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............. why is there a "tradition" of riding shitty bikes over the winter period?
Granted I accept mud or rather water guards in this case area good idea, but with the advent of discs (if you ride them) and the fact that a quick wash over and re-lube will remove the detritus from your frame, wheels and drivetrain, whats the point?
It's not like your carbon uber bike is going to rot from exposure to a bit of salt, Di2 hasn't got any cables, but then again if you have cables they're now mostly internally routed and pretty well sealed, if you really must put some cheaper wheels on, but why subject yourself to a potentially shitty old bike just for the sake of not getting the best one dirty?
why is there a “tradition” of riding shitty bikes over the winter period?
Its something ive never done, though I do know loads who have winter specific bikes.
I've never understood this too. It makes much more sense to me to have a wet weather and dry weather bike..one with full mudguards and wet weather tyres and one without with slicks or semi-slicks, but use them both through the year. If there is salt on the road just wash the bike after the ride.
I guess that, traditionally, frames were made of steel and shifters/mechs etc were all mechanical. plus the mudguard thing. Like many traditions it doesn't reflect today's reality.
It's road stop questioning things and just do it.
Di2 hasn’t got any cables
mine has 🤓
I suppose it's traditional, mostly*; road bikes may last almost forever and so you might have wanted your beautiful steel vintage classic to stay nice with no wear or rust spots. Carbon? Meh
*that and mudguard mounts
Depends on the conditions for me. If bikes are kept out in a cold building, any mud/water stays wet for a long time. I dont have the time to clean and dry a bike after every ride so keep a single speed that cost about £200 for very muddy conditions.
I dont have the time to clean and dry a bike after every ride so keep a single speed that cost about £200 for very muddy conditions.
You ride muddy roads?
Lots of reasons why for me at least.....
Mudguards are a faff, carbon aero bike has no mounts.
Dura Ace cassette, chain and chainrings are lots more expensive than 105 or lower.
My aero bike looks naff with shallow rim wheels. I don’t want my expensive 60mm carbon rims being ground down.
modern day reason, disc brake bike takes 32mm tyres. Better to have wider tyres, mud guards and disc brakes for my winter bike. It’s also supposed to be good for training on a heavier bike....I don’t notice this last one though, I’m still just as slow every summer.
Winter bikes tend to be older bikes that have mudguard eyes. If you ever ridden behind someone on a wet shitty road you'll know what a PIA no guards are.
Plus you'll get a nice skiddy up your back.
And winter bikes just get more crap on them. It's easy to just hose them down but that doesn't get them properly clean.
There's just more attrition so riding a bike that you don't need to look after as much makes sense.
Besides..You don't get brownie points at the caff for turning up on a £4000 carbon fibre jobbie. Just the opposite - you'll get ridiculed as a show off!!!
It's more of a group/club thing as above.
Many noobs don't get it as they don't have the knowledge from group or club riding.
i do it because i commute a fair bit and cba washing my bike after every ride, and training on heavy bike in the winter helps build form, automatic gains when you jump on the summer bike after riding some 2.5kg heavier all winter
The bit I don't get is people who will not ride their "best bike" in the wet/winter, but then throw water all over it when they give it a clean!
I have one road bike, which is carbon, DI2, disc brakes, carbon rims and full mud guard mounts.
I ride it all year, with mud guards on over winter, and off over summer. Easy.
Winter ruins bikes, No getting round it. The mud, salt and general road grime that covers the bike in winter wears everything faster and when you have dura-ace it gets expensive quickly. No way would I ruin my 8k bike when i can buy something for 2k and dedicate it to winter with mudguards and bigger tyres. The low spec parts like 105 are arguably more durable too meaning stuff will last longer. I suppose if you don't do many winter miles then you could get away with it but i do almost the same amount of miles over winter as i do the rest of the year.
That's a pretty strong late bid for Least Humble Humblebrag of The Year right there. Bravo.
That’s a pretty strong late bid for Least Humble Humblebrag of The Year right there. Bravo.
Nah that is over on the birthday thread 😉
You ride muddy roads?
Round here you can't not ride muddy roads, unless you want to stick to riding up and down the main commuter route or dual carriageway.
The bit I don’t get is people who will not ride their “best bike” in the wet/winter, but then throw water all over it when they give it a clean!
There's a big difference between a bit of nice clean water and careful wiping compared to hours of riding through rainwater, mixed with road salt, miscellaneous detritus, mud, and grit for hours on end.
Winter grime, salt and grit eats components etc. My winter bike needed a full strip down and start again after last winter. Wear on my summer bike is minimal in comparison with similar miles. Must admit I only wash and lub once a week which doesn’t help. Don’t fancy washing my bike on a dark evening in the freezing cold.
There’s nothing quite like getting the nice summer bike out in March. Feels so much faster and livelier.
Not convinced it's much different from the folk who want ride full-sus over winter, except that road grime and salt is far more shit to clean up
I dont have the time to clean and dry a bike after every ride
I've never understood this. I can have my bike like a new pin in 15 minutes.
Not everyone has discs and Di2. It's mainly about having clearance for full length mudguards and to avoid salt corrosion to expensive parts. Besides, that feeling in the spring when you get back on your summer bike for the first time makes it worth it.
I don't believe road salt eats bike components - it's not my experience at all. We don't worry about our cars and bikes are made from similar materials. I don't clean my bikes after every ride either and the road crud doesn't seem to have dissolved them. My commuter gets use all year round..not every day, but through the winter on cruddy roads and I've not washed that for years and its still fine...not touched it or serviced it over all that time and still shifts sweetly and bearings still work fine etc. Looks a right tatty mess, but if I showed it a bucket of soapy water i'm sure it would clean up nicely. I think the build up of oil and grease has created a nice protective layer so I daren't wash it.
We don’t worry about our cars and bikes are made from similar materials.
Your cars galvanised. You dont have to go far back to find cars that rusted at the mere sight of a puddle
I’ve not washed that for years and its still fine…not touched it or serviced it over all that time and still shifts sweetly and bearings still work fine etc
Nah
I don’t believe road salt eats bike components – it’s not my experience at all. We don’t worry about our cars and bikes are made from similar materials.
But most of the bits of cars that you see aren't particularly susceptible, and most moving parts are shielded in some way. It does corrode bits that you can't see, which is one of the reasons Japanese imports can be in surprisingly good condition for their age: most regions don't salt their roads.
I've seen a mate's bike after he transported it on the back of his car one winter and then left it in a garage for a few months without washing it. It wasn't pretty, to say the least, and it needed a lot of parts replaced.
Fundamentally it's a bit like a ball always heading towards the floor when you drop it. It doesn't matter whether you believe gravity affects balls, it happens anyway 🙂
Parts that I’ve replaced through winter rock salt attacks: front mech, rear mech, cables inners and outers, lower headset bearing, bottom bracket, rear wheel free hub, front light bracket. Also touch up paint required on frame where clip on guards attach. Obviously chain and cassette but that’s just miles related.
Those new to the sport might not appreciate that riding on the road was about racing. Riding in the winter was about getting the miles in to make you faster in the next race season. Your race bike was your pride and joy, cared for to help you be as fast as possible on race day. Your hack bike was the bike that could take some abuse and you didn't care. You could ride yourself into the ground until it was dark and put it away filthy and not care too much. It might have had gears, it might have been fixed wheel (none of this 'fixie' nonsense if you please). It had full guards so you met the rules of the club and didn't piss off your mates when on a 6hr winter ride in the rain. It had tough as hell tyres that would not puncture every 5 mins whilst your race bike had gossamer thin tubs. You actively enjoyed it being a bit heavy so that when you got back on your race bike you felt like a king.
Road biking was also a working man's sport. Your race bike was proper money and needed protecting as you'd struggle to replace it (or it's components). It makes economic sense to have a sacrificial bike to keep the race bike the best it can be on race day.
Parts to repair on my summer bike after similar mileage chain, cassette & new cables.
and the fact that a quick wash over and re-lube will remove the detritus from your frame, wheels and drivetrain, whats the point?
If it's a big ride or a one off, I'm absolutely happy to take the summer bike out, I've managed to bodge mudguards on it.
BUUUUT... Daily/commuting? Not a chance, I want something I can just chuck in the garage covered in salty water, absolutely no chance I'm cleaning the bike every night after I ride to and from the office.
Also, my summer bike is now my turbo bike, taking it on and off, swapping tyres etc. is just another minor hassle I'd rather do without, my time is limited at the moment, the less time I spend looking after the bike pre and post ride, the more time I can spend riding it!
Winter rides for me are about steady miles, probably wrapped up in waterproofs and thermal layers, so I don't need my fast bike, in fact I'd rather something weighty and robust that I can just smash through potholes etc.
My good bike is still mechanical with canti brakes and £1100 wheels, and no room for mudgaurds. This is my winter bike after a short wet ride. The grunge is a mixture of brake blocks and wheel alloy, it would break my heart to do that to my good bike 😥
Those new to the sport might not appreciate that riding on the road was about racing. Riding in the winter was about getting the miles in to make you faster in the next race season. Your race bike was your pride and joy, cared for to help you be as fast as possible on race day. Your hack bike was the bike that could take some abuse and you didn’t care. You could ride yourself into the ground until it was dark and put it away filthy and not care too much. It might have had gears, it might have been fixed wheel (none of this ‘fixie’ nonsense if you please). It had guards so you met the rules of the club and didn’t piss off your mates when on a 6hr winter ride in the rain. It had tough as hell tyres that would not puncture every 5 mins whilst your race bike had gossamer thin tubs. You actively enjoyed it being a bit heavy so that when you got back on your race bike you felt like a king.
Road biking was also a working man’s sport. Your race bike was proper money and needed protecting. It makes economic sense to have a sacrificial bike to keep the race bike the best it can be on race day.
This.
Spot on.
I've ridden my good bike through the last couple of winters with no issues, just put my training wheels in and keep on top of the admin.
Club rides tend to be of the quicker training variety where no-one cares for mudguards (may as well get used to the soaking since you can't race with them) and the steadier rides aren't all that well attended if the weather's that hideous anyway...at which point I just jump on the turbo.
Convert exactly. Plus my race bike was crashed to death at the end of the season / handed down in the club, and the sponsors didn't provide new frames until early spring #humblebragwin
It’s not like your carbon uber bike is going to rot from exposure to a bit of salt
You've clearly not worked in a bike shop.
Do roads get salted down south?
TBF I've invested in my commuter/winter bike to make it reasonable to ride and low maintenance.
I did occasionally ride my summer bike in the winter, the seatpost seized 🙁
No way would I ruin my 8k bike when i can buy something for 2k and dedicate it to winter with mudguards and bigger tyres. The low spec parts like 105 are arguably more durable too meaning stuff will last longer.
Your £8000 bike as opposed to a £2000 winter bike?!? Flippin' hell! Are you a gazillionaire? Or a sponsored pro? Accident excepted, I ride every single day, and the only bike(s) I have ever had that exceeded £2000 in value were purchased 2nd hand.
Basically, I'm not sure if I should admit to jealousy, or remain bewildered.
Do roads get salted down south?
No, we cover them with organic parmesan shavings, and that tends to fend off the worst of the winter conditions, making the roads safe even when the mercury dips to 15 degrees Celsius.
Do roads get salted down south?
Hampshire CC gritted the roads three nights durin* the heatwave in the summer..
I ain’t jokin, I is serious.
26C and the gritters we’re out three nights in succession..
Mental.
No way would I ruin my 8k bike when i can buy something for 2k and dedicate it to winter with mudguards and bigger tyres. The low spec parts like 105 are arguably more durable too meaning stuff will last longer.
Your £8000 bike as opposed to a £2000 winter bike?!? Flippin’ hell! Are you a gazillionaire? Or a sponsored pro? Accident excepted, I ride every single day, and the only bike(s) I have ever had that exceeded £2000 in value were purchased 2nd hand.
Basically, I’m not sure if I should admit to jealousy, or remain bewildered.
Big watts lives in a different time space continuum to the rest of us. He seems obsessed with spending the max possible on everything. Read his posts; don't think I earn that much in a year as he talks about spending!!!
£8k on a bike??
£2k on a winter bike????
Wish I had his income.
Convert sums it up perfectly. I have race bikes and I race them. Even in winter. But I don’t train on them. I also have a beat bike for long summer days and a TT bike (season is closed). For training I have a fixed wheel road bike with full mudguards and a cross bike with old 10 speed Dura Ace 7700 road group and also full mudguards. The fixed wheel is about £1500 with custom parts, but my favourite biketo just go riding on. The other winter bike is fastfor club riding, has race geometry (Boardman didn’t know what cross geometry was) and was a lot cheaper to put together!
Why would I want to crack an expensive carbon wheel on a bad road on a night ride in the filth? Jet-wash myself with gritty slop, Or watch the nice finish on a dura ace rear derailleur corrode away? And yes I tend to rinse the bikes down after every decent ride in the rain and mud. Not this morning though.
What convert said. In fact if you could extend it slightly that would make a great short article.....
You relegate your old bike to winter duties as an excuse to get a new race bike.
My winter roadie is my old CX bike. Get the miles in on cheap components. Save the Ultegra/dura ace for when it matters.
I’ve never understood this. I can have my bike like a new pin in 15 minutes.
But that’s 15 less minutes riding. Or you have no kids and don’t understand.
You relegate your old bike to winter duties as an excuse to get a new race bike.
But an old race bike is not the same as a winter bike. Guards, clearances, disks.
Why are people trying to apply logic to roadies!!
A few years ago I looked at my Strava and saw that my winter mudguards hack bike had done the most miles. It was a pretty horrible old ALu frame so I ditched it and got a very nice winter carbon mudguards bike which rides great and makes getting out in the cold a bit easier. I wash the bike after wet winter rides and the components seem to have lasted as well as any of my other bikes.