Globalti
Legendary Member
You definitely need a wet and salty roads bike and a dry roads only bike. It doesn't matter how careful you are, every time you wash the bike down the grit will scratch the finish on paint and components and the salt will slowly rust spokes and anything with a less than perfect protective finish. Dirt will settle inside spoke flanges and chain rings and gradually accumulate causing moisture to settle and oxidation to happen.
For me one of the joys of road cycling is the mechanical perfection and the beauty of a thoroughbred bike. The bike is the culmination of decades of technical evolution and represents engineering perfection. It also cost a hell of a lot of money so I don't want it caked in filth and salt, I want it to gleam and to work perfectly. So that's why I have a best bike and a winter bike. Others may have a different, don't care attitude but those may be the same people who will present a neglected bike to a mechanic and expect him to put it right, a thoroughly depressing task for a craftsman.
As for the winter bike there is also honour in a machine that is old and scruffy and bears the scars of hard use and perhaps the odd accident but is still well maintained and in efficient and reliable condition. Ask anybody who relies on their equipment for work or sport and they'll tell you this.
Philosophy lesson ended!
For me one of the joys of road cycling is the mechanical perfection and the beauty of a thoroughbred bike. The bike is the culmination of decades of technical evolution and represents engineering perfection. It also cost a hell of a lot of money so I don't want it caked in filth and salt, I want it to gleam and to work perfectly. So that's why I have a best bike and a winter bike. Others may have a different, don't care attitude but those may be the same people who will present a neglected bike to a mechanic and expect him to put it right, a thoroughly depressing task for a craftsman.
As for the winter bike there is also honour in a machine that is old and scruffy and bears the scars of hard use and perhaps the odd accident but is still well maintained and in efficient and reliable condition. Ask anybody who relies on their equipment for work or sport and they'll tell you this.
Philosophy lesson ended!
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