Winterize my Secteur
 

So, the story goes, I bought this bike in the beginning of summer and I've been using it to ride into town, the gym etc. It's been great. I planned on getting something a bit more rugged once fall came around. I was thinking something like at least a TriCross or maybe CAADx or even a Crux. Long story short, Fall came quicker than I wanted and I have begun to reconsider investing that much in another bike right now. So I'm wondering what tips anyone would have as far as winterizing my Secteur so that I could ride it around in the light snow of Michigan. Would it be possible?

Fenders and the widest tires you can fit should be a good start. If you can fit 700x30's, then the new 45Nrth Xerces tire might be a good option.

SKS fenders w/SECU clips (DIN 79100)

Winterize my Secteur
 

Might sound obvious, but get really good lights, since daylight hours are diminished during winter.

Here's a good deal on Headlight

I just had a fall because I missed a gigantic rock in the road with the street lamps out. I will definitely be grabbing one of these. Thanks for the tip!

That does look like a really good deal on a BRIGHT light. About twice the lumen of the headlamp I was looking at.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005OQ7G4I

I'm not sure what size tires I can put on this thing. Does anyone have any personal experience with the Secteur or the Roubaix? I'd imagine they are similar.

The fenders look good, I'm sure there will be rain. I need clothes but that's a whole 'nother ball of wax.

Fenders and quality lights are a great place to start

And set up a stand so you can wash clean and re lube things A LOT more often.

For the freeze up , look for a Lot of tire clearance .. Studded tires are like 35~40 wide.

Sectuer has long drop caliper brakes so max clearance is for 28mm tyres + fenders.
I have ridden in the snow with a commuter tyre like Marathon 28mm.
It all depends on the type of snow and the freeze-thaw cycles.
On fresh powdery snow, it works fine (with care).
On sticky, slushy snow, the mudguards will clog up.
Frozen ruts will redirect thinner tyres from your intended direction very easily.
Any ice under snow or on the road will be dangerous.

Clean and wax your frame and the underside of your fenders to discourage dirt from sticking.

Frozen ridges in ice that melted and refroze will redirect fatter tyres too. I've had to walk a mountain bike over ice because of ridges at silly angles constantly pushing my 2" wide tyres off course and destabilising the bike.

FYI, I have a secteur, and have a wheelset with Mavic A319 rims (25mm wide, wider than usual). Currently I have continental gatorskins in 700x28 on there, and I doubt I could fit fenders with this setup. If they did fit, it would be really close. I'm guessing a narrower rim - 19mm is standard/stock I believe - would have even more problems because the tire would be higher and narrower.

Don't know, but if I have a Secteur, I don't think I want to use it as a winter commuter (too nice for a winter bike, IMO). :o

I'd probably get a good, used old rigid fork MTB. That way I can I can put a wide studded tires on it.

I know, I know, OP did not ask for it, but just sayin....

I wish somebody would get me some SKS Raceblade "Longs" to try out.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6...528d0847_z.jpg

Here's the review I linked the picture from: http://traumfahrrad.com/tag/sks-race-blade-long/

I've used regular RaceBlades in the past. The coverage is not nearly as good but with a homemade flap was good enough. With the regular RaceBlades, you can adjust the distance between the fender and the tires so there's not much worry about snow and ice chunks clogging things up. They do not protect your brakes at all but they're no worse off than cantilever or v-brakes since fenders seem to direct more crud their way.

As far as tires go, some people swear by skinny tires in the winter and some see no real advantage in studs. Skinny tires have their advantages in certain situations but have more difficulty in others. If there's a lot of ice where you ride you might end up putting that Secteur on the ground a few times which I'm sure you wouldn't like.

My guess is that the majority of days your Secteur will work out just fine. You could get a beater winter bike that would be useable more often but another plan would be to have a backup form of transportation available when the roads aren't suitable for the Secteur.

Gah, it's sounding like i need a Winter bike. also. ... I'm supposed to be lubing things????