r04DiE
300km a week through London on a road bike.
Well, I was only answering what you said about wanting a pristine bike...
Do we really need to wrap new bikes in cotton wool through the winter?
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
I don't see the problem having many bikes ridden for Donkey's years in all weathers. With very little TLC they all work well and look fine.
My 'best bike' is in fact my 'winter bike'.with the loveliest shiniest bits on it. The DA rear mech for example has been running in all weathers since 2004 and still polishes-up like new.
What makes it a 'winter-bike' is that it has full guards, fatter tyres and dynamo lighting than my other bikes, not the low quality of components or extra TLC.
My 'best bike' is in fact my 'winter bike'.with the loveliest shiniest bits on it. The DA rear mech for example has been running in all weathers since 2004 and still polishes-up like new.
What makes it a 'winter-bike' is that it has full guards, fatter tyres and dynamo lighting than my other bikes, not the low quality of components or extra TLC.
gbb
Squire
- Location
- Peterborough
My take on the subject as a former all year, all weather commuter, come sun, rain, slush and snow.
I did use my former good bike (at that time it was a year old) during one winter. In the following spring I found exactly what Yellow Saddle described, rusting bolts, springs...not in itself terrible but a little disheartening. Worse was the furring corrosion building up where the paint chipped off the ally frame...again, fixable but disheartening on a relatively new bike.
Worse still was finding the paint and or carbon peeling off the alloy head of my carbon /alloy forks . Corrosion obviously started in the brake caliper holes and worked it's way down. Not structural but not pleasing either.
That wasn't even a particually wet winter at that time, just residual salt for the most part.
I admit perhaps better attention to frame cleaning might have helped, but I don't abuse my bikes either,
Winter bike for me after that.
I did use my former good bike (at that time it was a year old) during one winter. In the following spring I found exactly what Yellow Saddle described, rusting bolts, springs...not in itself terrible but a little disheartening. Worse was the furring corrosion building up where the paint chipped off the ally frame...again, fixable but disheartening on a relatively new bike.
Worse still was finding the paint and or carbon peeling off the alloy head of my carbon /alloy forks . Corrosion obviously started in the brake caliper holes and worked it's way down. Not structural but not pleasing either.
That wasn't even a particually wet winter at that time, just residual salt for the most part.
I admit perhaps better attention to frame cleaning might have helped, but I don't abuse my bikes either,
Winter bike for me after that.
KnackeredBike
I do my own stunts
No but with pretty basic engineering you can design something to work for years or even decades within normal conditions - which with bikes would cover 40% of the year.
To bike manufacturers a bit of salt should be designed for and be resilient or repairable against in the bicyle's expected lifetime,
tommaguzzi
Über Member
- Location
- County Durham
I ride my bike through winter, all that happens is the salt and dirt make the moving parts wear quicker. So just expect to do more maintenance and replace components sooner.
Tin Pot
Guru
I'll probably need to start taking it in the shower with me.
Well, leaving it in bed while you get up and leave would just be rude.
Vantage
Carbon fibre... LMAO!!!
- Location
- Behind everyone else, Bolton
If you look after it, yes.
I've never had a "summer bike". Whether they were mountain bikes being dragged through the moors in pissing rain and covered in sheep crap, road bikes through salted roads in freezing conditions or my mudguarded tourer being dragged through and covered in everything imaginable, my bikes nearly always looked in showroom condition.
Piss poor maintenance is what makes a bike look and perform rough, not the mileage or weather.
Tin Pot
Guru
While everyone else is on a polemic about their worldview on winter riding...the brake calipers look to be decent or at least expensive.
Quite a lot of questions and answers on them here:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/trp-hy-rd-cable-actuated-hydraulic-disc-brake-caliper/
Mine are regular Miche Reflex worth about £20 with the spring exposed and got through horrendous winter and 8 months long hard commuting without any special attention. The front might be going now 3.5yrs into its lifespan.
Try to look into how disc calipers can be maintained - you don't want to be shelling out £100 every few weeks!
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
If you have a nice bike, why wouldn't you want ride it, no matter what the season might be. I didn't buy mine to stick it on an altar and light candles around it when the nights get shorter.
It's just a bike.
It's just a bike.
mythste
Veteran
- Location
- Manchester
Haaaaaang on a minute.
"rusting inside?"
We're talking a semi hydro disk brake here, and the idea that its "sticking on" could be one of two things;
1. The pistons aren't returning when the cable tension/lever is released. I seriously can't imagine that being rust
2. The cable leading to the unit has rusted/gummed up with road crap at some point
My money is almost certainly on number 2, especially after only a few weeks. I use the same units and have done in every conceivable weather for 18 months now and its caked in crap but still releases perfectly fine.
"rusting inside?"
We're talking a semi hydro disk brake here, and the idea that its "sticking on" could be one of two things;
1. The pistons aren't returning when the cable tension/lever is released. I seriously can't imagine that being rust
2. The cable leading to the unit has rusted/gummed up with road crap at some point
My money is almost certainly on number 2, especially after only a few weeks. I use the same units and have done in every conceivable weather for 18 months now and its caked in crap but still releases perfectly fine.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
I don't think the heat helps, ventilation would be better.
Racing roadkill
Guru
Quite right. Never ride a bike after the clocks have gone back, unless it's on a turbo. It's madness to do so, madness I tell you. Turbo from autumn 'till spring, or the bike will dissolve.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
Globalti
Legendary Member
My choice of bike is not dictated by season but by how recently salt was spread on the roads. The regular summer bike has winter mudguards and gets washed down with hot water and car shampoo after a salty ride, wet or dry. In dry weather you ride in a cloud of salt dust which settles on every surface, attracts moisture and causes rust. Regular cleaning and greasing will stave off the inevitable.
The best bike doesn't come out until well into Spring when all the salt has been rained away.
Brake pistons don't slide through the calipers when you pull the lever, the seal flexes then returns the piston to its original position. Over the weeks as the pads wear the pistons do creep slowly through the seals.
The best bike doesn't come out until well into Spring when all the salt has been rained away.
Brake pistons don't slide through the calipers when you pull the lever, the seal flexes then returns the piston to its original position. Over the weeks as the pads wear the pistons do creep slowly through the seals.
Last edited:
Yellow Saddle
Guru
- Location
- Loch side.
No. Salt corrosion is directly related to hours of exposure. Exposure to salt-water spray is very, very damaging and is created by riding. Weather dictates presence of salt on the roads or not.
If you commute 5 times a week for one hour each way, you have ten hours of direct spray per day plus 40 hours of festering while you work. That's if you immediately wash it of perfectly when you get home. Sometimes you skip a beat and for some reason you can't wash your bike immediately and it stands, perhaps for a few days. That's not poor maintenance, that's just life.
I don't blame it all on poor maintenance.
