Ian has it right. I would not (and do not) subject a nice bicycle to snow/ice/salt riding. It's not even about the money, it just doesn't feel right.
Once you have studded tires, the ride is a mess. On the upside, you stay alive. So I have a bike just for that purpose. Maybe I should say a "frame". It's a '93 Rockhopper, TIG welded, and replaced everything except the bottom bracket, the headset, and the seat post. Now I have a cheap dynohub up front, a 3spd Nexus IGH in back, fenders, a Northroads bar with Tektro levers and a V brake up front. GREAT winter bike. Total outlay for the parts was maybe $150, maybe $200. Used and/or cheap; got Belgian rims from rosebikes.com when that still worked and they cost $20 a pop; spokes were cheap, too. The IGH I had lying around. Should have gone singlespeed for even more simplicity, and I'm torn on the coaster brake. For SS or IGH, look for an early 90s Spesh; they have semi-horizontal dropouts so you can adjust chain length. It's not the kind of bike where I'd go two hours into the countryside. Horses for courses. What road salt does to a bike is just sad. On Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 3:18:54 AM UTC-5 John Johnson wrote: > Hi Jay, > > Have you looked at the black mountain cycles monstercross? Not too far off > in geo, clearance is great and pretty similar geo to the roadini. > > There's also the roaduno, with 46mm clearance (43mm with fenders) but > you'd be limited in your gearing choices. > > Cheers, > > John (outside fontainebleau) > On Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 4:46:26 AM UTC+1 Ian A wrote: > >> * good quality in its bones. Sorry, on mobile. >> >> On Friday, December 5, 2025 at 7:41:35 PM UTC-8 Ian A wrote: >> >>> I'm going to throw in a vote for an 80's mtb. I ride my with 2.15" >>> studded 26" tires under fenders and single speed. Currently with flat bars, >>> but ride it for years with drops. I kind of like of like it with the flat >>> bars for winter riding and it actually does service as a lock up around >>> town bike in the summer running Big Apple tires (2"). >>> >>> Pros are cheap, fun to ride, love the single speed winter maintenance >>> and perfect for grocery runs. My bike is a late 80's Rock Mountain "fully >>> rigid" that has gone quality in its bones. >>> >>> IanA Kitimat BC >>> On Friday, December 5, 2025 at 6:58:47 PM UTC-8 Jay wrote: >>> >>>> I like my Roadini a lot. I would like a bike for winter / wet weather >>>> / touring that is as close to the Roadini from a fit perspective, with >>>> drop >>>> bars, but with a bit more clearance so I can run fenders nearly full time, >>>> with perhaps a 38-45 studded tire in winter, and something in that range >>>> the rest of the year. The new Hillborne looks good. Not sure what works >>>> best with fenders in terms of mini-v (for drop bars), canti's or maybe >>>> something else. Goals with the brakes would be: short pull for use with >>>> levers like Tektro RRL Ergo, clearance for fenders and as big of a tire as >>>> I can fit, and ease of adjustment. I wouldn't be removing the wheels >>>> often, mainly when switching tires for winter vs. rest of the year, and >>>> seldomly rest of the year. >>>> >>>> Any other bike options? Has to be for drop bars (for example, >>>> Appaloosa too long of a top tube to use with drop bars; for me at least, >>>> as >>>> I don't like a long reach). >>>> >>>> Thanks! >>>> >>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/2ed21670-d701-403f-9a9b-a5a0a9b7b23en%40googlegroups.com.
