Reason for having a "winter bike"?

[yo vanilla]

I think if the naysayers were exposed to a Wisconsin winter they might think again . The non-salt chemicals they use here (in alarmingly abundant quantities) to "salt" the roads make you think twice about driving your car let alone your expensive bike. And it's always so cold there's no way to wash the bike if you can't do it indoors.

I admit I'm a fair weather cyclist myself; I've got other (indoor) activities to keep me tip-top over winter. If I were to brave a winter ride, there's an old Trek MTB in the basement

 

[Juan Kog]

It won’t be, it has mudguards. So yeah wheels can get dirty but the rest will stay fairly clean.

I’m sorry to disagree, I’ve just cleaned my steamroller there was mud and gloop all over . Maybe that’s because I am guilty of extended periods between cleaning

 

[Juan Kog]

I really like mudguards ! - but not those strap on rattlely things. My first winter bike was a used giant defy with MGs - great for the purpose. I have since got a Ribble cgr as my winter bike.

It's by no means essential - pre covid you get a decent used bike for around £250. For many years I got by just using 1 bike - then I strapped mgs to it - which was a revelation! But hated the rattling .

From time to time - it's also handy to have a spare - you come downstairs all dressed and find out you have flat - or it's in the repair shop for a few days !

Which Ribble cgr do you have , how do you rate it as a winter bike .

 

[kingrollo]

Which Ribble cgr do you have , how do you rate it as a winter bike .

Which Ribble cgr do you have , how do you rate it as a winter bike .

I have the Tiagra alu CGR - with cable disk brakes

The tyres that come with it - make the bike feel very sluggish - although Ribble had put oversized tubes in, which probably didn't help. I went back to GP4000'S 25c - much better. It is a heavy bike - but in terms of weight no more heavy than other bikes at this price point.

Its a very stable bike - and the guards that came with it don't rattle at all. For me the the big appeal was the size of tyres it could take, I can ride through a park to get to work, which would mean my commute is 80% of road. unfortunately with COVID, Ive been WFH since march so it never got used for that purpose.

The other bike I considered was a giant giant contend, I opted against it as with mudguards you could only go up to 25c. Were I considering an "on road" only winter bike I think I would go with the contend.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I’m sorry to disagree, I’ve just cleaned my steamroller there was mud and gloop all over . Maybe that’s because I am guilty of extended periods between cleaning

Sounds like we need a picture of your stream roller

 

[Teamfixed]

Work bike/hack/winter bike. When a bike was your main transport and recreation/competition. Riding in all weathers most days, a rough old thing with a fixed and mudguards that you slathered with oil was a godsend. It just kept the nice one(s) nice.
I wouldn't go and buy a new one though, they were usually the bike that got the hand me down bits and always had a certain charm for that reason.

 

[Juan Kog]

I have the Tiagra alu CGR - with cable disk brakes

The tyres that come with it - make the bike feel very sluggish - although Ribble had put oversized tubes in, which probably didn't help. I went back to GP4000'S 25c - much better. It is a heavy bike - but in terms of weight no more heavy than other bikes at this price point.

Its a very stable bike - and the guards that came with it don't rattle at all. For me the the big appeal was the size of tyres it could take, I can ride through a park to get to work, which would mean my commute is 80% of road. unfortunately with COVID, Ive been WFH since march so it never got used for that purpose.

The other bike I considered was a giant giant contend, I opted against it as with mudguards you could only go up to 25c. Were I considering an "on road" only winter bike I think I would go with the contend.

Thanks for the review. It does appear to tick all the boxes for a versatile winter bike .

 

[Juan Kog]

Sounds like we need a picture of your stream roller

Too late to take a picture now , here’s one I prepared earlier

 

[derrick]

I have two road bikes, but my best one gets ridden most of the year, the second bike comes out if i have a problem with the best bike. If you have a nice bike ride it,

 

[Ming the Merciless]

View attachment 562544
Too late to take a picture now , here’s one I prepared earlier

Front mudguard somewhat short. Needs to come right down and that should stop spray from wheel hitting frame.

 

[Juan Kog]

Front mudguard somewhat short. Needs to come right down and that should stop spray from wheel hitting frame.

The mudguard has been very carefully cut to that length to prevent toeclip / mudguard interface . Oh ok it was a mates chuck out and came like that.

 

[Paul_Smith SRCC]

That Pearson looks to nice to be covered in winter " gloop".

My thoughts exactly, that Pearson would definitely be in my "best" bikes category if it was mine. I only consider a bike as a hack if it was both cheap to buy when new, and is also battered and scruffy in appearance. That one is not a cheap frame and it's obviously well looked after.

It won’t be, it has mudguards. So yeah wheels can get dirty but the rest will stay fairly clean.

To be fair that's spot on YukonBoy, the single speed transmission minimises what I need to clean plus it's just easier to access everything. It does indeed stay fairly clean and because it's not much of a chore I am inclined to keep on top of it; rather than let it deteriorate to a state where it takes longer to resurrect it back to where I want it. I ride it on average 4/5 times a week, when I wash the car, normally every couple of weeks I clean and lubricate the bike at the same time, it literally takes a few minutes; it's the perfect winter bike for me.

I get what you are saying SkipdiverJohn, although I would not say this is my winter hack bike; it's my winter best bike . Yes it was not a cheap frame thirty something years ago and it is well looked after, although it is showing it's long life. When I give it a proper service, BB out kind of service, rust tumbles out of it from inside, quite a bit of it to be honest and it was one reason I pensioned it off from being my holiday bike.

But, if we are talking using a hack bike during the winter bike then I can still be a member of your gang . I've been in the cycletrade a long time, it is a right of passage where ever I've worked that staff can make a hack bike (aka pub bike ) out of recycled/upcycled bits, the more broken they had been the better! My Raleigh Pioneer frame was broken and repaired by none other than Cliff Chrubb!

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

But, if we are talking using a hack bike during the winter bike then I can still be a member of your gang . I've been in the cycletrade a long time, it is a right of passage where ever I've worked that staff can make a hack bike (aka pub bike ) out of recycled/upcycled bits, the more broken they had been the better! My Raleigh Pioneer frame was broken and repaired by none other than Cliff Chrubb!
View attachment 562642

Another Raleigh Pioneer owner comes out of the closet! There's quite a few of us on here who seem to have a Pioneer to call on when they need a no-nonsense machine.
What frame size is that one? Mine are 23" but my top tubes don't slope like that. The head tube length is similar though. I've had a frame failure on one too, O/S chainstay at the dropout. I rebuilt the mechanicals on to another cheapo Pioneer frame.

 

[Paul_Smith SRCC]

Another Raleigh Pioneer owner comes out of the closet! There's quite a few of us on here who seem to have a Pioneer to call on when they need a no-nonsense machine.
What frame size is that one? Mine are 23" but my top tubes don't slope like that. The head tube length is similar though. I've had a frame failure on one too, O/S chainstay at the dropout. I rebuilt the mechanicals on to another cheapo Pioneer frame.

I think mine was what they listed as 21" although in effect the equivalent of a horizontal top tubed 23". If I recall my model was known as the Pioneer Elite with Reynolds 501 Chromalloy main tubes; the Elite range all had sloping top tubes like mine, I recall a rather lovely model in purple! The Pioneer had a long life over many years but again from memory during the same era as mine they also had a range with steel 18-23 tubes known as the Pioneer Classic, these had a more diamond shape frame with horizontal tube; often in white with a darker front section, I recall two tone blue and two tone brown.

I confess I love all my bikes, my pub bike included, the picture above was the summer just gone as I still use it for social rides with friends; rides that in many ways I enjoy just as much as more focused rides on more expensive bikes; I guess I just love cycling and bikes of all varieties!

 

[Paul_Smith SRCC]

Hey mates,
I would want to ask you which kind of bike you would recommend me. The max I would pay for a new bike is around 1.5k. Hope you can help me, and wish you all a nice day

Well as this is a "reason winter for having a winter bike" thread and you have previously posted in a "road bike owners..." thread, then I'll pretend I'm Sherlock Smith and deduce that you are looking for a winter drop bar bike at upto 1.5k? You also mentioned that you live in London, so I'd potentially be considering the following. You may be aware that bikes are in extremely short supply at the moment and this looks like it will be an issue into the New Year; well into the New Year infact! As such I have based my potential considerations on a selection of bikes that as at today you at least have some chance of being able to get!

In no particular order:

A few of us in this thread choose to ride a single speed, championing their simplicity, one other advantage is that you are not paying for features it doesn't have. The Genesis Flyer RRP £749.99 currently on offer at £449.99. For sure single speed bikes can be a bit of a 'Marmite' bike that you either love or hate, especially when used as a fixed as opposed to single freewheel, but if my Red Fixed referenced up thread finally gives up I'd definitely ride that very bike; I personally much prefer it to the replacement as it has evolved into a different style of bike although in fairness that may also appeal to some. At that reduced price it looks like they will be dropping that model so if that is a consideration then they will not be available much longer; sadly!

For something with gears that can be weather proofed with guards and even take light luggage is a style of bike I also use which is what many call an 'Audax Bike'. Genesis make a bike called an Equilibrium the bike below has an RRP @ £1599.99, there is also a disc version although that is over budget RRP @ £2399.99. Bikes like these are often showcased without guards they can be set up similar to my Van Nicholas Yukon and in effect would be a bike I'd also choose as a good budget version of that style of bike for potential long distance comfortable weatherproof road miles.

If you would like something even more versatile with larger volume tyres with even more robust set up then Gravel bikes are a valid choice and in normal circumstances the most readily available. Like the bike above most will be showcased without guards or rear rack but nearly all will accommodate them perfectly.

Note being more popular and even though more would be manufactured these are in extremely short supply, most dealers are receiving their forward orders but struggling to obtain replacements from now on. The Bike below is the Trek ALR4 @ RRP £1700.00, the entire production run is presold so unless your LBS has one on order they may not be able to get you one! Fortunately most dealers will probably have at least some that have arrived and some that have yet to arrive that are already on order and is why I have referenced it here.