Originally Posted by
jhill44
Hello all,
I'm a long time rider, who just recently started riding to work with the nice weather we've been having in Chicago. After about a month of it, I'm totally hooked and can't bring myself to ride the depressing EL train downtown again.
Anyway, it seems a lot of you have a "winter bike" that is usually an old MTB or beat up roadie. I have been riding my '08 Felt F1x and am wondering what I'm gonna do when it starts getting cold and wet out again. I know that is a long way off, but I definitely want to continue to ride year round.
My thought is that, with fenders the Felt should hold up fine in the wet and cold. I have an old steel converted fixie lying around that I was debating converting into a single speed commuter (for cheapness, simplicity, and ease of cleaning) but after going through what it would cost to buy parts, it doesn't seem worth it. Would the Felt make it through the winter without needing a completely new drivetrain? What is your justification for a winter bike.
And because everyone likes picture, I have included a picture of the Felt (I know its not super nice, but I love this bike).
If it holds fenders and 28 mm or fatter tyres, it should do OK in bad weather. No problems. Drivetrain will be changed when it needs to be changed - it's a tool, a consumable.
Having said this, I do have a do it all hybrid (37 mm tyres, steel fenders, racks, lights, sidestand etc), and a light roadbike for joyrides when I don't carry much things, change of clothes etc. I wouldn't drive roadbike in snow, but apart from that, no good weather-bad weather bike. Just work horse and joyride machine bikes.
