the anatomy of a winter bike mk?!?

This winter bike of mine has had almost as many versions of itself built up as there are types of winters in Southern Ontario.

I think I may have hit upon a good set up for this year.

I invariably use cheap as dirt plastic pedals with just bushings. Why? Winter, its and and salt, is very tough on bike parts and I don't care to ruin expensive pedals. Plus, I tend to push harder on the pedals - snow makes for more high torque launches than bare pavement - and often after one winter the pedals are bent. These cost about $8 or so, maximum.

I raided the parts room at the shop and bought some old stock - a Blackspire chainring (32 tooth) and an ancient old crank. I also used some spacers and long ass chain ring bolts to centre the ring better with the rear cassette. A chain keeper of some sort keeps the chain from hopping under shifts. The system is a 1x8 set up now. I never (never) used the large ring or granny gear ring in the winter so I decided this time around to just do away with the silly things. Why the Blackspire ring? I am hopping that the fact that it seems seriously overbuilt compared to the Shimano stuff will make it last longer. If not, I will source a dedicated single speed crank/chain ring combo in the spring and see how that lasts.

Out come the frankenfenders and Continental Winter Contacts. No studs yet. They come into play later in the winter if we get an icy one. I have two sets - one from Finland and one from Germany - should the need arise.

Disk brakes because I like stopping. I have run rim brakes in the winter and hate them. I have heard people complain about disk brakes in the snow but these have given zero issues. They are filthy, dirty, covered in crap, and stop like crazy in all conditions. The pads are about to enter their third winter. There is no evidence of bad wear on them yet. The only catch is that no petroleum based product had better touch the things. Fair enough. And easy enough to do too. These brakes are Avid BB5 brakes - dirt cheap, but very effective.

Splash guards and frankenfenders abound on this bike. I also go crazy with the rust check spray. I hose down various moving parts and the bottom bracket areas liberally with the stuff. That is one of the reason why this BB is about to enter its 4th winter without any gritty grinding sounds. Still runs smoothly.

Another view of the mud flap and frankenfender goodness.

Some old good stuff. 1998 XTR Rapid Rise. Some hate it, but I like it. Works well. Shifts perfectly. Should last a few winters before crudding up beyond help. I have given it its first massive coating of rust spray which will help keep corrosion off and things moving - gotta love a rust preventative which also lubes. Speaking of which, I use a wet lube - White Lightning I think - which will last a whole week in the winter of daily use. Not bad. Phil's Tenacious Lube lasts less than one day and basically just makes a mess. Waste of money.

There you have it. The bike as a whole. Parts were raided off of my old (now sold) Specialized S-Works bike to make this beast more beast :) There will be no rack this winter due to a stripped frame mount (oops) and me getting a courier bag later this season. Also, expect another bottle mount to hold my Specialized Keg with a do everything tool kit to be located on the seat tube. It is the kit I carry with me everywhere on my Sutra.

So there you have it, this winter's set up!

Most of our snow has melted as of these pictures being taken. Last night, there was lots. Since I took the pictures 15 minutes ago, a couple cm have fallen with no end in sight.

Where is that pesky coffee pot?

having the two wheeled hankering again

I have been a lazy bum for the last few weeks and have hardly biked at all. By hardly, I mean haven't at all.

I don't know what has gotten into me except for being stupid busy and being in a situation where I am working too far from home to realistically cycle to work.

Thing is, I miss it.

It is time to ramp it back up again even as winter rears its ugly head once again.

To that end, New Year's Day will see me biking one city over on my winter bike for some needed repair work. I am not the best at repairing my bicycle. A good friend of mine is. He lives one city over. So...

The winter monster needs a new drive train. Specifically, chainrings, chain, cables, rear derailleur, and cassette all are due for a replacement. I am feeling cheap though, and am planning on digging into my pile of spare parts and will be converting the monster into a single speed.

It should look hilarious. The frame is a too small for me 2011 Kona Lana'i with about what feels like 1m of seat post sticking up. It is almost a step through. However, it is perfect in the snow and handles being loaded down quite well.

So imagine that too small frame with a single speed drive train, studded tires, a rear rack and fender, a front rack and frankenstein fender, and a skid plate like splash guard over the bottom bracket.

It should be fun.

A change is as good as a new bike.