Do I really need a winter bike?

I’ve been looking at the Ribble 7005 Audax. Nice bike, ticks all the right boxes – but if the weathers that bad, I’m not going to go Road riding, I’ll pop up Afan ( 2 mins away) and have a blast around there. If the weathers dryish, I’ll do a road ride ( got a Ribble Gran Fondo) As long as the bike is kept clean, dry and lubed after rides I’m thinking I don’t really need a ‘Winter’ bike?

Slightlyconfused.com

you dont need it but you may want it

I just dont have a nice weather bike which makes more sense in the UK

Me neither.

Road bikes scrub up well, and you still have to clean the salt off a cheaper bike.

Do people not use their best bikes during summer downpours?
Is it just to fit mudguards?
Or is it just another one of those roadie things that people do because they’ve always done it?

Think the key thing you say is that if the weather is that bad then you’ll no go out.

As I ride everyday in all weather my “best” bike got trashed last year, so this year i’ll be using my Ribble winter bike.

if you’re not riding every day then I wouldn’t bother, just make sure you keep the best road bike clean.

Treat yourself to a set of winter wheels instead: wider tyres (25c), more spokes etc.
And use rust-inhibitor such as Scottoiler FS365.

Can’t understand the “winter bike, training bike, good bike, race bike, best bike” thing.

Just buy a nice bike, ride it and look after it. Simples.

Do people not use their best bikes during summer downpours?

Yup

but…

I ride on the road in the Winter(commute/training).
Sometimes the weather is Sheeite. The roads then get covered in a thick ,super corrosive mix.
I am not riding anything during those months that I care about .
( and yes ,I know that a hose takes most of it off after a ride,but some nights I can’t be RsT doing a full check when there is other stuff to do,and it’s dark ,and ,and ,and …)
All my winter bikes run on end of summer bits from the other bikes,then it gets chucked.

“Just buy a nice bike, ride it and look after it.“

this

never been a problem for me, never had my best/only bike dissolve in a pile of salty rust, and for the price of a winter bike you can get a lot of nice new things for your only bike

What’s the point of having a nice bike if you don’t ride it and ride some other bike that’s not as nice? Seems pointless to me. Bikes are meant to be ridden, not put in the shed to collect dust 😉

N=1 Innit.. 😉

FWIW I do, but thats because at the time I could afford too, so thought why not?

but if the weathers that bad, I’m not going to go Road riding

Then maybe you don’t need one. I will try not to ride if its tipping it down but I will go out if its showery or the roads are wet/muddy. If I didn’t I wouldn’t get enough training done in the winter or the spring for that matter. What’s important to me in wet conditions is having a bike with full guards. It really does make a wet ride a much more bearable experience if you and the bike don’t get covered in dirty water and filth.

but if the weathers that bad, I’m not going to go Road riding, I’ll pop up Afan

I have never understood people going MTBing in the wet rather than riding on the road in the wet I much prefer wet road riding to wet MTBing.

Its probably more accurate to call my winter bike my wet weather bike as it gets used in all seasons when its wet. My good “summer” bike comes out in the winter as well if its dry. Like someone said above I’d rather use my best bike as much as possible.

never had my best/only bike dissolve in a pile of salty rust,

Sorry ,but in my seasonal bike defence ,I have to say ,there is also something really nice about the first time I bring my summer bike down from the attic,pump up the tyres and go.
No rattles ,no clutter,it’s like a first day of spring celebration 🙂

riding through last winter resulted in me replacing quite a few components on my bike due to be ready for the summer.

this year, i’m converting a cotic to 1 x 9 and sticking some old suspension forks onto it. Using old components in the shed.

its an experiment, but i want to see how it goes, and see if it saves me some cash on servicing and general maintenance of my FS bike.

The roads then get covered in a thick ,super corrosive mix.

Super corrosive how do the cars survive this?

I find the rain washes most of it off and have never trashed road stuff in a winter of use.

Winter bike is your summer bike with mud tyres on surely?

I have a [strike]Winter[/strike] an old bike that gets used in cold shitty weather purely because all the falls I’ve had in recent years have been on ice and cold, damp roads.
I really don’t want to be replacing nice bits unless I have to

Really only necessary if you are doing lots of riding – not having decent mudguards is just horrible if this is the case. I do it the other way around, and don’t have a ‘best’ bike, just a race bike that there’s no point in using in shitty weather (not just the lack of guards but the lightweight tyres on there too more liable to puncturing and the consumables that are dearer than the everyday workhorse to replace).

*Edit – ^^ damn good point made above too.

Im having the same debate with myself.

But all that really needs replacing is:
Cassette, chain and rings ?! No?
Maybe a new bb and wheel bearings?

Thats all I can think of on a road bike?

how many miles are you going to do in winter to have to replace all that ?
i used to average 100 per week [dont commute now] and I am on original everything* after 8 years of all weather use.

* replaced tyre, bar tape and cables but nothing else and i fully service it about once per year

I have never understood people going MTBing in the wet rather than riding on the road in the wet I much prefer wet road riding to wet MTBing.

I’m the other way round, but it’s sandy round here and doesn’t really get that muddy. Wet roads scare me on a road bike far more than wet trails!

Junkyard- Im new to road riding. ive been covering about 150-200 miles a week over summer. Will probably drop to 100 over winter. I was comparing replacment rate to what I do to the MTB after a harsh Christmas..

/troll mode

The entire concept of the winter bike is purely to help you justify owning 2 bikes, and to feel less bad about showering the summer bike in delicate, expensive bike jewellery that you’re then afraid to use.

Seems more logical to me to have a bike that you actually ride, and another one just for polishing and occasionally carrying around on the roof of your car (only when it’s sunny obviously)

And I’m definately not just saying that because my one road bike could only ever qualify as a winter bike.

I have a winter bike (mtb) because I can’t be arsed with anything more than sticking it in the shed at the end of a spin.

5 years in november with 3-4? cleans in that time and I’m still on the original chain and sprocket although the cup and cone are shot now as I’ve never even looked at them.

Better things to be doing with my time than washing a bike in the cold.

I never understood the winter bike thing either, however…

Last winter I trashed my TCR, and meant I had to replace quite a few drivetrain bits and I was using this for all rides in all weather. No I use the winter bike for the commute and crap weather regardless of the season.

It’s more about the cost of replacing the expensive parts on the best bike. My Ribble cost me £250 so not really a huge amount.

Think it all boils down to how many miles you do really.

I was comparing replacment rate to what I do to the MTB after a harsh Christmas..

It will be nothing like that IME and I do have a winter MTB – well a SS.

At worst you get a bit of salty water splashed on your bike + grime and muck. you dont get grit embedded in your drive train and mud clogging your tyres and gears.

Ultimately it depends if you want another bike but I dont think it is strictly needed.