The annual winter training bike dilemma.......

[jalapeno]

I find myself in this position every year, sadly even though it's only August it's only a matter of weeks before the nights draw in, the weather gets perpetually wet and the roads permanently lagged with mud and grime. Mind and body are tired from a long season of racing and other key events so while I enjoy what's left of summer just riding for the hell of it my thoughts inevitably turn to the long, dark, wet winter to come.....

Sorry about that lyrical intro...
What's the point of this post.... I guess I want to hear your views on winter training bikes (though if you happen to live in SoCal I guess this dilemma doesn't apply... lucky you!

Traditionally the attitude amongst British cyclists is that your winter training bike should be a hack... but why, logically it doesn't make sense! I've generally followed this route in the past, but every year it bugs me that the bike that I do most miles on 'should' be a piece of crap, for example last winter I accumulated over 8000km on my winter bike. The difference was last year I went part way to having a having a purpose made machine - I rode a fixed gear bike for the winter based around a steel track frame. The lack of maintenance that goes with a gear-less drivetrain made it ideal for winter... almost. It still wasn't perfect, for example with no proper mudguard fixings the mudguards were a bit of a Heath Robinson affair using accessory clips and zip ties, and it only had one set of bottle bosses - so rides more than a couple of hours meant a forced stop to 'refuel'. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so it bugged me.... I'm in the danger of falling into the same trap again this year, bashing out 1000's of miles on a bike that's not perfect... I think this year it's time to bite the bullet and get myself a purpose -built winter machine. For me that probably means a cyclocross frame (for good clearances with fatter tyres if I do want to play on the bridleways), with track ends for fixed/singlespeed use, proper mudguard fixings and a geometry to match my summer race bike. Or should I go back to gears so I can be more specific with my training, though I will say in hilly Cornwall where I live the fixed gave me a good strength workout on the hills while avoiding overtraining by being forced to spin away on the flat. I had possibly my strongest summer ever this year, especially with regard to longer races/rides.....
It means a custom build... which means lots of ££££ generally. Titanium would be ideal because it doesn't corrode, but titanium costs even more £££, so for a given amount of cash do I go for top-quality steel or a cheap titanium construction...? Should it be a fixed gear or should it have gears....

[spookyload]

My winter ride is a cross bike that also races cross, commutes, and is a rain bike. All dependent on what wheels are on. It is a Kona Jake the Snake with Mavic cosmos for commuting with Grand Prix 4 season 25mm tires, Ksyriums with Vredestein Tri comps for rain, and Mavic cosmos for cross with Michelin sprints/jets. The bike has Easton Ultralite tubing and is built with Dura Ace drive train and compact cranks. It is a jack of all trades. Nice sealed BB and Nokon cables so I don't have to polish the bike after commuting two hours in the rain the second I get home. I split running and riding for Nov, Dec, and Jan to avoid late summer burnout so the cross season works out nice. I just go out with the boys and play. No dilusions of Racing the A group. Might not be able to laugh at myself when I fall on my face if I did.

[jer]

I'm in the "hack" catagory. My winter bike (when I lived in Seattle) was a cross bike where the parts I had retired from racing would go to die. I hate throwing away parts that still have some life left in them but I also hate race bikes that don't perform perfectly. This bike was the perfect solution for me.

As to gears vs. fixed, why not both? A Surly cross-check has horizontal dropouts and room for fenders. A cheap aluminum cross bike for the gears will give you room for 32mm tires and that will ride softer than a Ti bike with 25s any day. Both those options together will be cheaper than a custom Ti bike. Fixed is good, but if I tried to ride fixed for 8000k in a winter my knees would never forgive me!

[Pantani]

I do nearly all of my Winter (and Summer) training on a Melin Extralight. As you say, why ride a horrible hacker when its already hard enought to get out in british (or in my case Irish weather). I just put a clip on mudguard on when its soggy. I have a custom steel Bob Jackson with fully guards for when the weather gets really bad, but in practice, its rarely needed. Its hard to beat Ti for the combination of comfort and durability. After five years, the Merlin still looks and rides like new. Big bucks admittedly, but for a bike you can do everything on and which lasts and lasts, the initial investment is well worth it.

[KingstonWheeler]

Get a hack bike for those grim, damp days that we get during the winter here.

But when the sun's shining on a crisp January morning, make sure your real road bike's ready. Even if the conditions are bad, all it takes is a rinse to get ride of the road salt, a clean-up and some new lube to make your proper bike like new again.

[kleiner]

I was facing the same problem and my solution was Cross Bike + Track Bike for road usage - the perfect winter bike (i am a fixed rider) would be a titanium cross bike with track drop-outs but this would be a very expensive custom build

[jalapeno]

I was facing the same problem and my solution was Cross Bike + Track Bike for road usage - the perfect winter bike (i am a fixed rider) would be a titanium cross bike with track drop-outs but this would be a very expensive custom build

this is the way I'm leaning .. Setavento do custom fixed gear frames for £595 though I think I'd rather have steel.... Mercian could build a nice one for about £450 to my spec..... arrrgh! at this rate it'll be spring again!

[jalapeno]

I do nearly all of my Winter (and Summer) training on a Melin Extralight. As you say, why ride a horrible hacker when its already hard enought to get out in british (or in my case Irish weather). I just put a clip on mudguard on when its soggy. I have a custom steel Bob Jackson with fully guards for when the weather gets really bad, but in practice, its rarely needed. Its hard to beat Ti for the combination of comfort and durability. After five years, the Merlin still looks and rides like new. Big bucks admittedly, but for a bike you can do everything on and which lasts and lasts, the initial investment is well worth it.

it;s a good point, I also have an Extralight amongst others.. it's 2 years old, I could put "ordinary" components on it and just use that, Cornwall is very very wet and very muddy in winter due to all the farms but it's so warm there's seldom any salt on the road. The humidity though means the roads are always soaking wet from November to March, I hate a cold wet arse on those 6hr winter training runs so guards are obligatory...!

[butted spoke]

What about an Audax frame?

By Xmas last year I was so fed up riding the wet, muddy Welsh roads on my old 653 hack and getting myself and bike covered in crap that I realised I finally had to act.

I ordered a 725 Audax frame from Argos Racing Cycles in Bristol and built it up with narrow SKS mudguards, my regular 23mm tyres on Open Pro rims and mainly Ultegra components. I have the position set up identically to my race bike but the Audax weighs about 6 lb more which I really appreciate when I swap bikes.

The greatest revelation for me was the mudguards. They keep me and the bike so clean and dry! Iam no longer put off going out by the wet roads and have ended up using this bike a lot more than I used my hack.

[the_taaboo]

My winterbike is my summerbike, ok its not a WW road bike, but the only thing I change: take off the race blades and use back pack hydration in minus degrees.
But I also would have a Cross bike, which would be the 4th bike ->too much.

Regarding your questions: build up a cheep, stiff and powder coated Alu frame (Storck Vision, like I have) with gears.
Taaboo

[col hicks]

living in the uk i do the same i think next year i will get adecent bike for winter and it never happens most of the year the weather is crap. if im lucky i will ride my ww bike a couple of months just broke my hand so not riding for upto six weeks totally gutted