Winter bike.

[Sittingduck]

Not all of us have multiple bikes

Give it time...

 

[overmind]

I didn't use my summer bike much this summer (Triban 3).

I was planning to cycle Reading to Glastonbury on it but had difficult fitting a rack. I ended up using the Trek 720 Trekking. It has a rack and mudguards as standard. I ended up using it most of the summer for various trips. It is just so much more convenient for carrying stuff. Also, I think these days I prefer straight bars and indexed gears.

It probably does not help that the STI shifters on the triban are a bit rubbish (I replaced the front shifter [3 speed] with a a brand called Workshop from Decathlon and it took a bit of getting used to. Also the cassette is starting to slip when on certain rings. I really need to replace the chain and cassette.

It's main use in the past was as a commuter bike but since Covid struck I've been working from home (1.5 years!). The bike was also stolen (miraculously I saw the thief and grabbed the bike back) and ever since I have been paranoid about leaving it anywhere.

I think I'll put it in the loft when the clocks go back on 31/10/21.

Then hunker down for winter.

 

[cougie uk]

Not all of us have multiple bikes

I was like you once...

 

[GuyBoden]

I was out on my wet weather bike, mudguard+flaps, sealed bearings for over 6 hours the other day in a lot of rain and country lane mud+muck. A very enjoyable ride, even if it did rain alot.

I wouldn't use my dry weather bike for that sort of ride, I'd be very wet+muddy and the non-sealed bearings would soon start to grumble.

 

[steveindenmark]

I have been using my MTB winter bike for 3 weeks now. All the others are cleaned, serviced and put away until the Spring. The weather is filthy in Denmark since I got the mtb out.

 

[Baldy]

. The weather is filthy in Denmark since I got the mtb out.

So it's your fault!!

 

[kayakerles]

I think It's a bit more nuanced than just a bikes with mudguards vs bikes without mudguards thing. More a matter of bikes you don't want to suffer a load of wear & tear & cosmetic deterioration on, and bikes you simply don't worry about either because they were dirt cheap or you just don't happen to like them that much.
None of mine cost me much at all, but what I consider to be my "good" bikes are never intentionally ridden in bad weather (mudguards are for just in case I get caught out), left in dodgy locations, or generally abused.
So I don't have winter bikes as such, just hack bikes.

Same here, SDJ, and good points.
I have two main bikes, both with mud guards, and neither with disc brakes, which suits me fine for most riding conditions here in my neck of the US. My hybrid (way more expensive) bike has thinner tires so it is usually my MTB with 1.5 inch road tires that I would prefer to be on during inclement weather or used for heading out for grocery runs. I have had my nice (2008) hybrid now for over 1.5 years, and have not used it for shopping yet. My “I can do anything“ MTB bike is what prefer to ride on crummy weather days here, and gets locked up when I’m out shopping with one or two panniers. With what my hybrid bike cost new, I would not shell out that amount of money or more to replace the one that I bought from a previous owner. That being said, I would feel the saddest if my 1997 Bianchi old school MTB got nicked, which I bought for less than the cost of one car tire.

In the end, I know that all I really need is a bike that fits me and works well and can keep me happily paddling along. It sometimes just gets a difficult to maintain that perspective. I guess we all have our favorite toys.

 

[steveindenmark]

So it's your fault!!

Yes it looks like it. I think I might get the carbon Di2 our and see if it improves the weather.

 

[Drago]

I put mudguards back on the Trek the other day. I'll put them on the other road bike in the next week or two probably. I don't have a "Winter" bike but I do prepare them for poor weather.



I tend to disagree on that point. In winter when the roads are being salted heavily and I'm commuting then the wear rate on my commuter is much higher than the summer. I still keep it as clean as I can (hose it down when necessary etc) but the bad road conditions simply raise the wear rate of chains in particular. If I could clean the bike properly then it might mitigate that somewhat, but it's not practical to give a bike a thorough wash at the end of each day let alone each way fo the commute. One particularly bad January I wore through a chain in less than a month.

I'm a very heavy, powerful rider, and chains last me about 1200-1500 miles regardless of the bike or riding conditions. My all year commuter was no different.

No one is suggesting daily cleaning, although a quick wipe down after a wet ride does no harm. I used to keep the commuter in the porch so jt was ready to go and had the benefit of being able to lean it against the radiator, so would be dry very quickly.

My cleaning regime was weekly. Well, an 8 day cycle because of my shift pattern at the time. Very thorough vlean with car shampoo using a 40mm paint brush (the metal bit wrapped in insulating tape to prevent scratching anything) to get the dirt out of nooks and crannies, thorough clean of the drivetrain, light re lube, a quick spray of ACF50 on plated or polished parts or anything that looked like it could one day corrode. Took about 20-25 minutes every 8th day, and was also an ideal opportunity to safety check everything.

I can only speak as I find, but my experience was of:

Zero corrosion.

Zero dulling of shiny parts or paint.

Zero accelerated wear - in mileage terms - of any component.

And every spring it'd get a thorpugh service, bearings cleaned and repacked, new cables where appropriate. Its about 90 minutes (2 cups of tea) of work, and all my bikes in regular use receive that anyway. I ise regular litium or moly grease, dependent on the component, and suffered no undue issues with contamination or the grease washing out.

Only one thought occurs. My commuter has proper mudguards, well chosen and carefully fitted, with a mudflap on the front that descends to a couple of inches above the road surface. As a result the absolute minimum of sheet and crude ended up where it ought not to have been. Race blades and the like really are pretty hopeless in comoarison, so if you want a touch of the old Drago commuting magic you need a bike that can accommodate proper guards, and you then want a proper mudflap.

 

[Venod]

Monday I was out with no guards and came back with a fair bit of mud from the farmers ploughing the harvest cut fields, yesterday I was out on the bike with guards and will be now until we get some dry clean roads back, unless on the mtb or cx that have no guards What I don't understand is why some cyclists only ride mtb in winter, some of the best mtb riding is