Bike cleaning and winter riding

[jamfit]

What has happened to my bike !!



I commute 24 miles a day 5 days a week on a Trek 1.2, and started June of this year. Now on average I give the bike a good clean / lube every other weekend and whenever I get caught in the rain I always give it a good once over with some dry rags.

My question is having just finished a full on clean up I have noticed that the chain and cage on the rear mech appear tarnished and almost like a rust has covered them and after some seriously vigorous scrubbing it just wont lift! … Have I caused this? Is winter conditions this damaging on bikes? and what can I do to remove and stop it from coming back ?

 

[tyred]

It's corrosion caused by salt.

Wiping the dirt of the chain and applying oil (very little is actually required, a drop on each roller and then wipe over with a clean rag) on a regular basis will stop it from becoming rusty. Other parts are more tricky as a film of oil or grease will prevent corrosion will but attract all sorts of rubbish to stick to them. Just wipe them down regularly is all I can suggest.

Have you got mudguards, or at least frame clearance to fit them on your bike? Would make a huge difference, especially when fitted with a good mudflap at the front.

 

[henshaw11]

Riding the mtb back in the snow/salt of feb for 3 days, putting at away for a couple of week -> rusty cables and corrosion where I'd never seen it before - oh, and a seized piston in my rear disk brake caliper Plus some of the anodising on the Caliper must have gone, black corrosion from salt that needed scraping off.

I even *washed* my bike after getting back in on monday, went to check it this morning - rear caliper's seized again !

One thing that's often used on motorcycles is ACF50 - apply it/reapply it, wash off after the winter. Leaves a greasy film, tho' doesn't spray very evenly so some areas might be best wiped over with it instead. I'm gonna *carefully* try it inside my caliper when I've unsiezed it, normally I'd lube the piston with a drop or two of DOT5.1 (ie brake fluid). If you've got a steel frame then a single application down the seat tube is a good idea (I've tried waxoil in the past but it's too gloopy to get the inside covered)

 

[Moodyman]

Road salt ruins bike components.

In my first winter I had no mudguards and ruined my front mech, chain and cassette - front wheel flicking salt back. This is despite me cleaning the bike weekly. Salt from Monday's commute would have five days to do its damage.

Now ride with full mudguards - keeps the majority of cr8p off.. Clean the bike weekly and after each clean I use a light oil to lubcricate all the pivots on the front & rear mech as well as shifters and brake levers.

No freezing components in the minus temps recently.

WD40 or GT85 are very good for cleaning corrosion. Then re-lube with a light oil.

 

[jamfit]

Thanks for the replies





I currently have full mudguards on the bike. I cant believe that salt dose so much damage is there any way to remove the corrosion / marking ?



Would it be a good bet to just keep the current components in the best shape I can, then replace them when the weather /road conditions improve. I have been thinking of upgrading the entire groupset but after seeing the damage caused in such a small amount of time I am having second thought.

 

[zizou]

at the moment i'm cleaning my bike after every ride, total pain to do particularly when it is subzero and i just want to get in and get a hot shower!

Would it be a good bet to just keep the current components in the best shape I can, then replace them when the weather /road conditions improve. I have been thinking of upgrading the entire groupset but after seeing the damage caused in such a small amount of time I am having second thought.

Yeah you are better off replacing when the conditions improve, you could replace stuff now and end up needing to replace it again come the spring.

 

[Cheule]

I was just about to post something similar when I saw this thread.

A couple of months back in September, I upgraded most of the parts on my MTB with all new Shimano and SRAM goodness. A couple of weeks in the cold however, and despite my new regime of cleaning/lubing the bike, the chain turns to a muddy rust colour nearly every day, and of course it then sullies the cassette and jockey wheels with this colour. Some even got on the outer-facing side of my crank arms.

So last weekend I spent lots of time, taking the chain off, soaking it in lube and cleaning it to within an inch of it's life, cleaned cassette/brakes/mechs etc. Looking good I thought to myself. Fast forward to Today, it's back to looking like I've left it to rust for the last two years. I've only done 420 miles since the refurb and I can feel a little tear forming in my eye when I look at my poor baby now

You have my sympathies.

 

[tyred]

Get an old three speed for the winter. They are pretty much immune to the weather and an incontinent Sturmey hub will keep everything at the back coated in oil.

 

[zacklaws]

If the roads are wet and salty, I keep my good road bikes indoors, dry and salty, I'll venture out on them. For my commute or rides out when it is wet and salty, then my MTB is brought into play, and after every ride I'll give it a good swill down with hot water, mainly the frame and drive train and avoid the wheel bearings and bottom bracket best I can, to remove any salty deposits. I may loose a bit of lubricant from the components but I feel its better than leaving the bike to rot and it does not take long to do a quick oil up with some cheapish oil on the chain and deraileurs.

Pecking order in my house is, road bikes, wife, car, MTB

 

[fossyant]

I wash my commuter most days when it's salty and dirty. At the minute though, I'm using the MTB, so it's not getting quite as dirty as my route is partly off road, but it's just a quick wipe with baby wipes (no water as it will freeze components). Plenty of WD40 on mechs/cables, and a dry wax lube applied regularly on the chain (as the route is part off road it keeps the grit away).

 

[brodie]

Other parts are more tricky as a film of oil or grease will prevent corrosion will but attract all sorts of rubbish to stick to them. Just wipe them down regularly is all I can suggest.

I put wax polish on my bikes. I think it does help to prevent salty water making contact with any bare metal parts. After a wet ride, use clean water rinse off any salt water on the bike.