Road Bike, Cycling Forums banner

which bike to ride in bad/wet weather?

2K views 17 replies 13 participants last post by  nayr497 
#1 ·
And why?

Situation: I'm moving to North Carolina in January and will be there for awhile (at least a year, maybe permanently). I cannot bring all of my road bikes because of living space issues. I ride daily and won't see much snow or salt, but will see wet road and winter grime. I'm going to put on some Crud full fenders for the winter. I can't decide which bike I should use as my 2nd/bad weather/alternate bike.

Bike #1: 2009 LOOK 566 (carbon frameset), 2009 Centaur groupset (carbon), Neuvation wheelset (nice but modestly priced), nice parts throughout

Bike #2: 75th anniversary Casati Laser, 2007 Centaur groupset (alloy), Campagnolo Record Hubs + Mavic Open Pro Rims, nice parts throughout

- Do I base the decision strictly on monetary value of the bike?
- Do I use the LOOK because carbon doesn't mind water as much as steel?
- Do I use the LOOK because I can go buy a new one tomorrow?
- Should I not ride the Casati because it is nice, pretty, and somewhat unique?
- You get the picture...

Which bicycle would you use, in my situation, as your wet weather whip?

*I should mention I do own a nice, but older 1998 Cannondale that I will eventually use as my bad weather bicycle, but I simply cannot bring all three at this time. At this point I'm unwilling to leave the LOOK or Casati behind since a) the Cannondale is slightly too big b) I like them too much to not ride them for a year or more.

**And I also might, might sell off my Cannondale eventually. I'd rather not because it has sentimental value but the TT is simply too long and does stretch me out too much. But, it is my first true road bike and I've gone from novice to pretty avid cyclist upon it. I wonder if I could/should use the LOOK or Casati as a bad weather bike.

Sure, a bike is a tool, not a jewel, but I still don't want to beat up a beautiful bike. I always wipe down/relube all of my bikes after a wet ride.
 
See less See more
#3 ·
Well, that is the central issue...I've had the LOOK since this summer and when I got it I thought, "Oh my goodness, I will love and care for and really take care of this bike forever."

Then I happened upon the Casati.

Now I have two bikes I really appreciate, enjoy riding, and want to take care of. I'd rather not use either as a rain bike, but for at least awhile I think I'm going to have to use one of them.

Thus, I'm asking, if you were in my position would you ride the nice carbon race bike in the rain with fenders or the classy Italian steel bike?

I could in fact leave one behind (the Casati would be left) and use the Cannondale, but it is tough leaving a bike you really enjoy riding in another place.
 
#4 ·
Of course the answer is for you to buy a third bike for the rain. :) And why not one for the weekend? I'm up to 7 (not counting the unicycle) and compared to most people here I have a very small collection.

And yes I have a rain bike... it's a Performance carbon bike, it doesn't rust and still rides well. I recommend Conti 4 Seasons for rainy days.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the replies.

Dr. Smile...I do have a bike I will be able to use solely for rain & bad weather. It is an Al Cannondale. However, for at least awhile I am not able to bring it to where I'm moving...not enough space. Three road bikes, one around town bike in a small house is all that can fit. The Cannondale would be a 5th bike and once I move into a larger place will also be moved in.

I have a set of rollers. I'd rather ride outside, no matter what the weather. I can't stand them for longer than a half hour or so. I have used them for 2 winters, but I'm hoping to avoid them completely this year since I'm moving 600 miles south. A car? What is that?

Cross frame. Not a bad idea, but I'm not about to buy yet another new bike. I've picked up three in the last 15 months. And, I have a nasty weather bike...I just can't bring it at the moment.

So...if you had to choose...would you ride the LOOK or the Casati in bad weather for the time being? And why?
 
#8 ·
I built a bad weather bike ( Felt Z70 Alu, full 105, plastic PVC & Saddle, Conti 4 Seasons) and never rode it.

Ended selling it.

I ride my cross bike off-road when weather is not good.

main reason is because cars wouldn't mind to splash you with dirty water on the road.

Plenty of trails and forests around here, so there is where I go on the cross bike.
 
#9 ·
Salsa...why didn't your ride it? Simply because you didn't like getting splashed by cars? Hmm, I ride mainly on country roads and there aren't many puddles, but it seems like cars are always going to pass me closer than I'd like, even on wet days.

I'd LOVE a cross bike, but at this point, I'm not picking up anymore bikes for awhile. Additionally, I'm not positive about the trail situation in NC. I know there are tons, but I don't know if I can bike to them easily and I don't own a car. Plus, I think it is silly to drive to bike...
 
#11 · (Edited)
nayr497 said:
Salsa...why didn't your ride it? Simply because you didn't like getting splashed by cars? Hmm, I ride mainly on country roads and there aren't many puddles, but it seems like cars are always going to pass me closer than I'd like, even on wet days.

I'd LOVE a cross bike, but at this point, I'm not picking up anymore bikes for awhile. Additionally, I'm not positive about the trail situation in NC. I know there are tons, but I don't know if I can bike to them easily and I don't own a car. Plus, I think it is silly to drive to bike...
I ride my commuter bike all year long in all conditions, but alas, the commutes through the city are short and the cars go slower ( under 50kmh ), they are closer to you but also there are drains to the sides of the streets so there is not that much splashing, and if you get splashed you'll be back home in some minutes.

Sport rides are usually longer and through country roads and hills outside the city, and as you say there are less cars, but also the roads have horse sh!t and other debris.

When it rains you have a lot of dirty water accumulated on it and no drains, less cars but they go faster ( up to 80Kmh ) , so they just pass you fast and splash the horse-sh!t soup all over you and you are at 30km from home.... not nice...

I live in Zürich at the lake shore and we have the forests with trails very close to the city, 3km ride and I am at the river that feeds the lake, this river that has a forest all along the riveshore and this forest go up to two ~400m high hills, so you can do also climbing and descending inside the forest with trails all over, it is great.
 
#13 ·
nayr497 said:
And why?

Situation: I'm moving to North Carolina in January and will be there for awhile (at least a year, maybe permanently). I cannot bring all of my road bikes because of living space issues. I ride daily and won't see much snow or salt, but will see wet road and winter grime. I'm going to put on some Crud full fenders for the winter. I can't decide which bike I should use as my 2nd/bad weather/alternate bike.

Bike #1: 2009 LOOK 566 (carbon frameset), 2009 Centaur groupset (carbon), Neuvation wheelset (nice but modestly priced), nice parts throughout

Bike #2: 75th anniversary Casati Laser, 2007 Centaur groupset (alloy), Campagnolo Record Hubs + Mavic Open Pro Rims, nice parts throughout

- Do I base the decision strictly on monetary value of the bike?
- Do I use the LOOK because carbon doesn't mind water as much as steel?
- Do I use the LOOK because I can go buy a new one tomorrow?
- Should I not ride the Casati because it is nice, pretty, and somewhat unique?
- You get the picture...

Which bicycle would you use, in my situation, as your wet weather whip?

*I should mention I do own a nice, but older 1998 Cannondale that I will eventually use as my bad weather bicycle, but I simply cannot bring all three at this time. At this point I'm unwilling to leave the LOOK or Casati behind since a) the Cannondale is slightly too big b) I like them too much to not ride them for a year or more.

**And I also might, might sell off my Cannondale eventually. I'd rather not because it has sentimental value but the TT is simply too long and does stretch me out too much. But, it is my first true road bike and I've gone from novice to pretty avid cyclist upon it. I wonder if I could/should use the LOOK or Casati as a bad weather bike.

Sure, a bike is a tool, not a jewel, but I still don't want to beat up a beautiful bike. I always wipe down/relube all of my bikes after a wet ride.

I would ride the bike that I enjoyed riding the most. The're just bikes, man. They won't melt. You mention that you lube and clean your bikes after wet rides anyway so you (and whatever bike you bring) should be fine.
 
#16 ·
It depends on where in NC he is moving. I know at least in the RTP area, the OP will be fine with whatever it brought. There isn't much precipitation for the most part. Although I know that they have gotten a bit this year. The 5yrs I lived there was nice in the winter. I rode my motorcycle to work every day. You get about 2-3 weeks of cold but the skies are blue as can be. Take what you love to ride the most.
 
#18 ·
Yep, I'll be in the RTP area.

And I've made up my mind...I'll use the LOOK as my any day bike, since there really isn't much snow/rain/grit/salt/grime in north-central NC. It still is tough to take such a nice bike and "demote" it to my bad weather bike, but it'll be fine since it is carbon and I'll be using fenders and I do take good care of it.

I'll use the Casati as my nice weather bike, but use the two of them interchangeably in nice weather.

Now I just need to sort out a few parts on the Casati, especially some new bars. Only a few weeks until I move, which is nice because it is cold and snowy here today:(

Thanks for the feedback everyone!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top