The time has now come

[L.E.D.]

to put my carbon bike away for the winter.

Only this year i finally bought a carbon framed bike, and tbh it's my pride and joy,but the time has come for it to be put into hibernation till next spring.

Any help at this difficult time will be appreciated

 

[ianrauk]

Why for gawds sake. It's not as if it's raining everyday. A very strange thing to do. Get a nice bike and put it away for 6 months or when ever.

 

[L.E.D.]

Have thought about the occasional nice day in the winter but nope for me it's going away.

Am I the only person going to this ?

 

[Aperitif]

You're nuts! Use it and clean it. Clean it and use it.

By the way LED, if you sit on the toilet, are you a 'flash in the pan?'

 

[accountantpete]

Might as well use it - chances are it will out of date in 5 years time anyway.

 

[dan_bo]

Certainly brightened my day. Shown me the way, even.

 

[fossyant]

Gawd............. even my Herety still comes out and it's 20 years old............. if the weather is OK, use it. None of my bikes get wrapped away, I have a daily commuter, 'training' road bike, 'best' road bike and an MTB. TBH the Best bike gets more use than the 'training' bike.....now I have a daily commuter..........

Carbon....not only melts in sun, dissolves in water, and is instantly turned to gas in salt ! Just look after it...........

Lots of nice days in winter..................... just cold........oh yeh, carbon goes brittle under 5c, and melts over 20c...........

 

[jig-sore]

Am I the only person going to this ?

im very tempted to keep the boardman in hibernation. i've been using the other bike for the last two years so why not.

but then i've only done 250 miles on it so its going to be very tempting to take it out on a dry(ish) day.

wont be risking it when it gets icy, dont want to drop the thing on the road. think I'd cry

 

[Arch]

Have thought about the occasional nice day in the winter but nope for me it's going away.

Am I the only person going to this ?

I have one daily use bike for the summer and one for the winter. For me the reason is equipement. The summer bike (flat barred roadbike, with rack and guards added) has skinny wheels, V brakes, derailleur, QR LED lights. The winter bike (MTB frame built up to spec) has Big Apple tyres, dynamo lights, hub brakes and gears - all less affected by crud and wet. The FCR might well go out for the odd jaunt over winter, but not much. The recumbent trike will still get used - skinny wheels, but 50% more of them, and as I use it for leisure not commuting, it's not likely to have to go out in the worst weather.

I'll do the swap soon after BikeRite (annual gathering of cycling mates in Northumberland), which is mid October. I'll take the FCR for that, and then probably swap to the winter hack in order to have the benefit of the dynamo lighting as it starts to be dark for the commute home.

 

[2Loose]

im very tempted to keep the boardman in hibernation. i've been using the other bike for the last two years so why not.

but then i've only done 250 miles on it so its going to be very tempting to take it out on a dry(ish) day.

wont be risking it when it gets icy, dont want to drop the thing on the road. think I'd cry

Why don't you hang it on the wall and just stare at it, or did you get it to ride?

I can understand the ice thing, but a bit of water wont hurt it if you rinse it off after a ride.

 

[ColinJ]

They are not gritting the roads yet - that's what really starts to mess up your bike.

I say if you are going to put it away for the winter, wait for the winter to arrive! The first time the gritters are out, fair enough, hibernation time!

My best bike has been out of action for most of the past 3 years, but I always used to stop riding it in the winter. (From first gritting of the season to about 3 weeks after the final one, to give plenty of time for rain to wash all the crap away.)

 

[Deleted member 1258]

to put my carbon bike away for the winter.

Only this year i finally bought a carbon framed bike, and tbh it's my pride and joy,but the time has come for it to be put into hibernation till next spring.

Any help at this difficult time will be appreciated

Your jumping the gun, its to early to put the best bike away. I usually at least wait until the clocks have been changed, then I'm on fixed for all rides. This year I will be leaving it as late as possible, I brought a new Kilmeston a few weeks ago and want to use it as much as possible before it goes away till spring, I was disappointed at being kept in by the rain yesterday.

 

[dellzeqq]

why would you not ride your best bike in winter? Sure the drivechain gets worn, but that can be replaced in spring.

 

[swee'pea99]

I have never understood the idea of riding an inferior bike for months just 'cos it's cold & wet. It's a bike. It's built to be ridden, in more or less any conditions. So ride it. The only time I switch is when there's snow on the ground - narrow slicks aren't great with snow. But apart from that, ride, enjoy! Life is too short (and winter too long) to ride a second-rate bike.  

 

[snorri]

Why don't you hang it on the wall and just stare at it, or did you get it to ride?

I could answer that question very easily, but for many it is a serious dilemma.