Do you use your road bike or cx bike in naff conditions [on the roads]?

Just wondered who uses it in the saltiest/wettest/iciest/darkest days of winter.

What you running (bike/setup)? Are you spending ages cleaning it after? Did anything die on you? What tyres did you choose?

My cx is my winter (and most of the summer…) road bike. On the odd occassion that my road bike actually gets out it feel fantastic to ride.

Road bike for road rides every time, cx for racing only.
Road bike doesn’t implode in bad conditions, gets cleaned when dirty, and tyres stay on till worn out (michelin Pro 3’s).

I ride my road bike more then my mtb in the winter. Ribble racing sportive with ultegra. Mudguards go on when its wet though.

Yes, carbon road bike in all weathers. Sketchy as anything in ice and snow so now I’ve got studded tyres on my commuter I’ll use that in the snow/ice. Shame wheels/tyres all year round although changing that this year to get lighter tyres. Wore down my rims but everything else is fine.

I ride my CX bike in the winter months on the road. I put mudguards on it which isn’t possible on my carbon road bike. I also leave the CX tires on so that I can do some off roading if I see a nice looking trail when I am out on a road ride. This means when the weather gets better and I dust off the road bike it feels fast as &%$”!

My CX bike is really my long distance commuter / trainer. It gets lots of miles in the winter, with the posh bike kept for high days and holidays (and tomorrow’s sportive… as it’s defo going to be dry!) It’s got mudguards, wide Schwalbe Marathons, lights, really rubbish brakes and Crank Bros Candys so I can wear my goretex MTB boots on it.

It’s great (Genesis Vapour) and has just had some real spendy love today – new cassette, chain and rear mech (all Tiagra), some Goodridge cables and some new funky brake blocks to try to improve the desperate braking you get from the cantis. Oh – and a really good clean, strip, grease and lube. It’s nice knowing that if I do drop it in the rain / snow / whatever it’s a £30 rear mech and shifters that won’t need a remortgage, as opposed to the Dura Ace kit on the best bike.

+1 for riding the posh one and feeling the difference though – it’s incredible! Can’t wait for tomorrow. 🙂

any weather. Even in the snow recently, even when it was -7. I’ve wrecked a chain that I only bought in november, but otherwise all good.

Mostly the road bike even though i cant squeeze gaurds on it. Don’t do massive miles, so i hope the parts will hold up ok, and the frame’s ti so that should be fine.
Having said that, i’m gonna take the cross bike out tomorrow as i’m fed up getting punctures from crap on the road.
More likely to use the cx bike when out on my own as i don’t need to keep up with anyone.

I use a winter road bike for road riding in the winter. Full mudguards, old 9spd ultegra. Also have a fixed wheel bike with full mudguards for shit weather riding.
Posh bike comes out once the gritters and shit weather are out of the way.
Cross bike used for racing and any other offroad rides I fancy doing.

I have a winter/training bike and a summer/race bike. Only because I bought a carbon bike last year and kept the old second hand one I had used for a couple of years previously.

I rarely ride on the road if it likely to be icy. I commute in bad weather on a mountain bike. I find the riding position, flat pedals and knobbly tyres better for snow and ice.

I would ride whatever has the best mudguards…which will be the town/winter bike, never the cx.

proper salt destroys bikes without them and southerners won’t know anything about that!

Thinking about it my first bike got pretty knackered when I was just a kid using it to do a paper round in the winters.. paint came off the forks (stripped to the metal).. and some places on the frame.. don’t really remember mechanical problems as such.. headset was loose as buggery when I sold it on though.. but that’s just usage

You seem I’m thinking about getting a road bike and I don’t want to think oh I’ll only use it in fair weather.. My [only] bike is heavy and not that suited to blasting along roads even with a change of tyres

Yes my cx becomes my winter bike after the race season. I just bung some 23c’s on it.
Though for this year I’ll have a dedicated winter bike, so I save all my race day bits.

CX but that’s because I haven’t a road bike yet. Hoping to swap this year so it be road bike no matter what the weather in the future.

I ride my road and cx bikes all year round. Depending upon what I’m doing though decides which bike I’ll use.