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Following the thread on riding on icy roads, it’s occurred to me that after gravel, the new niche bike could be the winter trainer..with a twist.
Rather than dragging a pinarello through lashings of road salt.
What you need is an E-bike. British weather is predominantly moist. This places a lot of emphasis on the clothing you need. As it gets colder, you’ll have to wear more insulation.
So you’ll be sweating like crazy. All those wet clothes will be heavy and potentially cold when you ease off the pace.
My recent foray on my e-bike has left me nice and dry (apart from the elbow pads). Some pretty steep road climbs, too.
Studded tyres. At least 50c.
Mudguards.
Ive managed to shoehorn foam tyre inserts as well as slime inner tubes into my 29*3 front and 29*2.35 rear tyres.
That should ease any potential punctures.
Pretty hefty now. So I’m considering replacing the rigid forks and frame with something with more bounce. Waaay more fun.
Anything else?
A side stand helps.
Those hand warmers that are permanently attached to the handlebars.
im thinking of clubruns here, as well as regular commutes.
(I took some inspiration from the Rouleur show on YouTube).
If you're carrying that weight and additional clothes, you really need rack and pannier bag to store it all in if you get too warm.
the new niche bike could be the winter trainer
a trainer where you don't have to put any effort in, so get fatter not fitter 🙂 interesting take!!
You could have panniers to store the extra clothes, but as it’s based on a pedelec at its core, you won’t suffer from the usual NW European deluge of sweat that freezes.
Left up to me, such a conglomeration of parts would result in a frankenbike.
after watching segments from the ‘Rouleur’ expo on YouTube, there’s sufficient space in the bike world for a dedicated winter training bike (and not just ones unwanted sportive bike with mudguards).
I'm not sure if this thread is ironic or serious (possibly both), but pogies are an absolute godsend for winter training on the road IMO with my Reynaud's-type useless circulation.
My clubmates mercilessly (and rightly) took the piss out of me and you're stuck riding on the hoods which can be exhausting/sketchy - but nowhere near as bad as having fingers too frozen to brake or change gear.