Do we really need to wrap new bikes in cotton wool through the winter?
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Tin Pot
Guru
OP
OP
Slick
Guru
Wow, woes is the word. Funny how everyone has different ideas on how to beat the winter.
I've read this thread with a certain amount of bemusement over some of the emotional reactions it seems to have generated, and it saddens me a little, so I hope you don't mind a few comments from an old curmudgeon with decades of cycling experience (and built on the experience of much-loved father and mother, and grandfather, who cycled their paths before me and taught me so much).
Until I returned from my break and joined in this forum, none of my family's three generations of cyclists had ever heard of the idea of having a "winter bike" because good ones are only for summer (I've never asked them, admittedly, but I know them well). Many things have changed since our old days, but I'm confident that the chemical properties of iron and aluminium have not changed much since they were first forged in those ancient supernovae.
So, a claim by a bike shop bloke that you're not supposed to ride your good bike in the winter or it will corrode is obvious nonsense.
Yes, of course, iron (steel) and aluminium will corrode, and yes, of course, salty winter slush will make that happen faster. But it's all about the rate that it happens, and what we can do to slow it.
If you want your new bike to remain in pristine showroom condition with no sign of ever being used, well, hang it up in a gallery somewhere. But if you want to ride it, and keep riding it all year round, some basic preventative maintenance should keep it going for many years, through rain, snow and salt.
I used to ride a 531 steel bike all year round, to work and back every day, including through some pretty obnoxious winter weather. My standard procedure was to always carry a can of WD40 in my bag, and if my bike got wet on the way to work or back, I'd give the exposed components (brake mechs, derrailleurs, chain) a good spray. It's not lube, it's not a long-term solution, but it appeared to work very well for displacing the water and keeping corrosion away. Then, if it had been a wet or dirty week, at the weekend I'd clean the bike properly and re-lube.
I've still got that bike, and after a bit of work on it last year, it's still going strong.
I wish my granddad was still here, because I'd love to tell him that some bike shop bloke has claimed it's normal for a new bike to rust in just a few weeks if you ride it during the winter. Unfortunately, I can't share with you my mental picture of his probable response
Alan
Until I returned from my break and joined in this forum, none of my family's three generations of cyclists had ever heard of the idea of having a "winter bike" because good ones are only for summer (I've never asked them, admittedly, but I know them well). Many things have changed since our old days, but I'm confident that the chemical properties of iron and aluminium have not changed much since they were first forged in those ancient supernovae.
So, a claim by a bike shop bloke that you're not supposed to ride your good bike in the winter or it will corrode is obvious nonsense.
Yes, of course, iron (steel) and aluminium will corrode, and yes, of course, salty winter slush will make that happen faster. But it's all about the rate that it happens, and what we can do to slow it.
If you want your new bike to remain in pristine showroom condition with no sign of ever being used, well, hang it up in a gallery somewhere. But if you want to ride it, and keep riding it all year round, some basic preventative maintenance should keep it going for many years, through rain, snow and salt.
I used to ride a 531 steel bike all year round, to work and back every day, including through some pretty obnoxious winter weather. My standard procedure was to always carry a can of WD40 in my bag, and if my bike got wet on the way to work or back, I'd give the exposed components (brake mechs, derrailleurs, chain) a good spray. It's not lube, it's not a long-term solution, but it appeared to work very well for displacing the water and keeping corrosion away. Then, if it had been a wet or dirty week, at the weekend I'd clean the bike properly and re-lube.
I've still got that bike, and after a bit of work on it last year, it's still going strong.
I wish my granddad was still here, because I'd love to tell him that some bike shop bloke has claimed it's normal for a new bike to rust in just a few weeks if you ride it during the winter. Unfortunately, I can't share with you my mental picture of his probable response
Alan
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Racing roadkill
Guru
It's not all about the quantity that counts, it's as much about the quality
You'd be surprised what decades of material science based R&D have provided, in terms of alloys.
True
Bad mistake.
S-Express
Guest
Says the man who is always banging on about his 'many years' and 'many thousands of miles' of experience
Wrong
Very true, yes, and some of my experience of using my bike's autopilot to get me home after drunken evenings has definitely been of very low quality. Being serious, I'm certainly not trying to pull some sort of "experience" authority, I'm just suggesting that we can use our combined experience to counter dubious claims made by a bike shop bloke. Common sense through experience does have a part to play.
Not surprised at all, but I doubt their properties have got worse?
(Re WD40) How so?
Racing roadkill
Guru
WD 40 is a very bad idea, on any moving parts, that are exposed to any elements. It's akin to spraying the moving part with a degreaser, followed by spray glue. It's very good at producing a grinding paste, by entrapping grit and dirt, and then holding it against the surface.
WD40 have new formulations, which are far better than the original blue and yellow can with a red cap stuff, as far as bikes are concerned, this comes in a silver can, and is marked clearly as for bikes.
Racing roadkill
Guru
It's more amazing that there are so many people who very rarely ( if ever ) ride their bikes in poor conditions, yet think they know how to deal with a bike being used in said conditions.
I guess that's just Forums for you though. Everyone is entitled to state their case, one just has to be selective with which advice is worth paying heed to.
Ah, yes, I understand what you mean, and it is indeed very good at attracting dirt. But I've never had any long-term problem when I've done a proper cleaning at weekends and relubed.
That's useful to know, thanks.
Alan
Racing roadkill
Guru
That's the key, it's fine in an emergency, but has to be removed when practicable.
I don't recall anybody mention the damage done to rims by all-weather commuting. A couple of years was all I could get on the commuter bike's rims before they were concave and needing replaced and that's with riding to anticipate traffic lights and trying to avoid any heavy braking. Wet weather riding, particularly in winter, quickly adds a grinding paste to the rim / brake block, even if you wipe them clean before or after every ride.
S-Express
Guest
This is just absolute nonsense, sorry. It's like you made it up. Original WD is just a light mineral oil in a solvent.
