How do you guys keep your bikes clean in shit weather? I'm in the middle of rebuilding & cleaning mine for the second time this winter and I'm fuckin sick of it. Ideas? I'm adding a front mud flap, but my calipers still seem to get all grimey and gum up. They're pretty old though.
Depends, when the weather is going to be consistently cold and wet I don't worry about anything except wiping buildup off moving parts. When the weather's nice, I'll give a bike a basic cleaning every 2-3 rides, and I always plan to do a complete overhaul once the threat of winter snows is over for the year.
>>923790
I put a lot of km's on the bike and I'm just concerned about the longevity of wear parts & components. I think I've already completely fried cassette & chain at this point, under 1000k on both.
How often do you replace your chain & cassette in winter generally?
Fuck that. It's supposed to be dirty and grimy. I've come to accept the fact that cassette and chain will need to be replaced when spring comes around every year.
>>923794
>>923798
What the hell? What kind of shit are you guys riding through? I ride over a lot of salt and slush, probably about 1500 miles of good weather mileage (only rain and dry), and another 500 of salty gross mileage, and my chain and cassette seem ok.
Is it just because I clean the drivetrain every weekend?
>>923801
What's your cleaning process? I don't have a chain cleaner so once grit and grime gets in I'm pretty much at the mercy of it. Although the vast majority of the 1000km I'm talking about has probably been in nasty conditions.
What do you mean "seem ok" though? Do you replace your chain based on a chain checker, or when it's already been grinding away your chainrings for months and finally starts skipping?
>>923794
My experience may not mean much because I always ride a beater bike when there's snow or ice on the ground, and I don't really track my winter miles very closely - but I generally expect that a chain and sacrificial freewheel will will last me two years of winter use - maybe 2,000km of bad conditions use? Also, where I live there's very little salt applied to the roads, and I'm pretty careful about keeping my chain clean and protecting it with a wet-weather lube. And to emphasize again, I'm not replacing the chains on my winter bikes at the optimal point either, they're part of a sacrificial whatever-crap-I-found-in-the-bin drivetrain.
>>923803
mmm Fair enough. I don't like to ride a "beater" so much, I've got my year round workhorse I use for errands, touring & commuting and it's a great bike, but maybe I should just have a completely different drivetrain lying around for winter use. Swap the rings, chain & cassette out when the weather starts to get nasty... I'm more concerned about my rims & brake calipers in the long term though, already planning on getting a shiny new drivetrain for summer.
Winter time is single speed time. Steel frame 29'r, avid bb5's, marathons and guards if riding round town or cheap suspension fork and knobbly tyres if its going to get smashed around off road. No derailleur to worry about or jam up just run the chain through a rag to get the worst of the gunk off when i get home.
Shit weather on a regular basis needs a bike built for that. A regular road bike is just not up to it. Fenders, hydraulic disks, belt drive or chaincase, gearhub, Al or Ti, decent lights front and back, and somewhat grippy street tires. Some sort of cape is nice too. Unless cleaning is how you want to spend your life, think 'Dutch'.
>>923788
Get strap-on fenders. Then the bike will be less of a horror show after riding in the wet. Get some that will fit between your brake calipers and the wheel so they don't end up being choked with mud and muck. Be sure to rinse your bike off with low-pressure water as soon as you get home, then it'll be less of a pain in the ass to clean it up before the next ride. Also be sure to clean your chain and re-lube it before riding again unless you like replacing cassettes and chainrings long before you should ever have to.
>>923817
>Fenders, hydraulic disks, belt drive or chaincase, gearhub, Al or Ti...
Its just a shitty weather not a fucking drive to Mordor
>>923865
Well ya, but it's shitty weather every single damn day for like half a year, AKA 'winter'. Nothing wrong with sporting goods that are only useful in specific conditions, but why ride that in other conditions? Put the toy away and ride a practical vehicle, or just fire up the cage already.
>different jobs: different tools.
>>923817
>titanium bike with hydraulic discs
>dutch
Yeah, no
>>923881
Just get a cross bike and change the tires when the snow goes away. Puncture-resistant road tires for the wet and dry season, studded tires when there's snow and ice.
Literally the only reason why a cross bike or touring bike can't do 4 season commuting is if being able to ride through deep (3+ inches) snow for long periods of time over weeks and months because either your route isn't plowed or you just live in one of those places. If that's you, have two bikes, and let one of them be a fat bike.
The only thing I agree with so far is discs, lights, and fenders. The people saying you need to reconsider your entire strategy because HURR IT RAINS SOMETIMES OMG MEMESKINS STOPPED WORKING should stay in their cages as they obviously don't know how to control their bikes.
>>923883
It's not all 60lb hi-ten all the time in Holland, they have all sorts of stuff there.
>derailleurs in the winter
Maybe it's because I've only had cheapish ones, but I think I'm just done with them in any but ideal weather. Cleaning, lubeing, and adjusting every other day is bullshit. There's a decent selection of gear hubs around these days, why suffer when you don't have to? Because you gotta go fast in the snow and mud?
>>923887
If that picture is what you're contending with every day, then yeah get an IGH. I assume you live in antarctica or tierra del fuego or something?
>adjusting every other day
This isn't necessary just because you cleaned your drivetrain.
>>923887
If you have to adjust every other day it's because your cabling is shit.
It has nothing to do with the derailleur or drive chain what so ever. You'll have the exact same issue with hub gears unless you get the Di2 Alfine, in which case you'll run out of battery "every other day."
>>923887
That pic looks like my drivetrain, I can hardly see the cogs most of the time, I haven't put any lube on it or cleaned all winter and it just works...
I guess I'm lucky then?
>>923854
My fenders do sit under my calipers. It protects them from a lot of gunk but it still somehow seems to get up in there after i put some distance on.
I think I'm a little too vain for strap-ons as well haha - besides, I've never seen a set that are full length, and then I can't have a mudguard to protect my drivetrain
>>923977
No, you're just accelerating your drivetrain deterioration.
brushie brushie chain and wipe down rings when they get dirty. It's pretty fucking simple.
>>923788
When are we gonna ride together?
>>923788
Hey dude. Long time no see.
Don't invest too much time in cleaning, it's not worth the trouble. I just keep my chain lubed (Never EVER use degreaser on your chain, tho) and after riding in shit weather I'll spray a bidon all over my brakes & rims to rinse the brake pad compound off. Once a month or so give the rest a good wash to keep everything shiny.
Also, have a winter bike for this.
>>924437
When u want bud?
>>923817
>Some sort of cape is nice too
>>927119
full fenders
People who need bikes for transportation use fenders. Bikes without fenders are crippled, incomplete constructions used by hobbyists or fair-weather drivers.
>>927400
>>927402
These, i'm afraid; usability before aesthetics. Clip-On fenders might be a good compromise and still save you from a full body mud bath. Pant legs still may suffer.
>>927402
>live where it rarely rains
>have velomobile for rainy days
>you are literally a pleb
