roadsnakes

My LBS told me I shouldn`t ride my only bike all year long. I have a TREK Verve III.

I don`t ride in the snow and slush, but when the roads are dry , I ride.

The LBS told be the salt residue on the roads would kill my TREK, and I need to get a "Winter Bike".

Does anyone ride the same bike all year?

cyccommute 

Someone is trying to sell you another bike. There's nothing wrong with having more than one bike but don't buy a "winter bike" just to keep your current (inexpensive) bike clean.

Please don't take this the wrong way but your Verve is what many who are looking for an inexpensive winter bike would use. It's inexpensive enough to be replaced after several seasons of year around riding.

To maintain it, wash it after riding in salty conditions. A car wash will be fine as long as you don't put the spray nozzle right at any bearing surfaces. For around the hubs, bottom bracket and headset, use the spray that comes out of the handle when you don't pull the trigger. And you don't need to wash it for hours. Around my neighborhood, the car washes have a 2 minute minimum. That's usually a minute too long.

bpcyclist

Not sure where you are located, so my response might be a bit different if I knew where that was. That said, tons of people ride the same bike year-round. However, it certainly is a fair bit of work to keep a bike clean in the winter where I live or, say, in Cleveland or NYC. It's a non-issue in Phoenix or Miami. Me, personally, I don't like washing my bike every day. It's a pain. But to keep it looking and performing decently, that is almost required during our rainy season. That season is quite long here, maybe 8 months or so. As a result of that, I will be buying a 'summer' bike in the spring (probably a Cervelo R2 with some kind of electronic gruppo, maybe Force). I will then use my BMC in the wet months and instead of washing every day, I''ll maybe do it twice a week. For me, this type of arrangement makes sense. But, my plan requires investing a pretty good little chunk of cash into that new bike.

I believe it is a luxury, not a requirement. If I were you, I would examine how much energy and time you want to put into the bike in the winterish months, If you like cleaning bikes and spending time messing around with them, then I would say don't get another bike. If you don't like spending that kind of time caring for a filthy bicycle, then it might be worth getting a 2nd ride. Just my take and YMMV.

roadsnakes

"your Verve is what many who are looking for an inexpensive winter bike would use. It's inexpensive enough to be replaced after several seasons of year around riding."





Well, then I guess I`m in the wrong forum.

I`m retired , living on Social Security. And there`s no way I`m considering a $700.00 bike "inexpensive" and should be "Replaced" after several seasons.

baldilocks

If your Verve is your good bike, then you might want to find a beater for a winter bike. You are in the right place. My good bike was $465.00 before modifications.

subgrade

Sure you can ride one bike all year round. However, there is no way around that winter with salt on streets will wear your transmission and brakes a lot faster. So if you ride the bike on regular basis in winter, then even with frequent washing, cleaning and lubing you can expect that at least the chain, casette and brake pads will have to be replaced after the winter season.

Of course, if you ride only when the roads are dry, it is not as bad, as you'll pick up much less of salt and grime, plus there probably won't be all that much dry days anyway (depends on where you live, of course).

A set of full fenders can help minimize the wear and keep yourself cleaner and dryer too.

wolfchild

I have 3 different bikes, two with steel frames and one with aluminium frame and they get used all year round.

roadsnakes

I live in Wisconsin.
Last year was a brutal Winter, but I still got plenty on riding in. They plow and salt very quickly after a snow. The salt left behind is the problem. Roads are dry, but you can see that they are white from the salt.
The paths in the parks get plowed, but not salted. So I try to stay in the parks, but getting to and from the parks still adds miles of riding on salted roads.
Last year I oiled and wiped the chain down frequently, but still needed the a chain replacement come Spring.

cyccommute 

You took what I was saying the wrong way. In the grand scheme of things, your Verve is "inexpensive". If you had a more expensive bike...$1500 and higher...then getting a "winter bike" would make some sense. For some people, your Verve is going to be a "winter bike". It's not that expensive, works better than a HelMart bike and provides a pretty good ride. At some point in the future, the cost of maintaining it and replacing parts is more than the cost of a new bike of equivalent quality. There's little to no sense in spending another $700 on repair costs.

For your situation, it makes little sense to buy another bike to ride in the winter so as to protect your current bike. Staying in the Trek family, the cheapest bike that is similar to the Verve is an FX 1. At $450, it's half the cost of the Verve. If it were a quarter of the cost or even more, it might be worth buying to protect your "good" bike but even that would be a difficult justification.

Ride your Verve in the winter, spring, summer and fall. Enjoy it. Clean it occasionally and do maintenance on it. When you reach a point where it needs new wheels or major work on the drivetrain*, weigh the cost of repairing it to getting a new one. But you really don't need a winter bike.


*Just to be clear, any consumable like chains, tires, brake pads, or cables are not "major" work. That's just normal wear and tear.

mr,grumpy 

Well, yea. This is, after all, an Enthusiast's forum full of people who spend thousands of dollars on bikes. Of course, if you really spent $700 on a bike that lists for $649 then no wonder they want to sell you another bike!

Honestly, what would you even get at a price point that would be lower than your Verve that you could even consider as disposable in your circumstances? Sure you could get a used bike, if you were comfortable with that kind of a purchase, but if you were interested in used, you would already likely have a "nicer" bike than the Verve at a similar or lower price.

I would just ride that bike when you feel that the conditions are safe enough for such activity. I think that if you become a dedicated enough cyclist to ride through a winter you are going to be figuring out a way to get a "better" bike next season and the Verve will become your "winter bike".

scoatw

I've been riding a aluminum framed Gary Fisher year round for 12 years now. I've had to replace several parts over the years but the bike is holding up good. I wouldn't trade it for nothing.

u235

Any bike can be a winter bike. I bought my bike to enjoy riding it, it is a tool to work for me, not something that I work for it. If I could have bought a beater to ride in the winter and enjoyed it I wouldn't need a summer bike. This massive damage and constant cleaning that people think happens and do is not required. Sure, if you are racing and have a bike specific for max performance in that area than put it away for now but that is not the case here. Maybe I wouldn't drive my expensive rear wheel drive sports car with summer tires in the winter but I'd drive my almost as expensive four door sedan in the winter.

rumrunn6

FWIW - Lots of us on the forum have never spent more than $300 on a bike cuz we buy used

Jim from Boston

One Bike , All Year Long I have previously posted

GrainBrain

I ride my mtb all year and as my winter bike. Healthy doses of triflow keep the chain in good shape. I use a pump chemical sprayer to spray the bike down after particularly salty rides.

Jim from Boston

I have previously posted:

rumrunn6

January / February 2015 no doubt ...

Jim from Boston

Indeed. That was a staged picture in Kenmore Square. I did ride that morning for a few miles (on an errand) on passable streets with studded tires.

Tremont St:

roadsnakes

I`d like to thank many of you for your replies.

Right now my plan is to leave my Trek hanging in the basement over the winter. I have a older Schwinn Passage in VERY good condition that I`ve cleaned up and have been riding so far this Winter.

I probably won`t ride as many miles as I would have with my Trek, but I`ll still be out there over the Winter getting "The Breeze, Between My Knees".

But, the difference in the Comfort level between the two bikes is drastic. And because of my age and medical problems, even more so.

The cold does not bother me, but the change in riding position and lack of suspension, is hard on my back.

But, I am glad I never got rid of my Passage. It holds a lot of good memories, and over the Winter, I plan on adding a few more.

When I bought The Passage it was one two touring bikes offered by Schwinn that year. The other was The Voyager .

Miradaman

roadsnakes

Like you, I'm in no position to spend crazy money on multiple bikes just to crap them up and replace them. Even that Schwinn of your looks way too nice to take out in winter IMO. I say get a cheap used beater bike, like an old ATB that has a more upright seating position that won't bother your back. After living 20+ years in Chicago I'm a big fan of beater bikes for commuting, errand running and winter riding. Don't have to sweat it getting stolen when you lock it up somewhere, and pothhole/curb/salt damage can be fixed with cheap parts. I ride year 'round through snow, slush and salt with an '87 Schwinn Mirada. Great tough bike that has never failed me once depite years of abuse and utter neglect.

Miradaman

"I ride year 'round through snow, slush and salt with an '87 Schwinn Mirada."

Not that we have snow, slush and salt year 'round here, I meant year 'round including through snow, slush and salt in winter...

stevel610 

Looks like you have a very good set up.

I was going to say that I think of $150 Craigslist bikes as winter bikes.

PaulH

I don't buy into the "cheap bike for winter argument." I find an IGH, full or partial chain enclosure, dynamo, fenders, drum brakes, and storage for winter clothing are all essential and add up to an expensive bike. My winter bike, with studded tires swapped out for non-studded, is my spring, summer and fall bike as well. Why not? If it is adequate for severe service, it will be fine for less demanding conditions as well The function of the bike is convenient transportation and having to wash it would be counterproductive. I've gone for 20 years and the bike is fine.

Gresp15C

This summer I finally decided to build up a dedicated winter bike. It eliminates having to swap tires, and keeps the salt off my other bikes. It's an old Schwinn frame with odd parts that were in my bins.

For me, showing the world that I only need one bike is kind of pointless. The world already knows, and I have enough space for a spare bike or two.

Since we've had early snow, I've been able to take the bike on a few shakedown rides. I will probably conclude that gears are a good thing. The main issue is that if I stand on the pedals, I lose traction on my rear wheel. It's a single speed right now. I have a 3 speed coaster hub, and maybe Santa will bring me spokes and a rim.

Everybody's climate and winter road conditions are different, so there's no one-size-fits-all solution to winter cycling. Madison salts the streets pretty heavily. Even when the streets are dry, a salt dust gets churned up, that sticks to bikes.

roadsnakes

I get plenty of snow. We`ve already had over 13 inches and it`s only Mid-November.

The city is good on plowing and salting. So a few days after a heavy snow the streets are very rideable. But , they are white with salt.

I have two nice parks near by. One about two miles away, and another about 4-5 miles away. They are fairly big with a both having a lagoon and wooded area. They plow the paths in the parks but do not salt. So I like to ride in those parks. I make a large figure 8 in both parks, going around the lagoon, and through the woods. I get plenty of "pucker" moments hitting some icy stretches though. Even more so riding the Schwinn Passage with those narrow tires. But, it adds some excitement to rides.