[Closed] Winter riding, just what is the fecking point.!

is your bike made of cheese?

Shouldn't be such a mincer then Mick, get yourself a SS 😉

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If you still need to ask, then your mad.

Winter riding is ace.

3 bikes, made of brie it would seem. And Lowey, I wouldn't mind if all my riding was as photogenic as your pics, instead of the somme like conditions I seem to attract.

come on you've got to love it - the feeling of no toes???

Rode all through the winter,nowt needs replacing. If you wait for decent weather in this country,you'd either,a)never ride,or b)be so unfit,that you'd be unable to ride.

It's because you get days like this:-

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Maintain your bikes and buy good components.

A good few miles this winter - maybe a thousand? maybe more? A set of brake pads at the puffer - thats it for replacements.

Hope brakes with OE sintered pads, chains lubed with putoline motorcycle chain wax

not long in from a 5 hour night ride - winter riding rocks - feet went numb though - silly here thought it was summer shoe time - how i dont know

this winter ive replaced 4 sets of brake pads - at the puffer

ss for winter is the way forward !

do need to replace my cassette and chain from last summers riding though

One of the many reasons I do more DH in the winter. Little additional bike wear and the steeper trails drain better. Slogging along slowly in draggy mud is a fools game.

One HT winter hack.
Mix of LX, XT and SLX.
1x rear casette, 1x chain, 1x front ring plus 1x pair of pads, 1x tyre, 1x Candy pedals (£20 CRC at present).

In early May, ahead of races and events, then it's another change back to XT kit.

The full sus' has XTR kit and will come out from Easteer onwards for the Trail Centre w/ends away.

PS Mic: where are you riding, around a sand pit perhaps?!

The OP sounds like a proper rider, not like you lot. He wears stuff out because he rides hard. I understand where he's coming from. Me and him should talk.

I'm with Samuri and the OP. Well maybe not the OP cos I get the point and love it but I have done 3 chains since Dec. They keep snapping on me. Also the 11,12,13 rings on my rear cassette slip now and my middle ring is warped. It was brand new in Nov. Down to lugging a fat knacker uphill in deep snow I reckon. Mono M4s seized up in the "clamp rotor ridiculously tight" position too. Good job I have a SS to play on while it gets fixed again!

Well, I'm not with the OP, samuri, DeVs or any of the other whingeing gits who've complained about the winter/snow etc

Although I enjoy all the seasons, I always look forward to snow & ice riding in winter, and the last 2 winters have yielded far more such rides than previous recent years. This ride near Ingleton last March sticks in my mind:
[url= http://www.bogtrotters.org/rides/2009/4mar/DSC_0443_.jp g" target="_blank">http://www.bogtrotters.org/rides/2009/4mar/DSC_0443_.jp g"/> [/img] click pic for bigger[/url]
although it was a hard frost -4C, I was never cold, and the snow had such a sensuous, yielding texture it was almost sexual 🙂 The challenge of riding snow in its wide variety of textures is endlessly engaging!

Snow is never going to eat your components such as we've been told by the OP.
It has to be someting else entirely.
Where he's riding will make a big difference.
Can we therefore maybe assume he's not washing his bike down after every ride and oiling the working parts correctly?

Riding all year round is the business. Enjoy the differences!

i tried it and hated it....

i much prefer the conditions now with it drying up and sunny days.

not because i dont like the cold, because its cold here!!! its just i dont like riding when i have to always be cautious. i like to ride and go for it, not pootle about because i might get covered in snow!

so from now on i ride 3 seasons and winter i stick to ski-ing.

SFB, not all of us have the pleasure of living close to such great riding as you do. In the south it is vastly different, the winter bolt hole; swinley, is now a morasse of mud and knee deep puddles, and if I ride locally on the South Downs, then i have to pedal hard to go downhill, as the chalk turns to treacle in thismuch rain. Mojo is hiding behind the turbo trainer. But I agree with y'all, single speed is the way to go fir the winter!

There is no such thing as one set of winter conditions. I think we can all agree that anyone with a bike, even if it's normally put to bed for the winter, would enjoy a crisp snow clad ride - day or night. But that is not the point of this post or even a typical picture of what ALL winter riding is like. If your idea of riding a bike is taking it out half a dozen times over a period of months and you can pick and choose your weather conditions and terrain then maybe every ride is a winter wonderland but I have a feeling the op rides more frequently than that.

Where the op lives (and therefore rides on a day to day basis) is I suspect very much like where I ride - heavy clay soil which drains poorly. Any ride that leaves from my house at this time of year would be in if not axle deep mud, mud thick and sticky enough to coat every component in minutes and render derailleur gears dysfunctional within half an hour. Many tracks are too deep with heavily rutted mud for any sort of forward movement to be possible and need to be walked. For some of you that live on better draining land "winter" riding might be something totally different.

I got around the problem by building up a Alfined 29er winter bike which helps a bit and by driving to better locations when time allows. Tbh though in the winter I do tend to train and ride on the road more or run when it's too icy to ride safely on the road.

Winter riding this year has been excellent, think moving to the other end of the country has helped as my local used to be Swinley now it's most of the 7Stanes 🙂

Had some great night rides and ridden more at night than ever before not as much as I would have liked but plenty all the same.

I've not as yet changed any components though the Ae trails last night were a bit gritty so think that may take it's toll, the trails are all weather though some are a little muddy in places with the snow melt but certainly no where near bog like which is cool, I can only imagine what Swinley is like and have riden there when it's running slow and boggy it can be hard going.

Roll on the spring and summer, but all season riding is where it's at.

ETA - had I been still south I suspect I would have spent the time in the gym, do sympathise with the OP though that is a lot of components to go through, still nearly spring 🙂 should get better from here on in.....

I ride with Mic, areas we ride are either too claggy to ride from home (clay based soil just clogs everything up so not an option), limited mostly to night riding due to work and family commitments so long drives to 'better' areas isn't an option, areas that are driveable are all gritty mudfests this time of year so are hard on components.

Anyone else that knows Mick will also vouch for his cleaning and lubing (and general faffing) with his herd, you should see the state of his drive where the bikes are washed!!!!

He just needs to mtfu and get on with it though, unless of course Mrs Arms has seen the credit card statement and then he needs to worry 😀

knowing Micks riding i'm suprised he's not worn out more stuff and i think he commutes at least 30+ miles a day to work

MicArms / votchy ~ LOL 😉

sp - you know what we're talking about!!! What's the meaning of getting out before the end of May anyway, grapevine tells me you were out this week 😯

TandemJeremy - Member

Maintain your bikes and buy good components.

A good few miles this winter - maybe a thousand? maybe more? A set of brake pads at the puffer - thats it for replacements.

Oh course, silly me, I'm just buying spares for the hell of it. Deore cassettes, deore steel middle chainrings, sram p970 chains. Utter shite the lot of it.

TJ Ive also ridden the pffer solo a few times, and as i know you're a 'sweaty sock' I'll assume your local riding would possibley be in similar soil conditions. Good for you only needing such limited replacements, hwoever as it has been pointed out , not all mud is created equal.

It's great all round exercise, you ride, you push. Total body work out! Then you clean your gear but that must be such a chore for some! 😉
Roll on the long wet summer...

Had a great winter so far, pretty little wear pads six, canti pads one, rims one, jockey wheels one. All cassettes and chains due a change in April.

Last night went out expecting gloop from the weekends flooding only to find it bordering on dry and dusty?

Winter riding is great but it can take it’s toll on the bike, if you have the choice leave the bouncer at home, as wonderful as they are mud/rain + bearings never really works well, a crud catcher and a neo guard or bit of inner tube reduces that Somme like feeling, do what you can to weather proof the bike, lower HS race cover, silicone spray where appropriate, sintered pads all help a little to extend the bikes crap weather operating capabilities

Just give the chains/rings/cassette a good clean and re-grease every ride, no point replacing it until “summer” rolls round, just run Deore/Alivio rings and a cheap chain and ride them into the ground for now…

I second Hopes with their own organic pads - there simply isn't anything out there as long lasting.

I live by the mantra that if you want to ride all year round with any degree of regularity, and you want to a) not be poor and b) not wash your bike non-stop - you need to own a singlespeed, and the cheaper and nastier the better!

singlespped for off road
road bike for the road
Replacements costs this winter nil - though I did get two punctures.

Blimey, things must be pretty harsh up in deepest Worcestershire if Mick(MTFU)Arms is complaining.
Mick - I think you really know, deep down, that the only true solution to this situation is involves one gear only 🙂

SS Inbred, old Coil Forks, SS cogs front & rear.
Hose off gently, not jet wash.
And agreed, correctly bedded in OE Sintered pads do seem to last longer.

[i]Well, I'm not with the OP, samuri, DeVs or any of the other whingeing gits who've complained about the winter/snow etc[/i]

well just to clarify, I didn't complain about riding around in the snow. I love it and I've done plenty this year, I merely symapthise with the OP on wearing kit out fast.

Er, you ride bikes, things wear out. In winter things wear out faster. And if you don't ride in winter you miss some indescribably beautiful moments.

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I'd swap any number of Deore cassettes for this.

wearing kit out fast

I do wear out pretty fast, I'll admit to that 🙁

Mic - my point is unless you are riding thousands of miles the amount of wear you describe is unreasonable and clearly avoidable. Lube chains better - IMO you cannot beat putoline chain wax - I am certain using it has quadrupled chain life over finishline and hope brakes with OE pads that don't wear out.

Using cheapo pads?

its just i dont like riding when i have to always be cautious. i like to ride and go for it, not pootle about because i might get covered in snow!

gosh, you're making me cry now 🙁 What utter, utter tosh :o)

I'm with Solamanda.

if you like pedalling that much get a toad bike.

winter Mtb riding for me is more about getting sideways and having fun rather than spending hours pedalling through shit at 3mph.

<EDIT> I'm just gonna leave that "t" in 😆

edit: pants

For some of you that live on better draining land "winter" riding might be something totally different.

I often wonder why any MTBer lives in the sarf, it sounds like poo 🙁

That'll be me then.
The wonderfull Greensand Ridge i.e Woburn. Described by MBR as a winter playground...or was it wonderland?
Luckilly I'm right where the Chiltens and Cotswolds converge (sort of)

Mick. You are just a great big poofter 😉 (I don't miss Clent or Wyre in the wet though I have to say!)

Luckilly I'm right where the Chiltens and Cotswolds converge (sort of)

so actually not poo ? Glad to hear it 🙂

I ride less often in the winter for sure. And rides are shorter and slower. But still fun to be had.

"I often wonder why any MTBer lives in the sarf, it sounds like poo"

Well it's where we live. But also, it's more challenging 😛

One of he reasons why I have 2 bikes, one of which has 1 chainring, no cassettes and no cables/deraileurs.

Also to be fair to the OP, those spares are spread across 2 bikes and sometimes it's just coincidence that everything seems to go at once, sods law or something like that, should be fun tonight then with skipping gears and shonky changes due to poorly setting up the new parts - assuming he's not still fitting the bearings when I pick him up 😀

No, new chain and cassete on the inbred yesterday, followed by the clent dayride, back home for a wash down and a new middle ring. Good to go tonight with no faff..

Can't beat Chilterns mud for horrendous gloopiness. Ride a singlespeed in winter (the first winter I rode geared I got through a lot of transmission components), generally have to replace very little now (beefy chain, s/s ring). Having said which, I can probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I've been faster than 3pmh off-road over the last 6 months...

Love it though, it's all biking and every condition is just another challenge. It can't all be well-drained trail centres in just-right conditions. Have happily kept going through this awful winter, really looking forward to the mud drying out!

I mostly became a roadie as couldn't face another winter of Surrey Hills mud. Worked out well apart from one ride when I fell off 4 times on black ice....

I have a hardtail with a geared hub and rust proof chain for these exact reasons. Expensive initial outlay but very little maintenance time required and I know that it is ready to go whatever the weather. They're not perfect but bloody useful in winter. If you're spending lots on replacing bits regularly I would seriously consider. I have a Rohloff which is ££££ (but worth it), saying that the Alfine 11 that is due out before next winter looks like it could be a winner for the cost.

The sheer effort of making progress can be hard. Had a laugh riding down Jambo and Sharki's trail on the Qs last weekend - rutted, bar-catching narrow, rooty techyness when dry, it was slow, slip, slide fest with an over-the-bar-moment! Made me smile.

3 chains, 2 cassettes, 2 middle chainrings, 8 pairs of brake pads, 8 bearings purchased in the last 3 weeks.

😯

Still got all the bits on the bike I had from last year. And they were over a year old come to think of it, although admittedly off a bike I used less than others. I don't change bits that much. I blame OCD over cleaning of bikes. Bit of oil and off I go! Also, Turner grease ports and King headset. Nuff sed. 8)

So MrsA said no riding twice in a week then you go out yesterday and still on for tonight, what did you buy her???? 😉

It does seem a lot of gear to go through even on 3 bikes.I would stick with 1bike all winter. Tjs comments are always not very well thought Out but to be fair ive ridden all winter twice a week around west Yorkshire & needed to change front pads & chain &they were 6 months old already. A little extra tlc may be required in the correct way.I'm staggered at that list.

blimey TJ I want your ride life??? where do you find the time to put in that many miles???? no wife/kids/dogs/job/life away from the bike. I like to ride..as much as possible but i doubt i do 1000 miles in a year! a really good year at that.

I'm a bit annoyed now that sfb thought I was whinging. Where I say "I get the point and love it" does that come across differntly to someone outside of my head? I ride nearly every day. The only time i don't it's because I'm too hungover! I also love the armchair experts that are telling us the winter conditions can't possibly knacker your components and it must be poor maintenance. How do the kids put it?...LOL!! I could get off every 10 mins and chip off the build up of snow and ice on my chain and cassette that is a side effect of riding in deep snow but I choose to ride on through. If anyone here suspects that ploughing a 30lb bike with 18st of rider and kit up steep hills in 12" of snow with iced up cassette and chainrings doesn't put more strain on those components than they are probably designed for, then I'd like to know what this magical extra maintenance I'm supposed to be carrying out is! I guess I could go 8 or 7 speed with a thicker chain but can't be arsed. I go through a chain every 3-4 months anyways so one a month is worth the enjoyment I've been getting out of the experience. Mud? What's that? It's been frozen here since Nov!

😆 😆 Yer Mick - you've got to learn to lube your chain properly 😆 😆 And then you'll be fine 😆

See you later for some more Somme to rub around your chainring

I'm a bit annoyed now that sfb thought I was whinging

sorry, I read "I'm with Samuri and the OP." and my eyes glazed over 🙂

Well, after last nights Clent Duffers (TM) mince around Wyre it's pretty easy to see why components wear out. Had a great ride, out for 3.5hrs, never felt cold once but the grinding paste gloop froze solid to everything, didn't get home until midnight so have had to neglect trying to clean 25mm thick frozen mud from the bike, front mech frozen solid, rear mech frozen solid, bike frozen solid to rack on car when I got home. Best bit was watching 6' 7" tall Steve on his big wheeled jobbie go 4rse over tit in to mud soup that was well over his knees, if he'd got a normal bike it would've stopped much sooner and the mud would've only been half way up his shins 😀

Top ride in component grinding conditions which has been the norm (other than a couple of snowy rides) in the midlands since well before christmas.

You're using the wrong lube mate!

Of course, must wax not oil 😀

MTFU !!

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[b]I often wonder why any MTBer lives in the sarf,[/b]

because you live in the north?

[b]Maintain your bikes and buy good components.

A good few miles this winter - maybe a thousand? maybe more? A set of brake pads at the puffer - thats it for replacements.

[/b]
[img] [/img]

I'm preuming you had a good eyeful of the extreme comedy moment then Mark? 😛

wowsers, some of you eat through brake pads....still on the same pads i put on in november, been out 3 times a week most weeks, in all the gloop, snow, wet, rain etc and still have tonnes of life left in them....in the peaks and all sorts of similar terrain....cant understand how you can get through pads in such an incredibly fast time, unless of course you are riding the peaks 7 days 🙂

still winter riding has been fun, but im glad its finally on its way out, its nice to be able to set off at night for the first hour in daylight....

votchy - Member

sp - you know what we're talking about!!! What's the meaning of getting out before the end of May anyway, grapevine tells me you were out this week

25mm thick frozen mud from the bike, front mech frozen solid, rear mech frozen solid, bike frozen solid to rack on car when I got home

Hot & Dusty Afan for me tomorrow 🙄

Out last night on almost frozen solid ground. Loads of grip. Nice and fast.

Winter is better than spring and Autumn when its properly wet.

Winter is better than spring, [b]summer[/b] and Autumn when its properly wet.

Corrected that for you 😉

Nige - it was a classic, mud halfway up his thighs when he stood up, he looked like a giant turd 😆

sp - damn you, I have a day pass for Sunday 🙁 Afan is the only place in the UK that has rain forecast for tomorrow 😉

wowsers, some of you eat through brake pads....still on the same pads i put on in november

Some brands and certain conditions/locations simply don't mix. If Afan is proper wet, a set of Avid Elixirs can be gone in a single lap. Yet the same conditions won't even register on Hopes or Shimano XTs.

I've got some not even deore non-series hydros on my singlespeed and you'll kills those in a couple of wet Afan laps.

I often wonder why any MTBer lives in the sarf,
[b]because you live in the north?[/b]

well, they're always moaning about it being too muddy and no fun when wet. Yorkshire does tend to get very sinky when wet, but peat is relatively benign (when you're not actually immersed in it), and the Lakes is mostly free draining and unaffected by rain - with numerous exceptions, obviously 🙂

When I think back to last "summer" I have to say I've had far better ridng this winter & it's not over yet. I love winter rides especially at night 😀

the snow had such a sensuous, yielding texture it was almost sexual

Simon, ffs!

Simon, ffs!

listen, this is what I put [url= http://www.bogtrotters.org/ereport.php?ident=698 ]in my report[/url]:
men: imagine thrusting your rubbery firmness into yielding virgin softness
women: imagine BEING that responsive softness (I shall not pretend you are virgins 🙂

Sorry, not reading your report, but...... has it been a while? 😕

but...... has it been a while?

having sex doesn't stop me from being interested in it, well not for more than 20 minutes anyway 🙂