Share your winter bike.

I don’t have a more recent pic than April, but this tends to take on winter duty when the cold, wet, puncture season arrives. It’s an early 90s Rudy Project aluminium mtb frame, 10-speed Shimano 105, TRP Eurox cantis (they’re hopeless), 26” Mavic Crossride wheels and 2.2” Halo Twin Rail tyres. Previously had it built up as a mtb with 9-speed SRAM X0, Shimano DX brakes and Monkeylite risers, but this will be its third winter in drop bar guise.

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Roads dry: One of my two beloved Record Ergopower equipped steel mounts.

Roads wet: The ugly black crappy Carrera whatsit from Halfords 'The thing from the black lagoon' Never clean it, don't care even remotely about it. Just keep the bits that need it well oiled and weekly check that nothing's loose on it. No mudguards, I begrudge even spending that on it. But it gets me out on the road and takes me home again so fair dues.
 
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I don’t have a more recent pic than April, but this tends to take on winter duty when the cold, wet, puncture season arrives. It’s an early 90s Rudy Project aluminium mtb frame, 10-speed Shimano 105, TRP Eurox cantis (they’re hopeless), 26” Mavic Crossride wheels and 2.2” Halo Twin Rail tyres. Previously had it built up as a mtb with 9-speed SRAM X0, Shimano DX brakes and Monkeylite risers, but this will be its third winter in drop bar guise.

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Have you tried lowering the straddle wires so they are closer to the tyres? Also; what pads are you using? . Swissstop BXP work well for me.
 
Going back to the first post on here about the actual need for a winter bike these days, I get the point that disk brakes make winter riding less of an issue, but unless you like having a wet backside, I don't get the idea that mudguards aren't needed. Plus, even if you clean your bike meticulously after each ride, those expensive gears are going to get worn a lot quicker, that's just inevitable, surely?

But, it's true I have noticed that plenty of people do ride their expensive carbon jobs all year round even without removable mudguards, so this is a 'thing', for whatever reason.

Another definite trend is titanium being used for winter bikes, which makes a lot more sense to me (I sometimes wish I had bought a Planet X titanium frame plus carbon fork when they were selling them for £500 a few years ago - that seems more of a ridiculous bargain as the years go by...).
 
Don't know what it's like in club runs anymore as I'm a miserable sod these days so ride by myself but it used to be that you'd get slated if you turned up without guards between the end of October and the beginning of March.
There could be many reasons for people not having winter bikes - I dunno, there's loads that I can think of but just two which spring to mind are:
Cost. Once you've laid out many thousands for a top of the range carbon with electric this & that maybe you don't feel like shelling out some more for a winter bike.
Storage space. If you live in a new build you might have enough room for one bike but that's probably it. She Who Must Be Obeyed manages a storage company which has most of it's smaller units leased to people who live in apartments with little storage. Some of them have an internal utility cupboard which contains a washer/dryer with not much room for anything else and a designated space in an external bike shed.
 
Getting a wet bum doesn’t bother me. ‘Winter’ bike in my case is more of a bike that can deal with being ridden over potholes, flint, mud and broken glass when the conditions aren’t good enough to avoid them (dark, damp, slippery, poor visibility, seasonal drunk drivers etc). It can also do snow, slush and a bit of ice. My main year-round daily is a fixed gear track bike which can only take 20c tyres. It’s not a dry weather bike, but it can’t handle being ridden over that stuff.
 
Going back to the first post on here about the actual need for a winter bike these days, I get the point that disk brakes make winter riding less of an issue, but unless you like having a wet backside, I don't get the idea that mudguards aren't needed. Plus, even if you clean your bike meticulously after each ride, those expensive gears are going to get worn a lot quicker, that's just inevitable, surely?

But, it's true I have noticed that plenty of people do ride their expensive carbon jobs all year round even without removable mudguards, so this is a 'thing', for whatever reason.

Another definite trend is titanium being used for winter bikes, which makes a lot more sense to me (I sometimes wish I had bought a Planet X titanium frame plus carbon fork when they were selling them for £500 a few years ago - that seems more of a ridiculous bargain as the years go by...).
With you on the mudguard thingy. Not just for yourself but think of your buddies behind

The Spa titanium audax frame is good About £800 and better than the PX cos it can fit guards
 

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