Winter road bike purchase

[d8mok]

Looking to buy a winter road bike which will solely be used for winter/rain etc


Criteria is ... ideally brand new and under £800. Must have mudguard mounts, discs, sealed hub bearings, and a branded half decent drivetrain/brakes.

Current winner so far is a Planet X london road which ticks all the boxes. Am i missing any other bikes to consider?

[sociopath]

I've got a winter bike, I hate it, it's heavy, slow and depressing.
Convert your summer bike to a winter bike with some race blades, and buy a new summer bike. Job done.

[d8mok]

Summer road bike doesn’t have discs/mounts and my Gravel bike costs as much in wear/tear bits after doing winter on it last year.

[Regbuser]

We used to ride Tifosi / Ribble / Kinesis frames in the winter, have you taken a look?

[d8mok]

Regbuser said:

We used to ride Tifosi / Ribble / Kinesis frames in the winter, have you taken a look?

Yes looked at those options and all less spec and more cash.

Even used ones are more money

[sociopath]

I don't think your going to have a huge choice at that price with your requirements, plus you might find it difficult to get a new bike before the winter is over, unless you go for something in stock.

[d8mok]

Yes it’s got to be in stock for sure.


I’ll probably buy the London road later but wanted to check I wasn’t missing a trick.

I ran my Enigma escape as a winter bike last year and it worked well but I had more time to keep on top of cleaning and maintenance.

[Tabs]

I've had a London Road for a couple of years. Use it for canal paths and going around the local reservoir. I don't use it as a winter bike, but it would be an ideal candidate for you. Very low maintenance, but the 11 speed cassette is quite expensive to replace. I buy new chains when on offer, and do a deep clean on them once, and replace on the next occasion. 2 chains per year, and the cassette showing no signs of wear.

[JayRidesBikes]

I would personally go second hand a get something like a Tarmac SL5, or if you want something a little bit more comfortable a Trek Domane. Will easily get more for your money.

[d8mok]

JayRidesBikes said:

I would personally go second hand a get something like a Tarmac SL5, or if you want something a little bit more comfortable a Trek Domane. Will easily get more for your money.

Any links to the sort of thing you are talking about ?


Didn’t think a Tarmac SL5 would be anywhere near budget , or have discs/mudguard mounts.

Trek domane isn’t near budget for a disc version as I’ve looked and the ones that are slightly more are a worse spec than the London road.


No point in buying a well worn bike that’s going to need cash spending straight away hence me concentrating on new.

[d8mok]

Tabs said:

I've had a London Road for a couple of years. Use it for canal paths and going around the local reservoir. I don't use it as a winter bike, but it would be an ideal candidate for you. Very low maintenance, but the 11 speed cassette is quite expensive to replace. I buy new chains when on offer, and do a deep clean on them once, and replace on the next occasion. 2 chains per year, and the cassette showing no signs of wear.

Great thanks for the feedback.

Out of interest how tall are you and which size did you get?

[JayRidesBikes]

d8mok said:

Any links to the sort of thing you are talking about ?


Didn’t think a Tarmac SL5 would be anywhere near budget , or have discs/mudguard mounts.

Trek domane isn’t near budget for a disc version as I’ve looked and the ones that are slightly more are a worse spec than the London road.


No point in buying a well worn bike that’s going to need cash spending straight away hence me concentrating on new.

Sorry I missed the part about discs, which rules the tarmac out at that price (they can take mudguards however, I have put them on mine)

You can pick up a Domane AL 4/5 for under a grand, might have to have some patience though. They come with discs, can mount mudguards and have clearance for 32MM tyres. Ace bikes I used to have one.

Sold recently - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trek-Domane-AL4-56cm-le...

[BoRED S2upid]

Or invest in some winter tyres for your good bike a clip on mudguards and treat it to a decent service at the end of the winter. £800 saved and more enjoyment.

[Tabs]

d8mok said:

Great thanks for the feedback.

Out of interest how tall are you and which size did you get?

I'm 5'10" and bought a medium

[d8mok]

BoRED S2upid said:

Or invest in some winter tyres for your good bike a clip on mudguards and treat it to a decent service at the end of the winter. £800 saved and more enjoyment.

Current good road bike doesn’t have discs and if I’m honest I don’t want to use it through winter.

[Dnlm]

BoRED S2upid said:

Or invest in some winter tyres for your good bike a clip on mudguards and treat it to a decent service at the end of the winter. £800 saved and more enjoyment.

This sounds smart , but found it pretty disheartening cleaning the gunk of the pride and joy, cost of consumables etc etc. hurts mentally though still probably cheap.

sociopath said:

I've got a winter bike, I hate it, it's heavy, slow and depressing.
Convert your summer bike to a winter bike with some race blades, and buy a new summer bike. Job done.

This sounds stupid as hell, and is my decision this winter

Had best only, then a gravel bike I found slow last winter, now got a Kinesis winter/commuter frame after upgrading everything on main bike. I'm disc only across the board so completely useless advice for OP though...

Worth nothing that while the London road looks good value, my experience of mech discs is they're just not worth it. All the disc hassle for rim quality stopping.

[yellowjack]

I have nothing to suggest. But a thanks to the OP for mentioning winter bikes though. Because a look at the Dolan website reveals that the Dolan Preffisio is "back due to popular demand". And I've wanted a Preffisio frame for a while to build a new "winter" bike for myself with components I already have attached to a crash-damaged Merida frame in the rafters of my garage. Just gotta sneak the credit card out of my wife's sight now. Easier to seek forgiveness than be granted permission, etc, etc...

The Preffisio doesn't suit the OP's needs though. Rim brakes and over budget at £1099 for a bike built with Shimano 105. Plus £29.99 for mudguards and the option for a Topeak pannier rack (£39.98) too... https://www.dolan-bikes.com/dolan-preffisio-alumin...

[numtumfutunch]

Will you be riding solo or with mates?
If so what are they riding?

It matters

I bought a phase 1 London Road for commuting/winter road bike and at the beginning it was fine
Mudguards, discs, 28mm tyres (it was a few years ago) and panniers for the commute

Commute remains great but I stopped using it for club rides years ago

To start with it was perfectly decent when everyone else in my club was riding a Kaffenback, Ribble winter/audax bike or anything else made of lump iron and left over gas pipes

But then they started to put clip ons on their carbon bikes and I was at a significant disadvantage

For sure I had discs which in winter are essential in my opinion at least but several kilos of ballast is a big handicap.

Compo for me was that replacing Sora/Tiagra bits was much more cost effective than 105/Ultegra which they go through much faster due to clip ons having less protection than 'proper' and lets face it bloody heavy mudguards

So I flogged the London Rd and bought a carbon gravel bike
2 sets of wheels with nobblies and slicks and you're good to go
Factory mudguards can be off/on in 5-10 mins
Running slicks and minus mudguards its only marginally slower than my best road bike

Cheers

[d8mok]

I’ll be riding solo.

It’s purely to keep my fitness through winter , so I’m not too fussed how fast it is as it’s more about effort. Most likely will be using it before work in pitch black for 2 hour rides a couple of times a week.

Id still be using my gravel bike or mtb on my days off for other riding.

[Barchettaman]

Dnlm said:

Worth nothing that while the London road looks good value, my experience of mech discs is they're just not worth it. All the disc hassle for rim quality stopping.

Mech discs are great, but you need updated housing/cables (eg Jagwire Road Pro), perfectly true discs and some patience setting them up. They’re nowhere near as easy to set up as hydraulic brakes but perform well when they’re dialed in.

Source: ca. 10,000km on Avid BB5 and BB7s in all weathers