I`m done.....

[snorri]

I think this this problem of having to clean the bike regularly in winter is a British thing brought on by our bike retailers failing to enlighten their customers that non derailleur gearing systems are available along with chain guards and mudguards.
Or, dare I say the influence of cycle sport works to the detriment of the utility cyclist?

 

[rogerzilla]

I clean my commuting bike once or twice a year (I do the chain and sprockets 4 times a year). It's a fixie and has mudguards. You can get away with even less cleaning - I once went 2 years without cleaning a hub-geared bike with a coaster brake.

 

[si_c]

That makes sad reading, can I suggest aqua zumba to brighten your life.

That would finish me off.

 

[ColinJ]

That would finish me off.

I did a search for information and found a video of a large group, (mainly middle-aged women), who looked as though they had consumed huge doses of MDMA, judging from their expansive grins and frenetic activity to a pounding beat!

Not for me...

 

[nickyboy]

But the distribution of that average obviously isn't average, else places would not suffer flooding to the degree they have.
It has been bad leisure cycling weather here for months, let alone commuting.
And as for "the wrong clothes " or "the tough get going"...garbage. If you enjoy cycling so much that you'll go out in anything, well great, more power to you. But don't have the temerity to slag off others who don't.
Rant over.

Eh? I've not said anything at all about wrong clothes, man up etc etc. You're confusing me with someone else so wind it back in , ok?

All I've said is that this winter has been....well.....average except it's been milder than usual which is good. A decent barometer around here is the Snake Pass. It's only been closed 2 days this winter which is really unusual

 

[Brandane]

@iateyoubutler ; I feel your pain. I too have tried, and failed, to feel the love for cycling in this depressing climate (west coast of Scotland). It has been utterly foul for years now, including most of the "summer" months. I sit here on yet another disgustingly wet and windy Saturday, on a cycling forum instead of getting the wind in my hair. It really worries me that climate change has indeed arrived, and this is the future. Those who think that cycling is a solution to congestion problems clearly don't live in this part of the country - it won't catch on here until hell freezes over. No one wants to get soaked, frozen and blown backwards; not even reasonably keen cyclists, so what chance for your average Joe.
I have a stable of 5 nice bikes; 3 of which will be going up for sale soon, as the realisation dawns that they are just gathering dust and that 2 will be more than enough for my needs. Fitness has dropped and cycling holidays are no longer an option due to the lack of fitness - and as I approach the big 60 I can't see things improving. I tried and failed; thank you weather gods .

 

[Magpies]

I think this this problem of having to clean the bike regularly in winter is a British thing brought on by our bike retailers failing to enlighten their customers that non derailleur gearing systems are available along with chain guards and mudguards.

This. I switched to a full chain guard plus hub gears for my commuting bike and winter commuting is so much easier.

 

[Mo1959]

@iateyoubutler ; I feel your pain. I too have tried, and failed, to feel the love for cycling in this depressing climate (west coast of Scotland). It has been utterly foul for years now, including most of the "summer" months. I sit here on yet another disgustingly wet and windy Saturday, on a cycling forum instead of getting the wind in my hair. It really worries me that climate change has indeed arrived, and this is the future. Those who think that cycling is a solution to congestion problems clearly don't live in this part of the country - it won't catch on here until hell freezes over. No one wants to get soaked, frozen and blown backwards; not even reasonably keen cyclists, so what chance for your average Joe.
I have a stable of 5 nice bikes; 3 of which will be going up for sale soon, as the realisation dawns that they are just gathering dust and that 2 will be more than enough for my needs. Fitness has dropped and cycling holidays are no longer an option due to the lack of fitness - and as I approach the big 60 I can't see things improving. I tried and failed; thank you weather gods .

It’s getting seriously depressing! Long range forecast is more wet and windy weather right up until the end of the month. I’ve put on weight and the fitness is going. Only thing that I could do would be trying to run again but that just wrecks my body with all the lower back/sciatic problems I’ve had. I refuse to exercise indoors as I detest it.

 

[cyberknight]

No club ride for me 3 weeks in a row it's even cold and wet or blowing a gale and wet 😵

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I am with the 'fair weather cycling' club but what I dont understand is all this 'bike cleaning' malarky.
In my 20s (ok many years ago) I cycled to work all through winter & summer and dont recall ever cleaning my bike. Oil the chain and that was it. I dont recall any problems as a result. What am I missing?

I think this this problem of having to clean the bike regularly in winter is a British thing brought on by our bike retailers failing to enlighten their customers that non derailleur gearing systems are available along with chain guards and mudguards. Or, dare I say the influence of cycle sport works to the detriment of the utility cyclist?

This. I switched to a full chain guard plus hub gears for my commuting bike and winter commuting is so much easier.

What it boils down to is people are commuting on completely the wrong sort of bikes these days. They are obsessing about bike weights, being able to achieve X average speed, and how many gears they can get on a bike.
i used to do 4 miles each way to work by bike, come rain or shine - unless the weather was really foul in which case I got the bus.
The difference is though I used a hub geared 3-speed roadster with steel wheels. It didn't need cleaning every five minutes (in fact it hardly ever got cleaned unless I was at a loose end and I was feeling extra enthusiastic), the rims didn't get ground into grey alloy paste, and there were no derailleurs to get gummed up with shite off the road. It was low-cost, low maintenance cycling. Tyres and brake blocks were the only thing I ever had to replace, and not frequently either. I used to accept that 4 miles would take me an average of 25 minutes each way per day, so about 10 mph. I wasn't trying to ride a silly long commute distance at the speed a fit club rider might aspire to manage at the weekend.
What a lot of people are doing now is riding long commutes, but trying to compress the time absorbed by riding unsuitable fast sporting bikes, not accepting the lower average speeds involved in utility riding using a proper utility bike.

 

[BigMeatball]

What it boils down to is people are commuting on completely the wrong sort of bikes these days.

When the weather is awful as it's been and as it's been described, there is no right bike. You're going to get soaked, it's going to be demoralising and in the long term you're going to hate cycling regardless of what bike you use to commute with.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I am with the 'fair weather cycling' club but what I dont understand is all this 'bike cleaning' malarky.
In my 20s (ok many years ago) I cycled to work all through winter & summer and dont recall ever cleaning my bike. Oil the chain and that was it. I dont recall any problems as a result. What am I missing?

Many don’t fit mudguards

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

No, I agree with @BigMeatball the weather lately has been utter shite. It's pissing down outside now as I type this. Even the best equipped bike is no fun in these conditions, but I often see people commuting on mudguard-less bikes with absolutely no weather protection whatsoever, so they and their bike get absolutely covered with dirty water and gritty abrasive crap thrown up off the road when it's wet. It's demoralising, and it quickly destroys bike mechanicals.
Fortunately I don't ride to work any more, as I need to carry too much gear around. I don't miss it either. Commuting is a means to an end, not a pleasurable activity in it's own right. These days I only ride when I feel like it and the weather is at least tolerable.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

When the weather is awful as it's been and as it's been described, there is no right bike. You're going to get soaked, it's going to be demoralising and in the long term you're going to hate cycling regardless of what bike you use to commute with.

Not true, whether you hate getting damp on the bike is a personal thing, not inevitable. Plenty of clothing choices out there to keep you comfortable in the conditions we’ve had this winter. But those who refuse to fit mudguards and get covered with crap off the road, well that’s a different matter that’s perfectly avoidable.

 

[johnnyb47]

Just hang your bike up until the weather gets better. It will do soon enough.
Its frustrating this time of the year, as its now coming to the end of the long winter where everybody is at there lowest ebb with cycling.
Soon enough though, the warmer lighter dryer days will be amongst us again, and you'll be back out there again enjoying your bike