Anyone (MTB)putting their good bike away for winter ?

Did a distinctly muddy ride on Fri and thought “you know what, I’m going to retire the Spearfish until spring”, the drivetrain was making horrific noises all day.. it wasn’t nice.

So I’m thinking of lubing/greasing and putting the spare mud tyres on the Charge Cooker and leaving the Fish until spring…

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/if-you-last-up-your-fs-for-the-winter-how-do-you-store
According to santa cruz, the grinding noise is perfectly healthy. 😉

But what about those nice, fresh, frozen rides?

No, If I ride in places like the peaks over winter I’ll take my best bike as it’s the best tool for the job.

Local rides will see the carbon forked Niner being utilised.

I’ve been wondering if its worth getting a second-hand hard tail 29er for around £600-£700 second-hand so that I can store my full suspension Specialized Camber Evo (2015) and save it from the mud of the Winter.

I’ve only currently got one bike and use that for everything.

Less components for the mud to wreck on the hard tail and also if the Winter destroys the bike at least it’s only the cheaper one. However, it also means that I won’t be using the best tool for the job, as most of my riding is in the south pennines (very rocky in places) and very much justifies the full suspension for comfort reasons more than anything else.

If I had a bike that I didn’t want to take out in winter, I’d sell it. It’d be like having a hammer that was too pretty to hit nails with.

Personally when it get really properly muddy (need to pedal downhill) I don’t see the point in using my full susser.. the Hardtail get dusted off. The full susser should be clean and oiled before ‘storage’ but this hasn’t always happened 😯

If I had a bike that I didn’t want to take out in winter, I’d sell it. It’d be like having a hammer that was too pretty to hit nails with.

Totally agree. To me the whole concept of retiring a bike for the winter months is totally ridiculous. Its not a Ferrari – get out there and ride it. As long as you maintain it post ride you will be golden.

Honestly, this just smacks of more money than sense!

I do the local winter night rides on my old 575, which I want to change to a hardtail, and the posh bike I bring out for bigger rides on better days. Don’t get me wrong though it still goes out in the mud and I don’t ride it any differently.

I rode my old intense throughout the winter and it absolutely destroyed it.
If you continually ensure it’s clean and well lubricated I think it’d be ok but I didn’t..

Mines laid up. Hairdtail now in use, so glad I used it this weekend, delamere slop had me and the bike completly covered in mud. No way I’m cleaning all the horst link suspension pivots after every winter ride.

Conditions generally aren’t a consideration when choosing what to ride. Unless it’s snow, then it’s the fat bike.

If I still lived down south I’d consider it, but the trails are made of tougher stuff up here and you don’t have to slog through a quagmire of mud to get a winter MTB ride in.

No, there doesn’t seem to be much point, I went out in August and returned with a bike caked in mud, I went out yesterday and even though it was unseasonably warm and sunny, I came home with a bike caked in mud, it’s a slippery slope – you might start out putting it away for Dec, Jan, Feb, but there’s Doubleu above who’s already put away a bike, it’s not even Winter yet – when does it come out again – March the 1st, it’s usually still wet and muddy – better wait till May when it dries out – so it becomes a ‘Summer’ bike’ 3 months of the year, before you know it you’re looking out of the window in July and thnking “oooh, I’d better not bring it out lest it gets wet”.

Sod it, buy Deore/SLX level stuff that’s not going to make you cry if it wears out, 3 chains a year and a cassette and keep an eye on the bearings – anything else is darkside thinking to me.

Personally when it get really properly muddy (need to pedal downhill) I don’t see the point

….of riding. At least not there anyhow.

I am fundamentally very lazy, when it’s properly sh1tty out I ride the SS so that I don’t have to do anything except poke the clumps off the whirly bits after its dried, it’s not about saving money or not wanting to wear out a geary drivetrain*, it’s simply about being very very lazy, I haven’t cleaned that bike once in the last 4 years, I lube the chain occasionally though, when I feeling motivated…

*Which I still do as winter racing takes it’s toll.

If you are putting your bike away for winter what do you do when you get to a puddle during summer? The “winter bike” thing makes more sense on the roads where you get salt and oil/petrol/diesel type muck than off-road.

I was thinking more of storing the good bike just between November to March. Yes you still get mud in some of the other months but not the bike destroying amounts of mud during the worst 5 months.

The maintenance/damage during those months were awful (often questioned is it worth it?), yet since April up until now hardly anything has been spent and not much has gone wrong despite the much higher milage per month.

whitestone – Member

If you are putting your bike away for winter what do you do when you get to a puddle during summer?

Usually ride round it 🙂

I’ve gone one further and sold it…

Because I wasn’t riding it and want a Ti Switchback.

If I’m honest, I didn’t like leaving my full sus covered in crud in the garage to dry natutally etc. It got ridden in some pretty grim conditions but was cleaned that night.

Each to their own on this. Yes I could be out next year in July and the FS may get a little muddy. No problems at all. But the odd summer mud puddle is different to riding 30km of winter slop. I hate getting back from a ride and having to clean down a bike when I’m cold/wet and just want to get changed and go the pub.

The hardtail gets no love, and I know won’t be making any horrific noises when I next take it out. A quick hose down and some chain lube now and again is all it needs. Its a great motivator to get me out during the winter. No hassle afterwards!

I’ve not got a dropper post on either of my hardtails, so they take rear mudguards better.
If weather demands a rear mudguard, I’ll therefore take one of them. The full susser is a bit hefty too, so the HT’s also get used in summer, and the full suss will be used for rides where it’s worth having in any weather.
One of the HT’s gets spiked tyres put on as a “get me out in any weather” bike of last resort around this time of year. I keep bikes for ages so having more bikes doesn’t actually cost any more, just means the maintenance is spread out over several bikes.

I built a ridgid bike last year for the winter, but only because it gave me an excuse for another bike.
I don’t have a good bike, I love all my bikes the same.

My mtb will see as much, actually make that more, use over winter than summer.

The hardtail gets no love, and I know won’t be making any horrific noises when I next take it out. A quick hose down and some chain lube now and again is all it needs. Its a great motivator to get me out during the winter. No hassle afterwards!

This in a nutshell,

A muddy delamere ride on Weds will finish at 9.30pm. Its cold wet and dark. I just wanna throw the old hardtail in the shed after a hosedown and then jump in the shower to do the same to myself. My FS needs a lot more love than that.

yep, it’s still “dusty” from the last summer evening ride I did…reminds me of what’s to come next spring.

Got the old faithful 26″ hardtail to blat over winter. Looking forward to the really cold snow days, always a laugh to ride on compacted snow.

I know its a bit decadent having a seconds bike to protect the FS from excessive wear in winter, but as my 26r hardtail is now worth as much as a Boots meal deal, why not?

All my bikes are hardtails, in fact, at the moment they’re all rigid!

I’m in two minds though.

On the one hand, in winter that extra control and grip is just as useful as in summer, sometimes more so.

On the other hand, I like my rigid singlespeed because regardless of time, maintenance or weather, it’ll be ride able. And I’d rather have an entire winter of difficult rides on that than miss rides on a nicer bike because
The shock needed a service
The gears wore out
The fork seals were leaking
Bushings worn
Bearings worn
Cables stuck
etc.
etc.

Biggest costs of going for a ride are still time and petrol (unless you’re unemployed with nice trails form the door).

probably. Don’t do the silly steep stuff in winter as it’s usually covered in snow/ice so bestest bike can take a break.

did run my old FS the last couple of winters but I put some shiny new bits on this summer so that may be mothballed until the big freeze (think it was only a week or so last year 🙁 )

I have a rigid HT and a sus-forked SS I tend to ride as training bikes, my race bike generally is only got out to race on over winter as it has nice kit on it I’d rather not trash. I’ll happy to ride the race bike over summer though!

Why wouldn’t you want to enjoy your £3000 machine of joy 6 months a year? Bonkers.

As others, having a bike i can just leave mucky and cover in horrific looking mudguards gets me out.

The thought of faffing cleaning after makes me not bother.

Will only be twiddling about in filth anyway where the suspension is doing nothing anyway.

For southern chalk clag I think the hardtail may still see some action in the depths of winter but only for mud clearance reasons.

Just get a road bike for winter; put the mtb away for good till it’s Spring again.

I asked this on another thread – why would you do this? Just get an extra cleaning routine and it’ll be fine. Parts wear out when knackered so just ride the bike.
Hardtail will wear out as well and need money spent on it…just ride the bike, it is a mountain bike so ride it, they are designed to be ridden in all conditions.
Just give an extra clean…I’m 5 minutes extra each ride as I wash the bike afterwards.

I don’t see what’s so hard about hosing the bike down after a middy ride..
Even when I lived in the flat and it was muddy I’d get most of the mud off outside with a few diy squeezy bottles and sponge. Take it up to the bath and shower it down! Let it dry while I’m having a bath then lube it..
What’s the point spending £600 on a winter bike when if you do wear some parts out in winter riding you can just replace them? (With shiny new kit)
As long as you look after your shocks and wash them after every muddy ride I can’t see an expensive bill coming.. If its a worry get some of them shock boots to protect them..
On the other hand I’d like to be out ridingy my nice bikes especially if I were to pop my clogs all of a sudden or brake a leg..

I did moth ball my Whyte upstairs in the study and the wife bought me a 29er for winter, it was rubbish ,so it got sold as did the whyte and now me and the winter can hold hands together on the bombproof Five that sits in the study ,, neon orange too ..single bearing goodness

Anyone (MTB)putting their good bike away for winter ?

Maybe mate, but at worst that would be from the beginning of Feb wouldn’t it? Ya big frikkin hetrosexual 🙄

Why oh why…

Proper bikes with proper bits last winter. My hub and frame bearings are well sealed.

For those who’s rides are through endless slop why? Ever thought your in the wrong place? Forget the bike and think of the trail.

There are these magic places called trail centres, these are generally all weather and fun to ride in the depth of winter.

weeksy
Did a distinctly muddy ride on Fri and thought “you know what, I’m going to retire the Spearfish until spring”, the drivetrain was making horrific noises all day.. it wasn’t nice.
So I’m thinking of lubing/greasing and putting the spare mud tyres on the Charge Cooker and leaving the Fish until spring

OP….. firstly I feel your pain. Not about having to decide the best course of action but opening it up to debate on here.Lol

I did basically the same post a week or so back and it just quickly turns into a “your mad not riding your bike through the Winter because it’s what I do and my opinion is right and yours is wrong” type affair.

STW is a fanatic forum, it truly is, but some guys on here find it genuinely incomprehensible that any opinion that goes against their own can have any validity. I’m being quite serious here.

So…. My opinion, as that’s all it is(!) is to do whatever makes you feel better during those mucky Winter rides.

To me that means riding a bike I built up for Winter from mostly spares/ and second hand parts and not minding the grinding paste noise I hear.**

**Your riding experience may differ and no significance to my personal opinion is either intended or implied. 😀

“Anyone (MTB)putting their good bike away for winter ?”

Errr…. Yeah! 😯

Totes.

In fact I’ve put two of my best bikes away for the winter. I have another two that I will use in what I like to term mild autumn-winter mud

…and another two I will happily use in the worst abject winter filth imaginable, so I will switch over to those two when things get really bad.

I shite ye not..

Thing is, when you’ve spent ~£4k a piece on two lovely blingy (mint condition secondhand) carbon bikes in 2012 – and also have another eight MTBs of various ages and loveliness to choose from – why would you want to trash the really blingy ones by riding them thru’ the winter?

…especially as I can no longer afford to buy nice bikes anymore 🙁

I have to make these beauties last.