My wife has a high end Trek road bike but wants a winter road bike for commuting & the odd winter day or night ride.

The Planet X pro carbon SL’s with Ultegra look great value at £1K but don’t really take full mud guards unless SKS race blades are fitted.

Can anyone suggest a good bike fit for the purpose?

Pauls Cycles have the Cannondale Synapse at £899? They also have the CAAD 8 105 which I think might have mudguard mounts too?

I just bought a Giant TCR SL1 for just over £1k, but that isn’t exactly a bike for full mudguards either.

Dolan – choose a bike and spec it as you wish. Job done! Great bunch of guys too.

Ribble – the old blue alloy ones only take 23mm tyres, but you could put a nice build on it for that money, the newer steel one takes 25mm tyres iirc, and I saw their ad for a new carbon framed mudguard compatible bike the other day.

My cousin’s hubby has the new Ribble carbon winter bike, bloody lovely it is too.

Spa Audax

Then chuck some panniers on and go touring in the summer.

This is a question I have spent waaaay too much time considering.

Cannondale caad 8- great looking bike but half arsed mudguard figment. Same could be said for the alu Treks and Giants . What’s the point in mudguard mounts that can’t fit proper guards and 25mm tyres.
CX bikes- loads to choose from most now have discs and you do get plenty of clearance. Can’t help feeling I won’t actually use the cx part of their design and there not that good looking to my eye.
Gravel bikes- vaya, plug, rove etc a bit too heavy for most riding.

Traditional UK bike- equilibrium, ribble, spa etc of this bunch I like the look of the Genesis the best, aren’t sold on discs so that leaves a Tiagra or 105 version with a 725 frame. They don’t have rack mounts but that’s not insurmountable and are my choice.

Just out of interest what is the issue with the mudguard mounts on Treks/Giants?

Kinesis T2 or TK3, plenty of clearance for tyres up to 28c with guards. The definitive UK winter bike.

Forme Longcliffe. Clearance for 25’s with proper guards and another great British bike/brand.

Giant Defy, I ran my old one with 25’s and “proper” guards ok.

If you want an old school steel club racer type winter bike, check out the Raleigh Clubman or the Eastway ST1.0. Neither is at all light, but proper clearances, steel frames, big tyres and full length mudguards make them very winter proof.

Or do as increasingly more people are doing, get a CX bike. Longer chainstays make more sense on winter bikes anyway, and you can run 28c or bigger tyres comfortably. Weight will be higher than a proper road bike, but not stupidly so.

Just out of interest what is the issue with the mudguard mounts on Treks/Giants?

Probably alluding to the short drop calipers. Most proper winter bikes have long drop calipers on for more tyre/guard clearance.

the dolan can be had as complete bike for £612, just add guards – it’s a winter bike, don’t over think it 8)

You can can a t2 build off the shelf for thst price or an even better spec if you shop around for components.

IanW – Member
This is a question I have spent waaaay too much time considering.
Cannondale caad 8- great looking bike but half arsed mudguard figment. Same could be said for the alu Treks and Giants . What’s the point in mudguard mounts that can’t fit proper guards and 25mm tyres.

My Giant Defy runs full mudguards and 25mm tyres, no problem

Yep, I have no first hand experience of the defy but when I enquired I was told I would need the giant own brand mudguard (similar to raceblade longs) .

Happy to be wrong though add another option to the list Is that a recent model year?

I have a trek domane 2.0 with 25mm tyres and full mudguards.

Cannondale CAAD8 105 or alloy Giant Avail 1 (ladies Defy). Both have eyelets for mudguards. Pick dependent on colour. Avail 1 would be my choice. Black/pink with 105 groupset.

We have one of each, they are both very good bikes.

EDIT

Cannondale caad 8- great looking bike but half arsed mudguard figment

eh? What is half-arsed? Ours has full eyelets (nicely hidden at the rear inside the stays) and I fitted a full set of Topeak guards in about 30 minutes.

I’ve just built up a PX Uncle John as a winter bike.

Full Guards, 28mm tyres with plenty of room, discs, Kinesis carbon fork, mix of Tiagra and Deore 9 speed from the parts bin.

Shopping around over the last few months it’s come in around £500-odd.

Had a number of comments on how nice it looks, too, which is nice.

Ok so just for clarity then…

Do the recent model years Trek Madone(alu models), Giant Defy(alu) and Caad 8 all have fittings including bottom bracket support for full mudguards like sks chromoplastics not ones with cutouts for brakes or which stop short of the bottom bracket and 25mm tyres?

Dolan Prefissio here, absolutely love riding it. Very comfy, stable, handles well… I actually look forward to getting it out for winter.

Dolan Prefissio here too.

CAAD8 has a chainstay bridge drilled to accept a bolt for mudguards – whichI used. I think the alloy Defy/Avail alloy one does too, but Teen2’s is currently locked at school and I’m at home today (My defy is carbon and doesn’t, but my alloy TCR does) 😉

that Dolan looks great…..tempted myself now 🙂

Giant Avail doesn’t have a chainstay bridge (Teen2 is back). However it is realtively easy to mount a clamp from a 30.9mm reflector mount around the seat tube and secure the mudguard to that instead. Google “langster and mudguard” and look for pictures for more info.

Googled and read, interesting solution all the more so because a langster is on the n+1 list. I have a 54cm 2006 Allez as a winter bike at the moment, it’s pretty much the same geometry as that years Allez. There’s definitely not enough room for a reflector bracket on that bike, I had to cut a slot in some standard guards for for the front der bracket, there’s probably 5m max between the wheel and seat tube.

It’s the faff with various compromises that is making me look for something with more straightforward fixings/clearances.

Thanks for the checking the your bikes I will look again at those.

Just looking at my Trek 1.2. Very little clearance and nothing down by the bottom bracket to fix a mudguard to.

The Avail has no brodge but plenty of clearance. The CAAD8 hsa all the right fittings and mountings, but will strugle with 25c tyres (with the Topeak guards I fitted).

I saw this today in the Edinburgh bike catalogue, looked ideal.

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/focus-mares-ax-5-0-disc-tiagra-14?gclid=CJinoJr10LoCFceWtAodZEEAIw

The Dolan looks like it would make a prefect winter bike

Kona Honky Tonk

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?productID=56718&gclid=CMfzlLCQ0boCFceWtAodZEEAIw

with money left for wheel upgrade or something else

langster is on the n+1 list

We have one of those too 😳 (bought used for Teen1’s school run). there are no eyelets on the carbon forks, unfortunately, but a rear mudguard is an easy fit. I also have a Kona Paddy Wagon that, I think, makes a better winter bike. No heavier (well not with my custom wheels) despite being steel, but has deep drop brakes and eyelets on the front forks (but I swapped to full carbon forks with eyelets for weigh reasons). Mine takes SKS P35 chromoplastic mudguards with no issues at all and will also run 25c tyres if need. It may even take 28c, but I’ve not bothered to try.

Having previously owned a blue Ribble an TK2, can safely say the equilibrium is the nicest in the winter (and summer) months for me. saying that I just splashed out on the disc version 🙂

Out of left field, I seem to remember a good review of the Pinnacle Dolomite range in the CTC mag – seemed good value bikes with deep drop brakes and proper mudguard clearance

Planet-X Kaffenbak? Disc brakes, full guard mounts, not bad value. A bit heavy by all accounts but worth a glance,