Dedicated Winter Bike

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kervelo
Posts: 862
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2009 6:58 am
Location: Finland

by kervelo

IMO the CAAD12 disc would be quite perfect winter bike. More like a bad weather bike for autumn/spring here in Finland, where the winter is real.

CAAD12 disc should take 28 mm tyres, has disc brakes and a nice light frame. I suppose it would be easy to fit pair of fenders too.

icenutter
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 12:45 pm
Location: Newcastle, UK

by icenutter

Asteroid wrote:Love your bike. Tough looking sucker. Probably indestructible.


Me too, it must weigh a ton though? (I'll declare that my winter bike weighs 11kg, so I'm not picking a fight)

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TonyM
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by TonyM

I am also looking at a dedicated winter bike with fenders, disk brakes, 25mm tires and a "race" geometry like my Colnago.

Can the Cannondale CAAD aluminum frame be used with fenders and 25mm tires ?

I always read that fenders are not easy to install on disk brake frames.....why ?

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Calnago
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by Calnago

TonyM wrote:I am also looking at a dedicated winter bike with fenders, disk brakes, 25mm tires and a "race" geometry like my Colnago.
...
I always read that fenders are not easy to install on disk brake frames.....why ?

As with a lot of things... it depends. The disks can get in the way of mounting the fender stays, so you have to take that into account and maybe do a little bending and fudging to account for that but it can be done. On the other hand, with no rim brakes there's generally scads of clearance where a rim brake may otherwise cause big clearance issues and be even harder to mount a full fender with no breaks in it, or cutting it up to fit. Some frames like Trek Domane etc offer kind of hidden fender mounts to use if you want, and forget if you don't. But with a domane you don't really get anything close to "road race" geometry. But I've found for a nice high end road application, the best installs are do it yourself affairs, since every frame is different, even with different sizes of the same frame, and it can be tedious and time consuming to get right. You need the right frame to begin with... I like at least 6mm of clearance between the tire and any obstacles (brake bridges, brakes themselves... new shimano road brakes are much better for a rounded fender profile than say, Campy Skeleton brakes). Also, are you using your "winter bike" for general commuting or for basically the same rides you'd do in the summer but just want to stay dry. Are you in just a very wet climate, where it maybe cold but without snow and a lot of salt and sand being thrown all over the roads? I contend with mostly just water and cold, but above freezing temps, and it is rare that we get snow so the sand trucks are few and far between. I am fine with rim brakes in these conditions, as caution in wet weather riding is the most important thing regardless of whether you're running rim brakes or discs. But if there was constantly a bunch of sand/salt on the roads, I'd be thinking about disc brakes for sure, or just be doing something else in those conditions than riding a bike.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

stormur
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Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2014 3:50 pm
Location: FIN

by stormur

kervelo wrote:IMO the CAAD12 disc would be quite perfect winter bike. More like a bad weather bike for autumn/spring here in Finland, where the winter is real.

CAAD12 disc should take 28 mm tyres, has disc brakes and a nice light frame. I suppose it would be easy to fit pair of fenders too.


Fenders... bigger tires= no place for it :(

While ago I considered BMC GF02 ( alu with carbon fork ) : nice fenders mounts, 30mm tires with fenders goes easy, good price recently, not bad serial equipment ( like for winetr bike ) . And not so "common" brand/model .

I mean this model : Image
Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.
Mark Twain


I can be wrong, and have plenty of examples for that ;)

Fishbone16
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Joined: Fri Nov 25, 2016 2:26 am

by Fishbone16

Long time reader first time posting.
This is a topic I know very well, do all of my riding outside, about 60km north of Toronto, so from the end of October to mid-April, there's a lot of salt on the roads. I'm currently riding a Giant TCX. I clean the drive train once a week at the local power washer and give the bike a real good going over about once a month and have no issues. Fenders are a must, but really to just keep the crap from spraying all over me. I can easily get 4 or 5 winters out of a bike, as well as the rainy days in the summer and will even race with it in the early season gravel races. Other than changing tires, I will go through a few drive trains over the course of the bike's life.

Steve

kervelo
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Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2009 6:58 am
Location: Finland

by kervelo

TonyM wrote:Can the Cannondale CAAD aluminum frame be used with fenders and 25mm tires ?


The CAAD12 disc has plenty of room at the back for fenders, but at the front not that much. I suppose it depends on the type of fenders used. The missing bridge from the rear may also require some special fitting of the fender.

Image

Multebear
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Joined: Sat May 02, 2015 10:11 pm

by Multebear

kervelo wrote:
The missing bridge from the rear may also require some special fitting of the fender.



This will be a big problem. Not impossible, but it will be very difficult to make a DIY solution that will actually Work and keep working.

I have the same problem on my Giant, and haven't found a way to solve it yet.

Image

mattr
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Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

You can buy band on bridges. Single or double sided IIRC.

I'll see if i can find a link.

mattr
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by mattr

http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/frames-fo ... dge-p14951

Ridley do a part for the X-Trail too. FRPBRIRID001 if you can source one. Seem to be a bit thin on the ground.

SKS mudguards come with a plastic piece that can be ziptied in place, that does the same job.
Also Bowmans have a solution that you might be able to purchase.

Or failing that, two p-clips and 20mm of steel with three holes........

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ergott
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by ergott

icenutter wrote:
Asteroid wrote:Love your bike. Tough looking sucker. Probably indestructible.


Me too, it must weigh a ton though? (I'll declare that my winter bike weighs 11kg, so I'm not picking a fight)


It's just over 11kg as you see it minus seat bag and frame pump. Really not that bad. The carbon rims are nice and light.

My friend has the same frame/fork built up with Red hydro and no fenders/rack/dyno. I got his bike down to 8.6kg.

Multebear
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Joined: Sat May 02, 2015 10:11 pm

by Multebear

mattr wrote:http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/frames-forks-c6/frame-fork-spares-c152/gt-grade-mudguard-bridge-p14951

Ridley do a part for the X-Trail too. FRPBRIRID001 if you can source one. Seem to be a bit thin on the ground.

SKS mudguards come with a plastic piece that can be ziptied in place, that does the same job.
Also Bowmans have a solution that you might be able to purchase.

Or failing that, two p-clips and 20mm of steel with three holes........


Thanks for the link. That is a very usefull idea. Only drawback, Tritoncycles want £ 15 for shipping to mainland europe :oops:

mattr
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by mattr

oldnslow2 wrote:I ride solo and if you wear the right cloths, you don't get wet.
What do you use then? Anything i've tried in the last 25 years either isn't waterproof enough (so you get cold on longer rides) or not breathable enough (so you get soaked from the inside out, then go on to boil in the bag, which is only slightly more pleasant than getting frozen.).

Probably 4 or 5 thousand quids worth of kit that hasn't worked over the years.

And FWIW mudguards that don't fit on a bike like that is a failing of the mechanics imagination and/or skill.

robertbb
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by robertbb

mattr wrote:
oldnslow2 wrote:I ride solo and if you wear the right cloths, you don't get wet.
What do you use then? Anything i've tried in the last 25 years either isn't waterproof enough (so you get cold on longer rides) or not breathable enough (so you get soaked from the inside out, then go on to boil in the bag, which is only slightly more pleasant than getting frozen.).

Probably 4 or 5 thousand quids worth of kit that hasn't worked over the years.

And FWIW mudguards that don't fit on a bike like that is a failing of the mechanics imagination and/or skill.


Here's how to get your kit working (drawing on my experience from hiking/mountaineering):

1) Wicking baselayer. Synthetic is key here wool simply doesn't wick or dry as well, despite the hype.
2) Grid-fleece midlayer. Patagonia R1 as an example (aka: Polartec) another brand could work well, just make sure it's grid fleece. Breathes better and dry's much faster.
3) Schoeller stretch-woven shell. Outdoor research ferrosi windshirt works brilliantly. It legitimately breathes, and has the best DWR (durable water repellant) finish in the business. they also have zips up the forearms if you need to vent.

If you want to add a bit of core warmth to the above, look for a Patagonia nano-Puff vest. 60g Primaloft gold. They are cut perfectly with a slight drop at the back. Make sure it's a vest, so hot air can escape under your pits. This gets worn over the fleece, under the shell. If you warm up lots, the shell packs down super small and will fit into the front pockets on the nano-Puff.

Make sure your extremities (hands, feet, head and face) are kept warm (a good merino winter collar will do the trick for your neck.

As for a winter bike... I have a Fyxation Eastside single speed bike and have several 1 - 1.5 hour loops from my home I can hit, each with varied terrain. If I want to do some specific targeted training, I throw my road bike on the trainer.

:beerchug:

by Weenie


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mattr
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Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

robertbb wrote:1) Wicking baselayer. Synthetic is key here wool simply doesn't wick or dry as well, despite the hype.
2) Grid-fleece midlayer. Patagonia R1 as an example (aka: Polartec) another brand could work well, just make sure it's grid fleece. Breathes better and dry's much faster.
3) Schoeller stretch-woven shell. Outdoor research ferrosi windshirt works brilliantly. It legitimately breathes, and has the best DWR (durable water repellant) finish in the business. they also have zips up the forearms if you need to vent.
Already tried that sort of set up. Boiled in the bag. The "breathable" jackets really aren't that breathable. Not yet found a top layer that actually is when you get the pace up. Opening up vents and suchlike just lets the rain in, or the heat out.

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