Rather than destroy my pride and joy, im after a road bike than can take a bit of winter abuse, preferably comes with fixed mudguards, 105 groupset (11sp) and reasonably lightish wheels, and doesn’t weigh a ton. I guess disc brakes would be ace, but im suspecting that’s a bit moon-on-a-stick. Under 1200 quid as well. Any thoughts?

Canyon inflite s thingy? Pretty much exactly what you’ve asked for, other than possibly the weight

https://www.canyon.com/en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3619

What will winter do to your bike that the other seasons don’t?

My de rosa milanino!. 56cm, email if interested….

What will winter do to your bike that the other seasons don’t?

This. Put mudguards on your best bike and put the £1200 into a savings account for your next best bike. Have seen too many people putting up with riding a bike they didn’t like in the winter in order to preserve a best bike that was slowly becoming obsolete.

Might be worth looking at the Kinesis Racelight 4S, or one of the Ribble options.

Click on mudguards will ruin your paint unless you tape the contact sections up first so be aware of that if you’re going to use one bike over the winter. Rain and run off from the road will wear your drive train far quicker than normal which is one good reason to have a dedicated winter bike. Having more appropriate (heavier) tyres is another so you can still ride your Sunday best on those fine dry and bright Sunday mornings in December. Besides clip on mud guards are only marginally better than nothing at all; far better to have full length ones on a bike that can handle the winter and give you a boost for when you get back on your best bike.

I have a Genesis Equilibrium, admittedly the 853 special edition with a Dura Ace groupset (yes including the wheels!) so well over your budget, but the Equilibrium 10 or 20 (can’t remember which) is the perfect bike for this brief and is within budget. It’s comfy if a little heavier than an alloy equivalent, but for winter riding I take comfort everyday of the week. It’s a very classy frame, and I’ve ridden mine on the fast club runs of my local club and still kept on the pace.

I wouldn’t go near carbon at this price point. It will be heavy and leaden or light and fragile; either way you’ll pay slightly more and thereby trade down on the groupset for little real world benefit. Better to put the money into the wheels at this price point as that will make a far bigger performance difference.

If you’re riding on the road enough, IMO it makes total sense to have one “best” bike and another cheaper one with fixed mudguards for wet days or icy days (not just winter).

I’ve got a Ribble Sportive 365, just because the frame came up half-price in their seconds sale. It’s nice enough but I wouldn’t have paid full price.

I had been waiting for a Genesis Aether to come up secondhand in my size, and also contemplating a Forme Longcliffe or Pinnacle Dolomite at a big discount and swapping better components on.

Sometimes road bikes seem to be priced more than the sum of their parts – especially when you can get 11sp 105 for £300 and an Ultegra 11sp wheelset for £230.

Personally I find normal deep-drop calipers with Kool Stop Salmon pads are great for braking. If discs are a must, there is that Planet X London Road.

Rain and run off from the road will wear your drive train far quicker than normal which is one good reason to have a dedicated winter bike.

Fine example of different ways of thinking – for me this just says that you will have two bikes to maintain rather than one. Yes, winter riding is hard on drivetrains (and rims unless you have disc brakes), but no less on winter bike drivetrains and in any case it is replaceable, albeit costly.

And you can do a lot of replacing with £1200…

I have a Spesh Tricross disc, which makes an excellent winter bike/light tourer. It’s very steady, solid and reliable.

Tricross is not a cyclocross bike, it’s a cross-purpose bike. My buddy bought a cyclocross bike and he hated it, you couldn’t fit mudguards and it wasn’t comfortable for long road rides.

What size of Aether are you looking for? I might be selling my 56cm soon

go and look for one of the many many threads started by jacob46 (think I have that right). He ended up with a Whyte Suffolk (I have one too) which may suit.

I got a second bike so that I:
– don’t have to put ill-fitting mudguards on my good bike
– get road filth on 105 not ultegra
– have discs for the wet

The good bike will come out if I get a sunny dry weekend.

And you can do a lot of replacing with £1200…

A Dura Ace transmission is over £300, a pair of rims on some factory wheels can easily be £400, plus the damage caused by light brackets, clip on mudguards etc (although RaceBlade Longs mount on the brake/skewer and work well) which can make a nice bike look tatty in no time. Even Dura Ace cables are £20 per inner now! £100 of cables. Tougher wheels and tyres – tend to go clattering through unseen potholes more in the dark and wet. Salt corrodes STIs badly, they end up looking tatty, then there’s the increased risk of crashing too.

It’s not necessarily a saving, but I’m happy having a bike that is permanently filthy, has guards and lights on and I don’t care about!

It’s not necessarily a saving, but I’m happy having a bike that is permanently filthy, has guards and lights on and I don’t care about!

This. I bought a Defy 3 for £600 from pedelon using their podium points to purchase defy guards and a few other things. Despite being Sora (with paddles) its a great winter/permament foul weather option which also lives on my turbo. I even did the ridelondon100 on it due the conditions. I have a bianchi Sempe ultregra for average to nice whether and events which I wouldnt allow to be soiled in the way Njee describes.

Got a 2014 Defy 1 from Rutland for £725 incl guards. Only 10spd but I’m coping.

I put together my Dolan Preffisio for well under that budget with full 105, mudguards and good wheels. No discs, but other than that definitely worth a look. Alu frame with carbon fork, very nice to ride.

Proper mudguards don’t fit on a lot of race-orientated (or even Sportive orientated) bikes and clip ons or crud race guards are a pain to fit.

That said, every heavy bike I’ve had that I’d intended to use for winter, I’ve ended up selling cos it feels horrible riding a slug of a bike. So I’ve normally ended up just riding whatever bike I run in the summer. Groupsets and wheels wear out but by the time they have they’re obsolete. New stuff has more gears, more modern designs – for the bike tart within 😉

Yourguitarhero – what colour is your aether and how much would you be looking for? I used to have one but sold it and kind of wish I hadn’t given the amount of road riding I’m currently doing.

+1 for a Genesis Equilibrium, pick up a deal on a 2014 one if you want Shimano and rim brakes (we’ve got an Equilibrium 20 which would be well within budget) or go for the 2015 disc brake version. 2015 non-disc come with Campag but custom builds are an option – you could have a perfectly acceptable build using 11spd 105 and – e.g. – Aksiums for within that budget.

Not specifically answering your question, but I had the seperate bike/winterise normal bike dilemma for a while.

I decided to winterise my normal bike with cheap but decent wheels (Fulcrum 5), Conti 4 season tyres 25c and SKS Raceblade Long mudguards.

Even on a Cannondale SuperSix, all the above fit.

Will let you know in the spring whether it was the wrong choice 😉

I’m not sure what all this talk of ‘obsolete’ groupsets is about. Odd.

Anyway, having just gone through the same process of winter bike purchase (albeit with slightly different parameters) and have learned the following:

– If it can take mudguards, check to see how the supports will interact with the disc brakes. Could save you some faff later on.

– Quite a few of the CX bikes have a 46/36 double on the front, which can be a pain if you’re used to a 50/34.

I built up a charge filter from classifieds and ebay for £400 with a compact sora chainset and cable discs. It’s a fair bit heavier than my road bike but the steel makes it super comfy on road with 25c slicks and ias long as you aren’t racing strava the 1.5mph drop on average speed is more than acceptable.

The really cool thing has been putting 32c semi knobblies on and linking up easy mtb trails with miles on the road. It’s made my commute great fun and opened up a lot more variety straight out of my front door. It’s been a revelation and an utter bargain!

It has 50/34 up front and 11-30 cassette which seems to cover both bases pretty well

£1200 is a huge budget for a winter bike. Ribble is the standard choice, of course. But I’d personally go for an alloy Defy with their own mudguards. I personally just steal Teen1’s CAAD8 with Tiagra and old Kysirium Elite wheels.

Why does it have to be 105? And define “light”.

I don’t know about any other options, but I’ve just ordered a 2015 Whyte Suffolk. I’m actually quite looking forward to my first road bike now. 🙂

http://whyte.bike/gb/models/commuterroad/rd-7-road-disc/suffolk/

I just do not understand why commuter bikes don’t come with mudguards as standard. Your arse and back get absolutely filthy and sodden without them, not to mention your feet. Plus have you ever tried riding behind someone without mudguards? It’s worse than them constantly farting in your face.

Shameless plug – my 54cm Genesis Equilibrium 725 in bronze will be up for sale this week once I re-cable and tape it. All brand new 105 11 speed goupset taken from an Equilibrium Disc 20, all brand new Genesis finishing kit taken from the same bike, plus WH-RS61 wheels with brand new Conti Race Sport 25mm tyres. It even has a set of SKS guards with it. I am after £650 for it.

So I just went for a ride with a friend who has plenty of cash (long story) and is quite a bike snob. He’s just got an equilibrium 20 as his winter bike with 105 , mechanical hydro discs and full guards. He’s well impressed and it’s a beautiful bike to look at. The yellow is lovely and the carbon fork is much nicer in the flesh than the pics suggest. I wasn’t sure about the different coloured fork and frame but it really works in the flesh.

What will winter do to your bike that the other seasons don’t?

More rain, salt, and a lot more crud on the road. Riding regularly in winter conditions (unless you live somewhere that is particularly clement) will subject your bike to a lot of wear and tear. A winter bike that can take full mud guards will also make winter riding a lot more pleasant.

I have 13 year old Dura Ace cranks and changers and 15 year old Ultegra brakes still in fine working order, because they are used on race bikes that I don’t ride through the winter.

Defy. Just chuck one in the shed.
Use an old Defy 2, bit triggers broom though. Use it every week, and for audax. Used it on trips to Belgium and the Pyrenees instead of the good bike.
Good no fuss bikes that work well.

I’ve got the yellow Equilibrium 20 disc and was unsure of the colour to start with. I’m usually very boring and like subtle but it’s really grown on me.

Never understood the whole concept of a winter bike; mtb or road. Everything dies and bikes are just consumable items. Use it up wear it out. Same bike all year long, but then I buy bikes to ride.

And as was pointed out before groupsets can be had cheap and if you have “race” wheels then get some training wheels.

Not just the wheels though, all the components of a top end groupset are expensive to replace. If I keep the best bike for racing all the parts last ages. Cheaper to buy a whole s/h Defy than all new Red parts.

I have 13 year old Dura Ace cranks and changers and 15 year old Ultegra brakes still in fine working order, because they are used on race bikes that I don’t ride through the winter.

If I keep the best bike for racing all the parts last ages.

Don’t worry.
The new standards that’ll be piggybacked onto the arrival of discs will soon put a stop to THAT sort of anti-consumerist nonsense.

Never understood the whole concept of a winter bike; mtb or road. Everything dies and bikes are just consumable items. Use it up wear it out. Same bike all year long, but then I buy bikes to ride.

Mudguards are a PITA to fit and remove – so for me it’s great to have a bike with them fitted all the time.

I can just grab that whenever it’s wet (summer or winter), so I’m riding instead of faffing in the garage.

Don’t worry.
The new standards that’ll be piggybacked onto the arrival of discs will soon put a stop to THAT sort of anti-consumerist nonsense.

I was lucky enough to grab just the bike I was after in the sale at 1/3 off from my LBS.

They should have been putting the prices of the remaining 2014 bikes up after they announced 2015 models would be disc only.

😉

I’d be looking the at 2015 Genesis range – some lovely looking bikes there.
Get something that takes full mudguards if you don’t want to wreck the drivetrain and if you ride with anyone else. The raceblades are short and still spray into the face of the rider behind – which is a safety thing so they can see where they’re riding, not a ‘being nice’ thing

I think everyone else has it the wrong way round.

Given the dreadful weather in this country I think it makes sense to have your winter bike as your best bike. I’m talking about big clearances for guards and bigger tyres, and disc brakes for a) improved performance and b) non rim wearage. Because it’s your best, most expensive bike you’ll also clean it more scrupulously.

If you’re feeling all n+1 you can then buy a classic style bike with rim brakes, clean lines and tight clearances for those very rare sunny summer days. But as you won’t get as much use out of it you shouldn’t spend as much as on your winter bike.

Still waiting on my winter bike! Good to hear the new Equilibriums ride nice though.

^ except you can’t race a bike with discs on (yet).

We do expect a lot from the cheap winter bike. But years of experience tells me that the cheaper stuff is usually tougher and longer lasting.

Given the dreadful weather in this country I think it makes sense to have your winter bike as your best bike.

Not sure I’d agree the weather is terrible in the UK, on average it rains on less than 50% of days and lots of those its only a little sprinkle. S/East perhaps only 100 days a year. Even Here in South Wales my good bike only gets wet a couple of times a year.