If I had penny for every time a customer wanted justification for their N+1 when in the end I have just had to whisper that sometimes I can't reallyyyyyyyy help them justify it over and above them treating themselves
. Do you actually need a winter bike, no, you can use your summer bike, if you ride it in all weathers it will benefit from more TLC interms of cleaning and yes you will have to expect more wear and tear, if you don't fit mudguards expect an ear ache from club mates and if you use lightweight summer tyres expect more punctures if used in inclement weather; but it's not a Rolex for special occasions only, it's to be used. Do I have a winter bike? Yes!
I'm 57, back in the day it was common to ride a fixie through out the winter; I was no different and I still enjoy it to this day. Yes you can use your summer bike in the winter but the same applies vice versa. My winter fixie became my go to bike during the summer for what I called my '
Furlough rides' when I would cycle an hour or so a day to keep healthy, enjoy being outside and if I'm honest to stop my head 'falling off', my bikes are my friends and cycling is my church; I confess it's what saved me last summer!
These days winter bikes are often bought as a new purchase, I've noticed that many buy a
gravel bike, fit road tyres and guards and use it to supplement their more expensive summer bike that perhaps they are more precious with; I totally get that. This is where it was a bit different, back then it was far more common that our winter bikes were not an additional purchase and seen as being indulgent, we already had them as they were our older summer race bikes pensioned off and fettled for winter use, perhaps more puncture resistant tyres and mudguards. Although I ride the bike below as a fixie the frame is over thirty years old and was my
summer holiday bike before I replaced it with a new one, transferring much of the equipment to my (
Van Nicholas Yukon). Note that actual transition would not be as viable these days, most derailleur bikes can not be converted to single speed fixed quite so easily.
The theory back then was that a fixie taught us to pedal efficiently, would keep us warm, simple to maintain if ridden in all weathers on winter chain gang club runs plus we had more control in slippery conditions. For sure back then brakes were no where as good as they are now, indoor trainers were not a 'thing' and the roads were far quieter; I'd start a club run in the snow!
Fast forward to now although the reasons I chose it then are arguably less valid now, I'm a bit more of a fair weather cyclist these days and modern brakes are far better; but it's still what I use as my winter bike for commuting and '
Furlough rides', the latter as I'm still back part time only, odd times in the cycle trade! I live in a flat, in a block, my summer bikes live in my bedroom (I'm single
), when I get back with a dirty fixie that bike lives in a garage so I don't have to walk it through a communal carpeted hallway then trash my flat even more than it already is! As far as I'm concerned a fixie still keeps me warmer, it's still simple with a more durable neglect friendly 1/8" chain fixed wheel set up compared to a 3/32" chain and derailleur with two or more chainrings, plus it offers a very different riding experience that still floats my boat after all these years. That last part shouldn't be undervalued as it is what I was alluding to in my first paragraph, I could get away with out it; but I just wouldn't want to.
