[martinsynapse]

I don’t own a really high end road bike – you know the £13k ones – and while I don’t need one, I often want one… and Instagram and Cyclist magazine aren’t helping with that.

For context I ride about 3k miles a year, much of that urban commuting or out into the muddy wet rural side lanes. I ride in rain & mud – and my bike gets covered in that fine layer of grit all the time. It’s my gym, it’s a tool I use.

BUT as I see people out on a Sunday with expensive but pristine bikes … for example the Trek Madone, Cervelo R5, S-Works Tarmac SL8 etc – I do wonder what it’s really like to own and use one in British autumn & winter?

1. Do bikes like these need to be looked after like a fragile prince/princess?
2. Do they need to be cleaned after every use?
3. Do they require really elaborate servicing?
4. Do people who own them keep them for spring & summer only?
5. Are they particularly iffy when the roads are frosty? 

 

 

Topic

[pablo]

 No different to any other

 No different to any other bike they all use basically the same bits i wouldn’t expect them to require anymore or less maintainance.  Frankly a 13K bike is laughable but great for marketing and i’m sure if you’ve got the spare cash it’s easy to justify but it won’t make you faster than the 18 year old on a 10 year old bike bought on ebay for £500.   Specialized have just launched a 13k gravel bike which sounds even more of a stupid risk over a 13k road bike.  
The marketing machine seems to have moved on from Aero and seems to be hammering on about how light these really expensive bikes are and again that 10 year old bike is probably lighter……

[Cugel]

If you race avidly and

If you race avidly and frequently, a bike of the type you describe may be worth having – although there’s no significant difference, other than price, bling and fragility, in similar bikes costing a quarter or a fifth of the price. The less expensive ones, as others mention, may be tougher i’ their parts’; and will anyway cost far less to mend if you break or trash a part. Also, bling of the £12,000 bike ilk says, “I am a dafty but this bike is worth stealing”.

However, given your description of your riding, you really don’t want an out & our race bike at all. Far better to select a bike fit for your purposes, not those of the racer you might have fantasies about …. but aren’t in your everyday cycling.

Around 20 years ago I gave up racing and quickly sold the racing bikes, leaving the tourer. I then got a cyclo-cross bike of the all-road kind – fittings for guards, panniers and other stuff allowing it to be easily transformed into various bike types for various kinds of cycling. The comfort, carrying capacity and ability to go anywhere in any weather have been far more useful than somethng that might go 5 minutes faster for the same energy input over 20 miles.

These days I have various bikes but they fall broadly into summer and winter bikes permed with sporty and carrying varieties. I even have racy bikes but they’re now configured for a much more upright position and gears I’ll use all the time, as well as fat tyres and so forth. Lowest gear 30 front and 36 rear but also a 52 front and a 14 rear highest, with a middle ring for cruisin’. Good for an ole phart who still loves hills.

Other bikes of mine have motors in ’em! I fear no hills, even them double arra ones.

*************

In short, why waste money on a blinger for a style of cycling you never do? Be practical, man!  Also, avoid being passed by horribly fit sprogs on a cheap Triban sneering at your low speed despite the TdeF bike. 🙂 

[bobbinogs]

The way I look at it is like

The way I look at it is like F1 in cars, the topend stuff is designed to go fast and last the race, but not a lot more.  Hence, winter riding for me is about getting out on something less than fancy (my old 9 speed Campag seems agricultural but shifts great and lasts ages).  Ironically, on my modern winter bike this means 10 speed.  As above though, the weather will do its thing (think of what perfect grinding paste wet road grit/mess is) so little things like threaded BBs help because they can be swapped out with no fuss, same goes for cup/cone bearings with decent seals, which help keep the crap out and are easy to service and regrease, etc.  A top end bike will typically come with low resistance bearings with thin lubricant (although the benefits are questionable at best).  I also ride handbuilt wheels in the ‘winter’ instead of superlight carbon jobs because they can be rebuilt when the rims are prematurely shot.  I do understand why some swear by discs, etc., but riding 2 grand lightweight carbon wheels whilst wearing one’s entire wardrobe seems just pointless, IMO.

I have a nice bike but I keep it for the nicer weather (which may be a lovely cool, dry and sunny day in January) mainly because when thrashing against a strengthening easterly with the odd sting of hail to my face, riding a nice bike seems to make no difference to my riding pleasure.

[David9694]

Whether a bike is so hallowed

Whether a bike is so hallowed either because it’s worth £13k or it’s an amazing vintage restoration, the dilemma is whether to ride it / ride it in grotty weather. 

My opinion is that a £13k bike is a security liability and that you could have up to 4 really nice bikes for that, each suited to different conditions.  Having said that, I also keep my best (Ti) bike for winter riding – it’s an incentive to go, I tell myself. Shame it runs Ultegra 6800.

Don’t forget that Dura Ace and the like are the plaything of pro teams for whom money and mechanic labour are no object. 

Do bikes like these need to be looked after like a fragile prince/princess?

you’d expect to get light and strong wouldn’t you, but that isn’t always my experience of high end stuff (see above) 

Do they need to be cleaned after every use?

yes – protect your investment – you’ll enjoy a clean bike a lot more  

Do they require really elaborate servicing?

no more than a bike of £4K. If you’ve running snowflake modern stuff like BB30 or D12 shifting, you’re setting yourself up for the associated problems at any level. It’s easy to bash a pedal and whether you’ve paid £50 or £250 won’t make much odds. 

Do people who own them keep them for spring & summer only?

yes – its usual to have a winter bike that runs full time mudguards and has chunkier tyres perhaps with a cheaper/ cheaper to run drive train. 

Are they particularly iffy when the roads are frosty? 
no more than anything else.  Again, though you probably won’t want to risk a spill e.g. your CF handlebars or super pricey pedals. 

[Author]

Replies