Icy cold, frozen trails and extremely short days make mountain biking in winter a real challenge. For bikers and their bikes alike. The road salt in particular, but also the cold, can really put a strain on your beloved mountain bike.
Even at temperatures of around five degrees, the oil in the suspension elements becomes viscous and the special rubber compounds of high-quality tyres lose grip as the temperature drops. The inherent damping suffers and the ability to cling to the ground therefore only works to a limited extent.
At temperatures below freezing, even the smallest drops of water that you have caught in the outer casing of the shift cable, the joints of the rear derailleur or in the freewheel during bad weather tours in autumn can freeze. This can lead to problems with the derailleur.
Even worse than the cold: road salt affects the MTB
The road salt dissolved in the condensation water has a worse effect on the beloved material than the cold. Thanks to the capillary effect of water, this creeps into the smallest cracks in the individual components. Once the salt has settled in the inaccessible corners of the bike, it has all the time in the world to corrode the aluminium and steel components.
So if you want to ride your expensive high-end bike for several summers without any problems, you should think carefully about whether you really want to expose it to the adversities of winter. In many cases, investing in a robust winter bike could be worthwhile. Because where there is nothing, nothing can freeze! We show two technically reduced concepts from Surly and Trek.
Surly Krampus
Trek 1120
But how does a lo-tech bike like this actually ride? And how much fun potential is there in unsprung carefree bikes if you're prepared to spend a little more money? You can read more about the two rigid bikes Surly Krampus and Trek 1120 as well as other fun bikes for the winter in BIKE 2/2021.
You can download the complete test duel between Surly Krampus and Trek 1120 from BIKE 2/2021 as a PDF below the article. The objective concept comparison including the test reports of the bikes costs € 0.99.
Why not free of charge? Because quality journalism has a price. In return, we guarantee independence and objectivity. This applies in particular to the tests in BIKE. We don't pay for them, but the opposite is the case: we charge for them, namely tens of thousands of euros every year.
