Originally Posted by Andy_K

I think the issue is that one of the most important "demands of racing" is that the bike be in perfect working order with no bearings dragging, no brakes rubbing, no misalignment in the shifting system, etc. The surest way to keep a bike in this state is not to ride it.

But I think this goes beyond racing. Many of us want a bike that's in perfect working order that we can hop on a ride without a care. If a bike is only ridden in ideal conditions it's really easy to keep it running like that. Conversely, many of us also want a bike that we can abuse.

I've read people saying that you should wash your bike and clean the drivetrain after every rainy ride. Do you know how burdensome that would be in the PNW? I want a bike that I can take out and ride in any conditions and then just hang it on a hook when I get home and take it out for more of the same the next day. This takes a major toll on the drivetrain, but it makes my life a lot easier. My rain bike only gets maintenance when something is obviously wrong.

I used to have a "nice bike" and a "rain bike" because of this, but my "nice bike" was a cyclocross bike and when I actually took up cyclocross racing I discovered just how much abuse it could take. And since it rains almost every day nine months of the year here, it made sense for my "rain bike" to be a nice bike, so I made that change. My designated rain bike is now one of the nicest bikes I own. But I still have other bikes that I only ride in fair weather for the reasons stated above.