biggs682
Touch it up and ride it
- Location
- Northamptonshire
My current pair of winter road bikes
Show us your winter bike
- Thread starter Doyleyburger
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Foghat
Freight-train-groove-rider
This is the new winter bike, procured for dealing with the foul-quagmire-in-winter lanes that exist in my area. Actually, I think of it more as a wet-weather bike for use all year round, as the lanes are dire whatever the time of year if it's wet.
Fed up with needing new rims every second ride with rim brakes (there are many steep, mud-covered gravelly descents in the Cotswolds), not to mention impaired wet-weather braking capability, I decided that now's the time to invest in a disc-braked road bike for wet and muddy weekend lane exploration and club rides. Since I have a thorough dislike of the concept and practicalities of press-fit bottom brackets, and threaded-bb carbon-fibre disc-braked road bikes are like hens' teeth, the Rapide RC3 seemed a perfect choice, especially as it does have a threaded bb AND was £800 off the RRP. Normally I prefer to build my bikes up from scratch myself, but the Ultegra-based specification of the RC3 was mostly acceptable. The wheels (Fulcrum Racing 5) are somewhat depleted in the spoke count (21 front and rear), and radially spoked on one side, so it remains to be seen how well they cope with hard riding on the mud/debris-covered steep pothole-infested Cotswoldian lane ascents and descents.
So today I've spent some time bedding in the Shimano BR-RS685/805 hydraulic brakes, on its first test flight. Very impressed so far. Brakes are superb, as expected. Very happy with how it rides and handles. 9.7kg with SKS Longboard mudguards, computer, bottle cages, PDW Fenderbot mudguard light etc all fitted - not especially light, but an acceptable weight for a winter road bike with discs that doesn't cost the earth.
One thing I don't like is the front mudguard eyes being on the inside of the fork legs. This reduces the bracing angle of the stays sufficiently to allow the lower section of the mudguard to wobble rather a lot over rough ground. It also makes fitting and removal much slower, due to the awkward access for tools. I've adjusted the stays so that the mudguard never actually contacts the tyre during such wobbling, but it is somewhat annoying to see it happening and to know it happens. The rear mudguard has the eyes on the outside of the seatstays, and with the better bracing angle it consequently wobbles a lot less than the front.
The front mudguard also needed some major filing off the top of the fork crown bracket, as well as the bottom of the bracket's slot, to be able to get it high enough for some tyre clearance for the mudguard. Clearance front and rear is not enormous - 28mm tyres are fine with mudguards, but nothing bigger will fit. The RC3 is not an 'adventure' bike suitable for off-roading.
I ditched the cheap and nasty 25mm Continental Ultra Sport tyres that came with it and put some '28mm' Michelin Power All Season tyres on instead. These initially actually measure 26.3mm wide on the 23mm external width Fulcrum rims (they will get a bit wider in use), but are more comfortable than, for example, Gatorskins - they also feel more sure-footed than Gatorskins, which would have had the rear starting to slide on some of the cornering I was doing with plenty of confidence on the Michelins today.
I also switched the fitted long Ultegra rear derailleur for a short one of the same that I already had. The chain that was fitted is too short for it, but just right for the shorter derailleur, and the longer one will be of more use to me in another build that is in the pipeline.
In other respects, much of the frame and build seems good quality and quite well thought out, so overall my initial contentment is good.
In summary, a good choice I reckon (subject to further testing and use), especially if like me you have resolved to get as far through your cycling life without press-fit bottom brackets as possible (and so far I've avoided them completely in my fleet).
Fed up with needing new rims every second ride with rim brakes (there are many steep, mud-covered gravelly descents in the Cotswolds), not to mention impaired wet-weather braking capability, I decided that now's the time to invest in a disc-braked road bike for wet and muddy weekend lane exploration and club rides. Since I have a thorough dislike of the concept and practicalities of press-fit bottom brackets, and threaded-bb carbon-fibre disc-braked road bikes are like hens' teeth, the Rapide RC3 seemed a perfect choice, especially as it does have a threaded bb AND was £800 off the RRP. Normally I prefer to build my bikes up from scratch myself, but the Ultegra-based specification of the RC3 was mostly acceptable. The wheels (Fulcrum Racing 5) are somewhat depleted in the spoke count (21 front and rear), and radially spoked on one side, so it remains to be seen how well they cope with hard riding on the mud/debris-covered steep pothole-infested Cotswoldian lane ascents and descents.
So today I've spent some time bedding in the Shimano BR-RS685/805 hydraulic brakes, on its first test flight. Very impressed so far. Brakes are superb, as expected. Very happy with how it rides and handles. 9.7kg with SKS Longboard mudguards, computer, bottle cages, PDW Fenderbot mudguard light etc all fitted - not especially light, but an acceptable weight for a winter road bike with discs that doesn't cost the earth.
One thing I don't like is the front mudguard eyes being on the inside of the fork legs. This reduces the bracing angle of the stays sufficiently to allow the lower section of the mudguard to wobble rather a lot over rough ground. It also makes fitting and removal much slower, due to the awkward access for tools. I've adjusted the stays so that the mudguard never actually contacts the tyre during such wobbling, but it is somewhat annoying to see it happening and to know it happens. The rear mudguard has the eyes on the outside of the seatstays, and with the better bracing angle it consequently wobbles a lot less than the front.
The front mudguard also needed some major filing off the top of the fork crown bracket, as well as the bottom of the bracket's slot, to be able to get it high enough for some tyre clearance for the mudguard. Clearance front and rear is not enormous - 28mm tyres are fine with mudguards, but nothing bigger will fit. The RC3 is not an 'adventure' bike suitable for off-roading.
I ditched the cheap and nasty 25mm Continental Ultra Sport tyres that came with it and put some '28mm' Michelin Power All Season tyres on instead. These initially actually measure 26.3mm wide on the 23mm external width Fulcrum rims (they will get a bit wider in use), but are more comfortable than, for example, Gatorskins - they also feel more sure-footed than Gatorskins, which would have had the rear starting to slide on some of the cornering I was doing with plenty of confidence on the Michelins today.
I also switched the fitted long Ultegra rear derailleur for a short one of the same that I already had. The chain that was fitted is too short for it, but just right for the shorter derailleur, and the longer one will be of more use to me in another build that is in the pipeline.
In other respects, much of the frame and build seems good quality and quite well thought out, so overall my initial contentment is good.
In summary, a good choice I reckon (subject to further testing and use), especially if like me you have resolved to get as far through your cycling life without press-fit bottom brackets as possible (and so far I've avoided them completely in my fleet).
Last edited:
Anna Scott
Member
- Location
- London, UK
The winter bikes look georgeous! Most my friends (cyclists) don't bike in winter. Are there many differences between winter and summer bikes?
D
Deleted member 1258
Guest
My Genesis Flyer fixed wheel, my winter ride.
derrick
The Glue that binds us together.
- Location
- On the edge of London
Don't know what a winter bike is. i have a bike, i ride it all year round, it's a bike.
D
Deleted member 1258
Guest
Don't know what a winter bike is. i have a bike, i ride it all year round, it's a bike.
View attachment 384958
Its a bike you keep for riding in the winter, saves riding your best bike in the bad weather and keeps it for summer use only
voyager
E- tadpole Triker
it's an excuse for having more than one bike , we clean ours to keep them looking nice.
derrick
The Glue that binds us together.
- Location
- On the edge of London
If you have a good bike, why would you want to ride an old bike.
Ps i enjoy cleaning the bike
D
Deleted member 1258
Guest
If you have a good bike, why would you want to ride an old bike.
Ps i enjoy cleaning the bike
I've got three decent bikes, and I dont enjoy bike cleaning.
Thorn Sherpa
Über Member
- Location
- Doncaster
Don't know what a winter bike is. i have a bike, i ride it all year round, it's a bike.
View attachment 384958
Same here I have the one bike that does me all year round
Richard A Thackeray
Legendary Member
Rather belatedly, as I bought this back in March, to replace myRibble 'winter'/'audax' (as they term it)
I actually wanted one of their CR3's (the full carbon CX bike), but couldn't order one with a Tiagra chainset - to get the gearing I wanted
I'd have had to buy the Tiagra chainset separately, & fit it myself
'Ditto' road-tyres (not the bike-builder CX tyres)
So, I saved myself money, by going for a CGR instead
Some of you may have seen it elsewhere, in other threads, like 'Your RIde Today'
But if not, this is it
Tiagra group
R505 hydraulic discs
12-28 cassette
172.5mm cranks, 50/34 rings
RAW mudflaps
Selle-Italia 'Flite' (1990's pattern, as I've used them since - I think - 1992)
Schwalbe Durano 'Race-Guard' '28' (fattest I've used since about 1995, which were MTB slicks!!)
Mavic Akysium
'De-Boxing'
Spoke-guard was quickly cut off
'Hide & Seek' one day, on arrival at work
EDIT @ 10:37
Not the lightest of bikes, in this guise
I've not weighed it, but it's a lot heavier than my 'blue winter'
Main gripe with it, is a bit '50-50' with Ribble
I ordered the bars, from the 'drop-boxes' in Bike-Builder'
However............ I ordered my usual (since 1994) 42cm C-C, but the ones chosen/supplied, were measured outer-outer
The listings didn't state this
Still, I've got used to them by now, but keep contemplating swapping the Ritchey stem, bars (42 'C-C') & seat-pin, from my unused (for about 2 years!!) Ridley, that's just standing in a spare bedroom onto it
I actually wanted one of their CR3's (the full carbon CX bike), but couldn't order one with a Tiagra chainset - to get the gearing I wanted
I'd have had to buy the Tiagra chainset separately, & fit it myself
'Ditto' road-tyres (not the bike-builder CX tyres)
So, I saved myself money, by going for a CGR instead
Some of you may have seen it elsewhere, in other threads, like 'Your RIde Today'
But if not, this is it
Tiagra group
R505 hydraulic discs
12-28 cassette
172.5mm cranks, 50/34 rings
RAW mudflaps
Selle-Italia 'Flite' (1990's pattern, as I've used them since - I think - 1992)
Schwalbe Durano 'Race-Guard' '28' (fattest I've used since about 1995, which were MTB slicks!!)
Mavic Akysium
'De-Boxing'
Spoke-guard was quickly cut off
'Hide & Seek' one day, on arrival at work
EDIT @ 10:37
Not the lightest of bikes, in this guise
I've not weighed it, but it's a lot heavier than my 'blue winter'
Main gripe with it, is a bit '50-50' with Ribble
I ordered the bars, from the 'drop-boxes' in Bike-Builder'
However............ I ordered my usual (since 1994) 42cm C-C, but the ones chosen/supplied, were measured outer-outer
The listings didn't state this
Still, I've got used to them by now, but keep contemplating swapping the Ritchey stem, bars (42 'C-C') & seat-pin, from my unused (for about 2 years!!) Ridley, that's just standing in a spare bedroom onto it
Last edited:
Foghat
Freight-train-groove-rider
So it isThanks, but it's a Rapide, old boy!
Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
Yes, no, maybe!
Some people ride the same bike all year round, some have different bikes for different uses etc.
I think as a generalisation that most road cyclists ‘best bike’ or at least the one they spend most money on will be something fast, light and up to date. Come winter you have 2 choices, keep on riding your best bling and keep cleaning it or hang it up until spring.
Bikes ridden all winter suffer salt, water and grit. Lightweight tyres develop more p*nctures due to debris washed accross roads etc. Lack of mudguards means more wet ar53s and grit thrown in drivetrains and brake mechanisms etc.
Furthermore more riding may be done in the dark requiring lights to be added, more care taken over hidden potholes in the dark on lighweight rims and having to assume a racing crouch in many more layers than mght be comfortable.
The alternative is to have a winter bike with fully fitted mudguards and lights, heavier/more durable tyres and wheels, less expensive componants to expose to salt and grit, sometimes a more upright position for better visibility and comfort in multilayered winter clothes. Luggage careying also neing useful to carry extra winter kit.
Perversely, my ‘best/ most expensive bike’ is my winter/audax/night ride bike. Built specifically for the task:
More upright/comfortable position
Fatter tyres
Stronger wheels
Full mudguards and flaps
Dynamo lighting
Light luggage capacity
Durable 9 speed components cheaply replaced
Strangely it’s the bike that gets most use....
