carbon rim wheels and expensive components that I do not want to trash. I do love it though.

With winter approaching and the first bike heading off overseas, I decided to buy a bike that would be suited to wet gritty roads, could take mudguards (although I will probably never fit them), has disc brakes so I will not worry about wheel rim damage and wider tyres so I could hit the occasional cycle track that was not Tarmac. This is important where I live as it is the only way of avoiding a big hill on the way home. Sometimes this is VERY important.

The funny thing is that the new bike, with its 32mm tyres, is probably my most comfortable ride, and is possibly faster than the others. I would like to say this is down to my awesome fitness improvements, but that would be exaggerating. I really don't think there is anything in it for normal riding.

That's the long story. My advice is therefore this. If you want one bike that will do all year, all weathers, and rides of both long and short duration, get something that is suitable for winter.

The bottom line is.....

A winter bike is a tiny compromise for summer. ( you might be a tiny bit slower, but most can't tell the difference)
A really good summer bike is not suitable for winter.

Of course, the best solution is to have the number of bikes that is perfect for every situation. My life long task is to determine what this number is. I think it is more than 10.