Dedicated Winter Bike

[mattr]

And that interrupted mudguard idea. Might be ok here. But the amount of salt they put in the roads in the uk is quite significant. You'll just need new brakes/headset. Or anything else exposed to spray/dribble. Which with the rain fall, is everything.

[cmcdonnell]

True about the guards, Race blades let all the crap hit your brakes and Cruds are just cruddy. Really miss my Dolan Steel SAT 14.5 I sold about 8 years ago. Same geometry as summer bike but took SKS Cromoplastics with 25 mm tyres (just)

[mattr]

Yeah. I did a winter on race blades. Bought a winter bike as soon as I'd finished paying for all the bits I'd destroyed.

[luckypuncheur]

I opted for the Specialized Diverge Comp Carbon:
Very versatile, excellent mudguards (Spesh PnP), very planted ride, accepts tires up to 32 under the fenders; despite I ride with 28 GP 4Season during the winter months), roadbike-like geometry and also a very capable tourer during the summer months.
Absolutely worth a look!

[cmcdonnell]

The Diverge is a nice bike, just too tall for me unfortunatly

[Asteroid]

Probikekit has the Kinesis 4S Disc for $600 delivered. It includes the fork and FSA integrated headset. Couple of colors to choose from. I bought the T2 V3 (non-disc) from them for about $220 without a fork. Clearance for fenders and 28 tires. Outfitted with new Ultegra 11sp and various decent parts from my stash for less that $1,200 USD. Nice riding bike, for sure. Hoping for rain this coming Winter here in drought-stricken California!

[bontie]

No, but got a very good deal on the groupset. Subsequently swapped for something more appropriate

[Multebear]

And that interrupted mudguard idea. Might be ok here. But the amount of salt they put in the roads in the uk is quite significant. You'll just need new brakes/headset. Or anything else exposed to spray/dribble. Which with the rain fall, is everything.

We have a lot of salting as well in Scandinavia. 2 things:

1) I clean my bike a lot during wintertime. It's a lot of work, but I have to do it no matter what. At least after every 2nd training I need to rinse it down. Wintertraining in these conditions is very hard on the bike. Don't expect the week parts (chain, cassette, bearings, braketrack, brakepad, cables) on the bike to live very long. Which is why everything above Shimano 105 doesn't make any sense. But that's how it is. You can't sit on the hometrainer all winter and win races during summer. Several teammates have tried, and when they come out in spring, they are strong as hell the first hour, but after that, the tank is empty, and they quicly demote them selves to wheelsucking the rest of the way.
2) No matter how well I fender up my bike, there will always be the splashes and squirts, and also from the other guys bikes. We do grouprides all winter, and there is always some douche, that didn't fender up quite properly.

Actually the below instruction isn't accurate. One also needs to prolong the front fender just as far down as the rear one. Otherwise the front wheel will soak your feet very quicly AND spray the riders behind you as well.

[dmoneysworks]

There are a bunch of bikes slotting into this category for 2017 that I've been looking at, here is just a few (that I like):
- Kona Roadhouse
- BMC Road machine
- Focus Paralane

[mattr]

They don't salt much in Sweden, not compared to where is used to live in the uk. And as an added bonus for much of the winter it's not raining, just really cold, so you don't get that horrible salty spray everywhere. Which in the uk is pretty much every ride from October to March.

[wheelsONfire]

I ride 23 or 25 mm tires during winter, like I do during summer. The roads are the same, there are just more wet days. Why would anyone ride 28 mm or more because of winter?

If the tarmac is icy, then don't ride it at all. Ride the woods or the home trainer.

Multebear, i must say, you are one luke dude living in a climate with nice winters
You are welcome to the North and experience snow and ice.

I am sure you'd not even think about riding your bike during these winters

[Multebear]

With 0-5 degrees celcius, and rain most of the time 4-5 months a year, it's probably the worst weatherconditions for cycling. If you have below 0 degrees al the time, you can at least ride the woods on your mtb or cx.

[markgoldstein]

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions everyone!

So far, I've got a shortlist of two bikes...

https://www.orrobikes.com/bikes/road/te ... 105-discus
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/roa ... um-disc-30

[slashdotdash]

So far, I've got a shortlist of two bikes...

https://www.orrobikes.com/bikes/road/te ... 105-discus
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/roa ... um-disc-30

The Genesis Datum is also worth considering if you want a full carbon frame with 'guards and large tyre clearance.

[markgoldstein]

I was considering that, but it doesn't have pannier mounts, is more expensive, and seems to be more "off-road" than I really need.