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5 top tips for preparing your bike for winter - video
If your bike still isn't fully prepped for winter, then it's time to ensure your steed is better protected from the elements for the remaining chilly months before spring. In the video above, I share some of the things I do to winterise my bike, from adding mudguards and fitting lights.
> Winter cycle clothing: the warmest garments you can buy
Winter is a tough season for cycling and it's hard on the bike. Water gets everywhere. Things wear out more quickly. It's dark and cold. It's just horrible. That's why it's important to ensure your bike is up to the task so it won't let you down when you're miles from home on a miserably damp day.
If you want more reading on this subject be sure to have a look at the guide linked below.
- How to winterproof your bike — protect your ride from the wet, salt and crud
If you've got any things you do to prepare your bike, please do share them in the comments section below!
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
Latest Comments
- belugabob 2 sec ago
Nicely done, sir - criticising bad behaviour in a non transport mode specific manner....
- mattw 5 hours 40 min ago
I take the greatest increase being in Inner not Central or Outer London as being because much infra was previously built in Central London and...
- mark1a 6 hours 11 min ago
Controversial I know but the problems would mostly go away if the whole lot was decriminalised or legalised, dependence and addiction were treated...
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As someone who works in Insurance completely agree with this. This is why you have the product and even if everyone is well intentioned, you can...
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Don't know what it was about today, maybe the banks of mist, but I received several weeks of close passes in one day.
- Sriracha 10 hours 55 min ago
I've a feeling that yellow colour attracts flying insects - either that or they're just out to get me. So the bug mesh is a valuable addition
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At a pinch point, where the road narrows, in a blind bend, to avoid a pothole, to avoid being doored, to deter a senseless or careless overtake,...
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No more ludicrous than the UCI sock height limits!
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They may be limited to 50 or 60 mph, but they don't observe it and speed cameras haven't been told about the different limits....
- CyclingGardener 12 hours 9 min ago
I agree. As I said, just trying to add some context.
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10 comments
I've had water (and grit) find it's way into my winter wheel's freehub and bearings, and into my bottom bracket bearings this winter, resulting in some alarming squeaking noises. It's not happened in previous years but I guess I have done more wet weather 'leisure' rides this winter.
I've now invested in some marine grease and applied under bearing covers and caps in the hope that it keeps the water out.
Hang it up in the garage or connect it to turbo and cycle indoors till the cold, wet weather has gone
Wider rubber at lower pressures and I swap to a weatherproof saddle (usually ride a Brooks). Mudguards are on year-round anyway, as were dyno lights when I was commuting
Most of the other winter changes/investment are in a seemingly futile quest to keep myself dry/warm...
Swapping out the saddle - great idea!
I use a very old (and very comfortable) Brooks saddle and keeping it covered up is a real pain.
tackling "country dark", my winter bike ran a SON dynamo set, a Candbeseen battery set, and various front and rear rechargeables on the bars, bar ends, saddle pack, rack plus helmet,spokes and my right ankle.
marathon plus tyres (for I am Spartacus)
I live in London . Ride the same bike same set up all year round . I never ride in the rain unless I get caught out in it I’m fortunate enough to ride when I please . So no reason to change anything . If your in the UK it rains more in the spring summer time ,so what , you put on cold weather winter tyres
. I think this winter bike thing is a load of BS for “most people “ . You live in Canada then fair enough.
If it’s snowing “ fuck that “ been there done it . Riding a bike for me is about enjoyment and pushing myself physically. Not soaking wet and miserable with toes I can’t feel and thawing out your feet when they are frozen solid is fucking painful. Never again .
It seems odd that the video recommends wide tyres and tubeless, but the Fairlight in the video appears to have neither? Perhaps David can explain more?
The close-up shows them to be 700x32c, as wide as many road bikes can fit. I think you are looking for off.road.cc...
I'd say (and living in a part of the world where in the winter it's dark until after 10am and getting dark before 3pm) unless you only do short rides, run with 2 lights front and back. It's a gruesome feeling having your light fail at the furthest point from home. Ideally running one front and back with a steady light, and one flashing. Gives the flash for catching the attention, but a steady light is easier to gauge speed and distance against.
I try to use a 'primary' light i.e. a decent one, front and rear. Also, secondary lights F&R.
I also carry a pair of F&R emergency lights in a waterproof box, but it would be an emergency to have to use them. Also some spare batteries, as my secondary lights are battery powered.
Thanks to some bad experiences with my mobile phone I'm a bit paranoid about batteries draining in the cold. The outhouse radiator is often decorated with my bike lights - yes I'm fully expecting someone to tell me that that is a bad thing.