Not really a tough concept dude- not everyone owns 6 bikes. I have a bike that I spent many thousands of dollars on. Even if I had money pouring out my backside I would not ride it in the winter in Central Ct. The roads are pretty much trashed from the first snow/ice till the spring rains /street sweepers get rid of the salt/sand.
Is it possible to ride? Yes, Is it tough on bikes? Yes
The OP didn't say he quit riding, he said he put his Tarmac up.

Install raceblades on race bike= winter bike.

Just wipe down the bike after the ride.

Glad you've got a winter bike that fits the same though :)

What are raceblades? I never heard the term.

Oh Garysol, I love that Specialized! Even tho u never responded to my PM. ;)

********************? Let me go back and look.....Apologies.

Only two of my bikes are roadbikes. Ones really nice and the other a beater. At any rate, bikes are tools, not trophies. I'd rather ride my best bike as often as possible. To say that all the roads are trashed after the first snow is an exaggeration.

Ready for spring? Damn, I just put my winter training tires on my bike! Of course, I have but the one road bike to use for all of my training and racing. I can only imagine how disgusting everything will be by spring. Aside from necessary lubrication and occasional wipe-downs, my bicycle will probably remain in grimy winter mode until April. Well, new tires will go on for March - I'm not crazy enough to start my spring races on Conti Ultra Sports (ride like rocks, have no grip, but they last forever!). Other than that, it's gonna be a long messy winter. I prefer not to spiff things up for spring until there is some assurance that they won't get completely disgusting within a week.

What is the chrome bmx rig doing in the background?

Gotta have the old school Mongoose :) My father bought it for my son just before he passed away so we will keep it forever in memory of my dad.....

No ... some of us own 7 of them. :)

4 months till what .... blizzard season??

Listen, you have a nice country and all, but don't you ever think it would be nicer if you could break it off of the rest of North America, haul it out to the equatorial Pacific, and just anchor it there? Then Canada really would be heaven on earth.

Yes!!

But since that, unfortunately, is impossible ... I'm doing the next best thing. I'm moving to Australia. And if all goes well, Rowan and I will spend time in both Canada and Australia. I'm thinking ... maybe ... mid-April to mid-October in Canada, and mid-October to mid-April in Australia ...... or something like that. :D :D

Polish that baby up then and hang it like art!:thumb:

awesome specialized good luck in the 09 season!

Currently my Serotta is in pieces.
Bottom bracket removed for new bearings
chain being replaced
cassette taken apart and cleaned
removed rear derailler to clean
hubs to be repacked
replacing all cables
While the components are off will treat with Framesaver.

I do need a new BB. Think ill wait for the new Chris King BB to hit the streets in volume.

Fine, ride your nicest bike on the salty roads...I have six bikes too, which means I have 5 other bikes I can (and do) ride all winter long so the road bike can avoid the crappy roads and get some new pieces parts come February or so. I have no clue why someone would want to subject their nicest bike/car/motorcycle to winter roads if they don't have to.

Incorrect. Maybe in your hoighty-toighty neck of the woods the salt doesn't stick around until well into spring, but around here it does.