Originally Posted by
Black Jaque
I don't clean it until spring. I let it stay in the garage where it won't thaw. Rather than clean I oil the snot out of everything that isn't greased.
I bike commuted all last winter in central Wisconsin so my bike got lots of salt exposure. I did not notice excessive rust. The chain was a little sticky after my spring cleaning, but enough oil and it loosened up. I am still riding on all the same components as I did last year (except for brake pads).
I suppose if you have a pet bike that you ride solely for enjoyment - it makes sense to take special care of it. But for commuting purposes I just do not understand the rationale that people put forward about the salt being bad for a bike. True it will cause things to rust and wear out sooner, but to opt to drive a $30,000 car in the same brine makes no sense at all. For the cost of one car repair you can buy a very nice bike to ride all winter and you could just throw the bike away in the spring and still be money ahead.
Heck you could probably justify buying a new winter bike every year by dropping your YMCA membership where you go to ride an "indoor" bike.
Sure, but I'd suggest that it all depends on what you're riding through. I've had winters in my area where I only had to clean off my bike once or twice, and I rode on a daily basis. This winter, however, is not one of those. I rode a couple of days ago in horrible slushy conditions, and if I had just parked my bike afterwards without at least spraying off the slop, it would be frozen solid today, as in, it would not be able to shift, the brakes wouldn't work, the chain would probably not even go through the rear derailleur. A little slush or snow is no big deal, but a large build-up will make a regular bicycle basically cease to function.