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Winter Bikes

by vorsprung
Tue, Nov 05, 2013 13:31
8

Other riders often ask "what is a winter bike?". As opposed to any other sort of bike I suppose. Here's a blog on my winter bikes

http://audaxing.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/two-winter-bikes/

The only thing that they do that might not work for all road bike riders is using quite large tyres. One of them has 42mm tyres on. The "winter" reason for this is that there are many "touring" type tyres that are only available in wider widths and these tyres are tougher and better for the poor winter conditions

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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8 comments

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philtregear | 11 years ago
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currently building: dawes 531 frame, x2 SA hub brake wheels, front dynamo, rear 3 speed, full chaincase, full mudguards, front dyno light., 35mm marathon plus tyres. should be awesome. any suggestions for a good quality handlebar bag???

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sm | 11 years ago
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Fixed, front brake, no mudguards, 25mm tyres. Simply to save me cleaning 'best' bike so often and because fixed just runs and runs and runs. Fun to to ride too. Great for teaching you how to climb hills properly as well.

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sneakerfrfeak replied to sm | 11 years ago
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sm wrote:

Fixed, front brake, no mudguards, 25mm tyres. Simply to save me cleaning 'best' bike so often and because fixed just runs and runs and runs. Fun to to ride too. Great for teaching you how to climb hills properly as well.

+1 for fixed, very low maintenance and great fun to ride (though it has kicked me off a few times). Here's mine
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4tj3nj58rmpxwus/20130727_165512-1.jpg

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vorsprung replied to sneakerfrfeak | 11 years ago
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One of the previous incarnations of the Alfine bike was a single speed with a freehub

Of course single speed freehubs have a few more moving parts than fixed

A couple of times during particularly cold weather the free wheel mechanism jammed in "comedy bicycle" mode - the opposite to fixed

I like the simplicity of no gears but my knees don't like it, especially in the cold of the winter.

The Alfine is as reliable / more reliable than the single speed

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Simon E | 11 years ago
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Wet/winter bike is a 1997 rigid Kona MTB with full length Tortec mudguards and 26x1.5" tyres. Tough as boots and more reassuring than the road bike on wet and muddy lanes but less fun to ride when conditions are favourable. And the flat bars aren't anywhere near as comfortable as drops after a few miles.

Like Sam, I hope eventually to replace it with a disc-equipped CX style utility/multi-surface bike, Alfine would be nice...

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Jaltham | 11 years ago
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I also have two:
A Saracen Ventoux with 1x10 and a rack for light touring and Base training
And a Fixed Gear for overgearing myself and building leg muscles the size of the German track sprinters! (Also the low maintenance and versatility make a bike that is ready to go at any time!)

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keef66 | 11 years ago
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And my winter bike's a Racelight Tk with 25mm GP 4 Seasons and full Chromoplstic guards. It's what it was designed for!

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SamShaw | 11 years ago
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I think your blog sums it up at the end - they're both great in their own way.

My winter bike is a Kinesis Racelight T, it's limited to 28c tyres, but I tend to ride it with 25mm tyres and full mudguards. It suits what I do, which is quick(ish) training through the winter, commuting and sticking it on the dreaded turbo. The tyre size is limiting though, because it doesn't take studded tyres, then again, that's a nice money saver otherwise I'd be £60/70 out of pocket by now! 4

Everyone's winter bikes are different though, all dependant on what you want them to do, and how you want them to do it. Next frame I get will be disc braked and have a larger tyre clearance (essentially it'll be a CX frame) mainly to allow fitment of studded tyres, the ability to go off road with knobblies and (most importantly) so that I'm not having to build new rims onto the wheels after a few thousand miles.

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