Recently this past winter, I got into this discussion about bringing out the nice weather bike.
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
…
I try never to ride my pristine CF bike in nasty weather, though cold, and clean roads are fine. …
Originally Posted by
StanSeven
It sounds like your advice on not riding the bike is from people with OCD. If road salt caused damage, bikes wouldn't last. By the time it really caused parts to wear out, assuming you take reasonable care, you'll be 30 years older.
Originally Posted by
gregf83
It's made mostly from aluminum and carbon fiber not sugar. Wash off the bike and it will be as good as new.
Yesterday I decided the streets looked clean enough to bring out the carbon fiber and it was great. Streets were salt free, and the rare sand and debris fields at the side were all less than about two feet wide, and I always stay even farther wide from the curb.
As an added benefit, it was 43°F, so off with the fleece, balaclava, goggles, and shoe covers, and on with knitted instead of windproof ski gloves.
As noted by many riders with heavy duty beaters and studded tire, riding carbon fiber anew is so smooth. I had a little trepidation when thinking how spidery the frame and tires are compared to my mountain bike, but I was comfortable on the first block. No problem using clipless pedals either. My hills were much easier, despite the higher gears of the CF, and the stiff head was much less discouraging than if on the Beater.
I used the Jamaica Pond Bikepath for about a mile, and that had some salt staining and scattered thin layers of sand, unlike the roads, but I don’t think I did any damage riding it. However, the studs won’t come off the Beater until at least mid March.
I posted about my first carbon fiber ride 2015 on March 28:
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
…The road shoulders were free of snow, but with lots of debris, and I had about a six-inch clear path on the shoulder immediately next to upcoming traffic…So riding the VFW was so nerve-racking that I would occasionally just pull off the road and let a bolus of cars pass me by until I could comfortably get back in the travel lane.
The route through Brookline had less traffic but with more narrow shoulders, and some visible residual ice (while on my narrow 25 C slick tires). All the while, particularly in Brookline, old well-known and new unrecognized potholes were prevalent; but by 6:15 AM I had sufficient daylight. All in all, it might have been premature to ride that route on my CF bike, but it still was a pleasure.