Winter Bikes

[vickster]

The same bike for all. My Rayleigh Royal is a workhorse and apart from touring, it pulls a trailer for big shops, panniers for small shops, day rides, to and from work every day and a great all rounder since new.

Does it have disc brakes though, which the OP wants?

 

[Oldhippy]

No I have always found good quality brake blocks do the job for me personally.

 

[the_mikey]

I had a CGR, just sold it.
Get better mudguards. SKS Longboards.
The wheels died a quick death because the bearing seals are made from a Coca Cola can and invited dirt in.

It depends on which wheels you had, I bought a CGR in 2017 and had Shimano wheels, they're still going well.

 

[the_mikey]

Get better mudguards. SKS Longboards.

As above, if you buy a ribble don't spec their mudguards - buy the SKS Longboard separate.

I recognise it's nice to have long guards but is there any other reason the CGR mudguards are particularly bad?

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

It depends on which wheels you had, I bought a CGR in 2017 and had Shimano wheels, they're still going well.

I had the standard Aksiums. But when they went wrong - after less than 6 months use on mixed terrain - I found out they were only priced at IRO £100 per pair. As I said^^^buy cheap, buy twice🤔

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

I recognise it's nice to have long guards but is there any other reason the CGR mudguards are particularly bad?

Not really tbh, they're much the same thing if it's not actually SKS they would fit anyway.. Nobody ever complained about extra length

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

I recognise it's nice to have long guards but is there any other reason the CGR mudguards are particularly bad?

If riding on mixed terrain, as the bike is designed for, you will get a lot of carp on the back of your legs and front mech from the rear wheel. You will get a lot of the same on your feet from the front wheel.
That's assuming you are moving at a reasonable pace, and not U3A pace. But if you were with them you wouldn't need a bike this good!!
If the riding is to be primarily on the road, then maybe this is the wrong bike. I sold mine when I moved off mixed terrain to road riding. It was the wrong bike, good though it may be in other respects.

 

[BalkanExpress]

The Steel ribble does really appeal as they seem like frames for life, and I like the styling.

We have a winner

Thete comes a point where you have to feel it rather than think it a and I think you are there

 

[straas]

We have a winner

Thete comes a point where you have to feel it rather than think it a and I think you are there

I think you're right. Drove from Manchester to Devon today and was thinking about the endurance 725 a lot.

My concern is the mechanical discs. A lot of guys in the club I talk to have no issue with rim brakes over winter but I do, so I need the discs to be equivalent to my ultegra calipers in the dry.

Does anyone have experience of mech discs in the wet Vs decent rim brakes in the dry? I don't want to pull the trigger on a big spend then be disappointed, as I'm likely to keep this bike till it's worn out.

 

[si_c]

I think you're right. Drove from Manchester to Devon today and was thinking about the endurance 725 a lot.

My concern is the mechanical discs. A lot of guys in the club I talk to have no issue with rim brakes over winter but I do, so I need the discs to be equivalent to my ultegra calipers in the dry.

Does anyone have experience of mech discs in the wet Vs decent rim brakes in the dry? I don't want to pull the trigger on a big spend then be disappointed, as I'm likely to keep this bike till it's worn out.

I commuted in 25mi daily in all conditions for 2 years on mechanical disc brakes, very reliable and consistent braking.

My suggestion would be to upgrade the calipers though - the Tektro calipers on there are single sided units, properly adjusted they will work well, but probably not quite as well as the Ultegra rim brakes you are used to - though they will work in all conditions equally.

Upgrading at least the front to a TRP Spyre will give a noticeable improvement in braking performance.

 

[kingrollo]

I brought cgr Al under a year ago. I went for tiagra and cable disc brakes.

For some reason it came with 35-43 inner tubes - which I only discovered when upgrading the tyres. After that the tyre tube upgrade the bike was much more lively. The cable disc brakes have been ok - but predictably no where the performance of my ultegra hydros.

The CGR is quite a heavy bike - but it might be a comparable weight to the Triban.

Get hydros if you can would be my advice.

 

[biggs682]

Ok it doesn't have disc's , but having just spent a lot less than the op's budget on my my intended winter bike .

It's handmade by one of the UK's top frame builder's and it will still be going in years to come.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I ride a fixed wheel Genesis flyer in winter. The three bikes linked to in this thread would all be summer bikes for me, I like the 520.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

I think you're right. Drove from Manchester to Devon today and was thinking about the endurance 725 a lot.

My concern is the mechanical discs. A lot of guys in the club I talk to have no issue with rim brakes over winter but I do, so I need the discs to be equivalent to my ultegra calipers in the dry.

Does anyone have experience of mech discs in the wet Vs decent rim brakes in the dry? I don't want to pull the trigger on a big spend then be disappointed, as I'm likely to keep this bike till it's worn out.

the cable disks work no better than rims in the dry, but better in the wet. hydrolic brakes outperform both.

 

[Pale Rider]

For a winter bike I would want clearance for studded tyres, which I doubt any of the bikes on the shortlist has.

In this country we can get several weeks of icy/frosty mornings at a time making riding hazardous on anything other than studs.

A gravel/adventure bike with clearance for 40c+ tyres would do the job.