WINTERIZE YOUR ROAD BIKE
Road Cycling X Cyclocross

If you're looking to get the most out of your road bike over the winter months, some micro adjustments can be made to your bike to make riding in the winter less slippy, less risky and all round more enjoyable. Read how we took inspiration from cyclocross to turn a Trek Domane AL 3 into a roady's winter weapon.

Let’s be real, when winter rolls in us roadies are less inclined to clock up the miles outdoors and are more likely to set up our bike to our Wahoo trainer and ride in Watopia instead. But what if there was a solution to riding through the harsh winter? What if we geared up our road bikes to help us ride confidently in the rain, over ice and through mud?

We are hopping back in time to the 1900s when road riders would ride their road bikes through fields, over obstacles and along singletrack. Sometimes lifting their bikes over their backs to jump fences, and throwing themselves back on to pick up speed. They did this to keep their fitness over the winter months when the roads were icy and more dangerous to ride. Over time, racing this type of riding got a name for itself - cyclocross.

Cyclocross or 'cross' is all about racing. It involves riding a drop bar bike, very similar to that of a road bike, over gravel, muddy and rocky terrain and completing short laps for the fastest time.

Nowadays, roadies and cross riders might meet paths, but they are seen as riding separate disciplines. However, the evolution of cyclocross has created the availability of some great bikes. Cyclocross bikes come under our 'Adventure Bikes' category. They are drop bar bikes, usually, with 700c wheels, narrow knobbly tyres and are light enough to be able to carry. Some call them the offspring of a mountain bike and road bike, and we think they make for some kickass winter riding, outdoors.

Some minor differences you might find between a road bike and a cyclocross bike will most likely be in geometry, positioning of cables and bottom bracket height. The geometry of a cross bike allows the rider to sit slightly more upright than on a road bike, cables will be thoughtfully positioned to avoid interference with mud and the bottom bracket height will be slightly taller to avoid any hits from obstacles. As these differences are very minor and you are not planning on racing, a cyclocross bike is not always necessary. Most modern road bikes come with enough tyre clearance to take wider tyres making them the ideal project for a winter cyclocross bike conversion!

Meet the Trek Domane AL 3 Disc

We are taking the Trek Domane AL 3 Disc, a solid, entry level road bike and giving it a glow up for winter. Inspired by the story of cyclocross, we want to make this bike rideable through harsh winter conditions without having to worry about slippy corners or mud clogging our cleats. Nowadays, most modern road bikes are built with enough tyre clearance to take wider tyres (but always check before making the switch), making cyclocross tyres ideal for the winter.

Design Plan

STEP 1. Pedals

We started our winter conversion by removing the SPD SL pedals. Why? With more mud over the winter months, we need a pedal and cleat combination which is going to be more durable for the season. SPD SL pedals are often used by roadies and are not as easy to clip in and out of as their trail equivalent, SPD's'. Most SPD pedals are double-sided which means clipping in from a stationary position is easier; use cleats made from metal making them longer wearing, especially in winter conditions; and are designed to shed mud.