  We follow the evolution of compact binaries under the coupled effect of tides
and stellar winds until the onset of Roche-lobe overflow. These binaries
contain a compact object (either a black-hole, a neutron-star, or a planet) and
a stellar component. We integrate the full set of tidal equations, which are
based on Hut's model for tidal evolution, and we couple them with the angular
momentum loss in a stellar wind. Our aim is twofold. Firstly, we wish to
highlight some interesting evolutionary outcomes of the coupling. When tides
are coupled with a non-massive stellar wind, one interesting outcome is that in
certain types of binaries, the stellar spin tends to reach a quasi-equilibrium
state, where the effect of tides and wind are counteracting each other. When
tides are coupled with a massive wind, we parametrize the evolution in terms of
the decoupling radius, at which the wind decouples from the star. Even for
small decoupling radii this \emph{wind braking} can drive systems on the main
sequence to Roche-lobe overflow that otherwise would fail to do so. Our second
aim is to inspect whether simple timescale considerations are a good
description of the evolution of the systems. We find that simple timescale
considerations, which rely on neglecting the coupling between tides and stellar
winds, do not accurately represent the true evolution of compact binaries. The
outcome of the coupled evolution of the rotational and orbital elements can
strongly differ from simple timescale considerations, as already pointed out by
Barker & Ogilvie 2009 in the case of short-period planetary systems.
