Building the best bike for … winter and wet weather riding

Building the best bike for … winter and sodden weather riding

Call me old fashioned, but I prefer to build frames into bicycles rather than buying stock alternatives off the shop floor. I have a habit of nitpicking and overthinking all the components of a motorcycle, peculiarly when curating a improve for a particular event or destination. To me, it’s not overthinking, it’s simply due diligence to ensure I construct the right tool for the job.

Take my Everesting bike, for example. Although I simply completed the construct exactly hours before the travel, the motorcycle resulted from what can only be described as an lengthy investigate study that are beginning eight months earlier.

I guess this attention to detail is my nerd power. Rather than keep it to abysmally unorganised spreadsheets, the powers that be at CT decided I should( speak- I pled them to let me) share this nerdiness. This article is the first in a series of facets this year in which we will develop the most wonderful bicycle for different contests and purposes. In each feature, we will look at the demands of a specific event, the motorcycles and constructs most commonly seen at such happenings, some “optimisation” options, and finally, a habit motorcycle develop to meet those asks.

This series is about the perfect bike for each happening, as I see it. Think Everesting head tube fairing and three-speed cassette, rather than off-the-shelf develops. As I will decide the entire structure of each bicycle, I thought it perhaps best to start with a motorcycle I was constructing long before my CT days.

The specific necessitates of soak and wintertime condition on bicycles

Wet weather and extremely winter drive can be pretty tough on motorcycles equipment systems. Rain and road spray can lead to rust and corrosion, which will not only reduce equipment longevity but is likely to be downright perilous. Dirt and grit washed onto the road can wreak havoc with your drivetrain and restraint faces. But these are minor questions compared to the bike-eating road salt that gritters spray on the roads in icy maladies. That’s not to mention the included suffering of going in sodden package.

A good winter/ soaked condition motorcycle needs to protect itself from these elements, as well as protect its rider.

Traditional solution

Former” summertime bikes” can often find themselves demoted to winter bike status when their owner invests in a brand-new motorcycle. The compounding of partially threadbare the case of components and a reorganised hierarchy makes countless equestrians are more willing to sacrifice the” old bicycle” than contact for the” good bicycle” when wintertime names in.

This relegation offers a practically free option to save the summer bike, selling the age-old bike isn’t partly money the new motorcycle. Furthermore, countless brands now offer clip-on mudguards compatible with nearly any made, also offering some terms of protecting the rider.

Other equestrians turn to touring formulates or dedicated winter motorcycles with mudguard eyelets, extra tyre permission, and normally cheaper price tags. More recently, many equestrians have turned to gravel and cyclocross bikes to double up as winter street spoofs. If “were living” somewhere that requires that type of tires, they’re a great option. But in this piece, we’re precisely talking about winter road bikes.

Building a motorcycle for wintertime travelling

In the winter of 2019, I set about improving my excellent winter street bike. The daytimes of riding my race bike year-round to “keep the feeling” ended with my” pro job “. Having relegated many old-fashioned racing bikes to winter drive and nearly literally going them into the ground, I decided it was time to build a bike to last. A motorcycle solely built to tackle the winter factors and hitherto close enough to my time bike that I could happily jump on it for a dry summer’s date.

I made a relatively short checklist of what the bicycle needed 😛 TAGEND

Low price. This is a utility motorcycle , not my pride and joy. Eyelets for full mudguards breast and rear. Similar geometry to my hasten bike. Full length, lever to derailleur, cable housing.Disc restraints( don’t dislike; I can explain) The alternative for an electronic groupset should I want to switch in the future.Frame only. I wanted to build the bicycle consuming ingredients I previously had, and upgrade to the ideal options as older, already partly threadbare segments needed supplanting. Tubeless wheelset

The best bicycle for wintertime going

Frame

The Dolan RDX, is relatively cheap, ponderous, and indestructible. Perfect for winter.

Lightweight and aero scooting bicycles are nice to ride, but wintertime can sap the life and colour out of formulates and factors. Aero additions and becoming fast in winter only serve to increase the wind chill on the coldest eras, so for once, I was on the hunt for the opposite of aero. Furthermore, I don’t need to repeat the heavines and journey character benefits of carbon formulates, but we all know they don’t like dropping and never is a crash more likely than in slippery winter cases.

A titanium make seemed to be the best option: corrosion-resistant with good go caliber, but having regard to the ordinary cost of a titanium formulate, this alternative precipitated at checklist piece number 1. Instead, I opted for an aluminium Dolan RDX.

Dolan might not be the most well-known brand, but having improved formulates for some of the biggest stars of the racetrack, the Liverpool-based frame make has almost icon-like status within Britain and Ireland. The RDX ticks many of my checklist boxes. It is cheap- I paid PS200 for this make and fork brand new in an end-of-season sale. The RDX aspects mudguard eyelets, plentiful tyre permission for road journeying, is full-length-cable-housing friendly, and a teach soon done it electronic compatible. Best of all, with the build I have here, it is properly ponderous. 11.2 kg heavy.

This RDX is not peculiarly sprightly either, simply perfect for winter when departing slower is better. The aluminium make should be content enough to soak up the curious whack, while the carbon forkings should volunteer some tier of superhighway hum absorption up front. Crucially the RDX examines cool, at least in my attentions. The almost-horizontal top tube and chiefly round tubing give it a classic road racing examine, despite the option for wider tyres and mudguards.

Mudguards

Clip-on mudguards are fine, but if I had a kilometre for every time I had heard them rattle, scratch, or eventually break off, I might have won a few more scoots. More importantly, clip-on guards often simply cover a portion of the wheel, impeding the rider’s foot and rear end dry but offering little in accordance with the rules of chassis, sole bracket, and headset shelter. The excellent soggy forecast motorcycle must have mounting spots for full-length mudguards breast and rear.

Many riders are adverse to putting mudguards on their road motorcycles but the protection mudguards render the frame, equestrian, and kit is a must for me in damper environments. Coming soak on a warm summer’s day is fine, but even damp streets in wintertime can lead to wet kit, starting it even more difficult to stay warm. There is also the fact my local group travel mandates mudguards to join the group in winter.” If not for yourself, must be considered the equestrian behind .”

Full-length cable dwelling

Full-length cable casing, in you go …

As mentioned already, wintertime bikes are built to serve a purpose and simply survive fumble weather conditions. Moisture can work its way in anywhere, and the more openings in a cable residence, the more entry points, and the quicker cables need supplanting. I suspect had a SRAM Rival AXS groupset been lying in my spares carton, that might have been the ideal option. Alas, the groupset didn’t even exist at the time and even at its entry-level pricing for an electronic groupset, it nearly eclipses the budget for the entire bike.

Enter full-length cable house. With no ends in the casing from lever to derailleur, any moisture ingress restricted to simply two locations. I’ve only replaced one derailleur cable in three winters of soaking and soggy outdoor and sweaty indoor going. Ironically I varied that cable the morning I broke my leg, so I haven’t actually used it hitherto.

Groupset

That heads me delicately to the groupset of hand-picked for wintertime journeying. Winter bikes tend to feature lower-end groupsets with factors that are cheaper to supersede if these components do get the better of them. For the above reasons, high-end and electronic groupsets are generally out of the question.

Undoubtedly, a new Ultegra groupset is a high-end groupset and too good to fit this statement. However, I are caught up this pre-loved hitherto bargain groupset on eBay for a cyclocross erect that never happened. The mechanical 2×11 quicken with hydraulic discs was too good to sit gathering dust and it’s flawless for winter instruct.

Ultegra is arguably very good for this job.

Disc restraint

Unsurprisingly I existed 15 years of wintertime travelling on rim restraint bikes before I set out to build the best winter bike. We are more likely all had enough of the disc damper controversy. Thankfully, there can be no argument when it comes to winter bikes.

I’m not talking about improved modulation or soak brave carry-on; for wintertime motorcycles it’s more a matter of braking surface. Ride a full soggy winter in Ireland, with gritty roads and seemingly constant rainfall, and your rim damper rotates’ braking skin-deep could be all but destroyed. That necessitates frequent and expensive wheelset replacings. Ride the same winter on disc restraints, and at most, you’re out the cost of a few placeds of pads.

Superpower rhythm

The Infocrank is not the lightest or prettiest powermeter, but it is robust. This one has hindered weigh of the watts wintertime after wintertime without so much as a blip.

A winter bike is for wintertime instruct , not just winter riding, so a supremacy rhythm was a must in this build. Waterproofing, robustness, and reliability were key. I already had several Verve Infocranks , none of which had presented any reliability issues.

While far from the lightest or prettiest of supremacy meters, the Infocrank is reliable and robust. The bike currently has an SRM power meter as part of an upcoming inspect.

Tubeless tyres

At the risk of getting the boot from the primary geeks, I am perfectly behind tubeless road for rain and wintertime artery riding. Priority number one for wintertime going is staying warm. Winter streets are littered with tenacity, debris, and often thorns or tree parts. It’s pretty tough to keep warm when stopped setting stabs. For the above reasons alone, I’m all for tubeless, sealant, and even more frequently checking tyres on the winter hack.

The option to run lower tyre pressure is an added benefit. Improved grip and strengthened razz comfort are not bad things on a winter’s era. Sticking with ease for a few seconds, I had a reasonably aged Specialized Zertz seatpost gleaning junk. Although only a small benefit over the stock post, the chance of finding some journey consolation additions from the carbon post with its vibration-absorbing Zertz insert were too tempting to ignore.

Wheels

Prime rotates for less than prime brave.

Admittedly, these Prime Stagiaires are not the ideal motors I had in mind for the best winter motorcycle. The contrive was to replace these with custom-built, 32 -spoke, landmine-proof hoops when the Primes ultimately resisted to the winter states. Three winters and simply a single cartridge producing later, the used Primes I bought for PS80 are still going strong. For strictly sustainability reasonableness, I can’t justify an ameliorate until these “ve met” their creator.

That said, the plan from the beginning was to build a bike not only for wintertime but also for soak time eras. Wet summer epoches are much kinder than winter requirements, and we all generally journey faster in summer. As such, I now have the luxury of swapping in plusher rotates, such as the DT Swiss ERC rotates( with QR adapter ), I currently have awaiting review when this leg soothes. The lighter, snappier trip from the carbon DT Swiss rotations should keep the RDX appealing for wetter epoches even though they are the forecast is not.

The DTs are ready to roll should summer not go to plan.

Lightings, Garmin, action

Winters are dark and so being realise is most important for me in both my garment and my rig preferences. On the motorcycle, this entails front and rear dawns and the strange reflector likewise. I will always ride with a figurehead and rear glowing in winter, as seen in the photos. If riding in the hours of darkness, I’ll typically lent at least another lamp or two to the front and rear.

Sticking with tech, I will supplement a temperature data field to my leader division for winter riding. It is good to know if the temperatures are stopping and it’s time to top residence or be aware of potentially icy necessities.

Be bright, be seen. Is that a cork-bar-tape-matching Garmin cover?

Undoubtedly if fund was no object there are some improves I could oblige to improve on this wintertime bike. A titanium chassis, an electronic, probably wireless, groupset, and those hardier wheels. That said, a wintertime bike isn’t about the best of the best. A winter motorcycle is about steadfast reliability, ever ready when you are and a motorcycle you’re not cherished about paying a little abuse.

Of everything in this build, the only way I would want to improve it would be to opt for Dolan’s titanium version of roughly the same bike.

Disc restraint are extremely important, thru-axle was not.Mudguards on and still eyelets to spare. Note the SRM powermeter making an appearance as part of an ongoing review. Love your wintertime bicycle, but understand it may have a rough life. A wintertime bicycle is there to do the hard miles when you want to protect your good bike. A comfy saddle is a must year round, but especially in winter when practice most often involves long steady goes mostly in the saddle. Some included Zertz for a little extra comfort. Deda, Zipp, Giant, and Garmin all on a Dolan. A wintertime bike can be a home for numerous brands.Two of your finest inexpensive , non-plastic bottle cages please.Extra external cables, pate divisions, and big-hearted daylights. The more drag the very best. Sometimes even full-length mounted mudguards sounds. Nothing a little silicon can’t fix.

Read More

Read more: cyclingtips.com