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My favourite bike by far is my summer road bike, and I have such a hankering to ride it now that I am tempted to take it out and just do it.
Question is, though: will I be doing it any harm, as long as I clean it afterward? What season-based hazards do carbon road bikes face, other than road grime?
Do any roadies on here ride their best (or only) bike through the winter?
No. This whole summer/winter bike thing is nonsense, except for the fact that winter bikes can have guards fixed on them.
You may wish to keep the seatpost clean and greased if it's alu - you can get bimetallic corrosion with carbon.
Although a mate did have an alu Pinarello which corroded, and when he enquired about warranty Pinarello told him to sod off cos he'd ridden it in winter.
I have two carbon road bikes which are basically identical, bar the fact that one has mudguards and lights on for winter use. The stripped down one is obviously lighter and gets used on dry roads.
You won't do any damage to a carbon bike riding it in winter.
Don’t do it. The amount of salt and grit on the road is going to wreck your pride and joy. Oh and it’s snowing outside so you’d be crazy to do it. My winter bike is falling to bits now after riding it right through winter. Just need to hang on for another month or so to get the good bike out.
I ride my best bike through winter. I used to leave it for best weather but it meant that I was hardly every riding my best bike, so I thought what was the point in buying it!
I remove carbon wheels (and put fresh new pads on when they go back on), but other than that you just need to keep it clean, which needs doing more in winter. I don't believe riding through winter kills your bike other than you will be doing more miles on it.
frame will be fine, your chain, cassette, chain rings, jockey wheels and brake pads (and rims if non disc) will see accelerated wear due to being run in grittier conditions than normal summer use, so keep an eye on that
The amount of salt and grit on the road is going to wreck your pride and joy.
How? My carbon road bike has been ridden all year for 11 years now and it's fine. I don't see any problem at all. Only issue I had was as above, eventually the alu seatpost shim became corroded, but I cleaned it up.
I ride my best bike through winter. I used to leave it for best weather but it meant that I was hardly every riding my best bike, so I thought what was the point in buying it!
Exactly. While I don't ride my best bike all through winter if its a nice dry day and the roads are dry of course I'll ride it
If you get road salt on it, it's worth hosing it off afterwards so it doesn't sit around eating the aluminium bits.
Other than that, crack on. I mean, obviously get a proper bike with mudguards, but in the meantime, crack on 😉
I know that feeling and will just go out on it some days, irrelevant of the weather. Only issue for me is that braking in the wet on carbon rims is not great, but bar that it's all good. Do it.
rOcKeTdOgframe will be fine, your chain, cassette, chain rings, jockey wheels and brake pads (and rims if non disc) will see accelerated wear due to being run in grittier conditions than normal summer use, so keep an eye on that
+1
It's not so much that I worry about doing irreparable damage to my nice bike, it's that after a few weeks of the above, nothing is 'nice' anymore, which means more maintenance in the summer (of more costly bits).
The winter bike get's cheap consumables and hand-me-down components, it's maintenance is enough to prevent something failing catastrophically on a ride. The summer bike get's new shiny bits and nice consumables, it get's maintenance as soon as gear changes become a whirrr rather than an instant tick!
Ridden mine throughout this winter, partly due to the fact the winter bike has a Stages PM which can't cope with the sight of clouds and now sits firmly on the turbo since I'm sick of doing the warranty thing.
Bike seems to have made it through unscathed, I do tend to hose it down as soon as I can although not always.
If the weather's really grim I probably wouldn't go out anyway, winter bike or otherwise. Also will probably fancy a change in a few years, long before it 'wears out' through summer use only.
grime will wear your wheels faster, and road salt can corrode stuff, particularly alu nipples & around the brakes.
Worst corrosion I've ever seen was on a specialized allez that had been ridden wet and left a lot. worst than any rusty steel bike i've seen!
It’s not so much that I worry about doing irreparable damage to my nice bike, it’s that after a few weeks of the above, nothing is ‘nice’ anymore, which means more maintenance in the summer (of more costly bits).
Yep, this, for me. Obviously it won't fall apart, but I'll scuff the cranks becuase I'm wearing over shoes, and the STIs will corrode a bit, and it'll get scratched more, and the chain will be all gritty. Nothing fundamental, but it'll all just be a bit worse afterward!
Tucked up until it's properly dry for me, then it'll be a pleasure to ride.
Mine is used every day but only washed once a week. It now needs a new headset, rear mech, front shifter, recabled, need to sort the immovable seatpost, new chain, cassette. New rear brake. New bottom bracket. Apart from that it’s fine. Glad the summer bike has been hanging on the wall since Majorca last October.
What Aberdeen line is saying is. If you don't wash your bike like you say you're going to be doing then it may over time become knackered.
Get it ridded.
Always ridden my R5ca through out the whole year, yeah the weathers grot this time of year but you can get some absolutely beautiful days so why not.
Just clean it afterwards and lube it correctly and go ride it.
No summer/winter bike but have a road training bike and a road racing bike. I mostly ride my training bike through winter. It's no less "nice" than the summer bike just more suited to winter training. Maybe not quite as much fun as the race bike though 🙂
Stuff does get trashed and needs replacing riding through winter, but winter riding motivation is tough enough as it is without riding shitty bikes.
"Winter riding motivation is tough enough as it is without riding shitty bikes."
This.
No. This whole summer/winter bike thing is nonsense, except for the fact that winter bikes can have guards fixed on them.
Rubbish.
It's completely dependant on where you ride, how far your riding and what your actually going to ride.
A gentle couple of hours in the south east on a nice day in Feb. Knock yourself out.
5 hours in the pissing rain in the lakes in January. You need your head looking at.
I've pretty much done enough damage to a nice bike in one winter to actually pay for a nice training bike.
If you riding your summer bike in the winter - or even thinking about it ... then it is not a proper summer bike, because if it were you simply wouldn`t consider it ... except maybe if it was exceptionally dry weather.
Winter will often mean thats when you are more likely to fall off because of wet slippery roads; so much like you dont use your best bike to race on ... you dont put your summer/best bike in harms way either ... unless of course its only a spare bike, and not a proper summer bike.
Similar to the £20 note test to see if you got a cold or flu ...
I like my mudguards, so no mine stays inside. But a quick rinse off after every ride will keep the worst grime off. That said, the drivetrain will take a harder hit if you are using wet lube, and it won't clean up as nicely as with dry lubes. My winter geared bike is old Ultegra 10 speed, alloy frame, non-matching finishing kit and alloy wheels with canti brekes.
I race my best bike in the winter, and it gets rinsed off after every ride. I ride two winter bikes, and they are cleaned much less frequently.
Most of the club don't have winter bikes, nor do they have mudguards 🙁
People who turn up for winter group rides without mudguards 🙁
Only "good" thing about my last road club. Anyone turns up without guards, they ride on their own.
TBF, that's been the rule at most clubs i've been in.
I just have a "wet" bike and a "dry" bike, the usage is about 75% wet 25% dry in winter - reversed in summer.
Replaced the carbon guards with Longboards. Went out for a damp three and a half hour night ride, and the coverage was exceptional, P35s on my fixed wheel are almost as good, removal of either is a pfaff, but I do swap forks on the fixed wheel in the summer (pending new best fixed frame). And yes I'd like a mudguar'd rule in our club too. It won't happen, although I did buy a job lot of raceblade XLS a few years ago, many of which are still in use.
5 hours in the pissing rain in the lakes in January. You need your head looking at.
I live in South Wales, and used the same bike for many 5 hour rides in the pouring rain. The bike is fine. It might need a chain more often than if I'd pampered it, but it's just a chain - still lasts longer than my MTB.
I don't have carbon wheels though - that's the only thing I will concede. Even then the Open Pros I had on my PowerTap wheels lasted well.
As for scuffing the cranks and STIs - I don't care about that. It's a tool not an ornament 🙂
Only “good” thing about my last road club. Anyone turns up without guards, they ride on their own.
Should be the rule everywhere. I don't understand why people think it ok to turn up for group rides without guards. Though I also don't understand why people would ride through winter without guards fitted.
And yes, Longboards are superb.
I ride my carbon ego-charriot year round, it's got no bosses so the mk2 crud road racers went on again back in October... People will tell you they're shite guards but they've worked without fault for me for the last three winters, there is a newer version now, or other designs/brands, it does not really matter...
Just fit some guards and carry on riding.