Mountain Biking - Bike Got Dunked

I had a little "incident" earlier this afternoon, which ended up with my bike landing half in a river. Unfortunately the half that ended up in the water was the lower half, including the hubs and bb. I was able to pull it out of the water really quickly, probably 10~15 seconds after it hit the water.
How much should I worry about this exposure? I hope that I can finish the season before I have to re-do the hubs.

You can pull out your bottom bracket to make sure the frame drained out. I'd just lube everything. I don't know how effective soaking parks in cleaner would be. I'm guessing that from rainy riding or stream crossing you've probably gotten a little water into your parts before. IMO, I wouldn't worry too much although I would never purposely submerge a good bike.

Wow, I never thought of ****. I usually clean/relube the chain but didn't know we had to address the bottom bracket.

What about a crossing like this? What should i have done to the bike after taking it home?
http://www.clubveloepic.org/forum/files/prevost_veloepic_santiago.jpg

You need to overhaul your hubs. I don't ride through water that will submerge my hubs. You will probably be OK once or maybe twice but after that good luck.

In June this year, I was crossing a stream that was flowing MUCH higher than it usually does due to crazy amounts of rain. My bike got pulled out from under me and was taken downstream. I had to run through the stream to catch the bike...so it was completely submerged for a little bit.

When I ride that particular trail, I use my wet/mud wheelset which has cheap Joytech hubs that came stock on the bike...to this day, I haven't touched the front hub and it still runs smooth but I have rebuilt the rear hub twice and the freehub is next to death. I have swapped the crankset on the bike but when it happened, I was running a square-taper setup and the bottom brackets I was using are only $20CDN so I just ran it until it made noise (which was basically right when I swapped the cranks in September).

I don't know about your bottom bracket setup (if you run cheap stuff you could pick up a spare and keep it on hand) but you may want to check the hubs as preventative maintenance.

You need to overhaul your hubs. I don't ride through water that will submerge my hubs. You will probably be OK once or maybe twice but after that good luck.
Agreed. It's a valuable skill to have. Bear in mind that it is something you have to develop a "feel" for, but the technique is simple. My advice is for you to print this out (http://tinyurl.com/d3v4b), get the tools and a can of Marine Trailer Bearing Grease (about $3 at Home Depot), and have at it.

I think it's really ironic how dirt and water are bad for mountain bikes.

I think it's really ironic how dirt and water are bad for mountain bikes. What's the deal with disc brakes, needing to keep them really clean, wipe them down with alcohol pads? its not something that's done w/ car disc brakes?

What's the deal with disc brakes, needing to keep them really clean, wipe them down with alcohol pads? its not something that's done w/ car disc brakes?

Not sure what disk brakes you have but the OEM Shimano brakes (BR-M465) that came on my Kona Blast really suffered after some riding. I have recently switched to Avid BB7 brakes and find them to be much, much better. I have not had to wipe down the disks and the fade that I felt from the Shimano brakes has not manifested.

Well, I am going to suggest a different course of action then the others. How much longer is your season? I assume it has been a few days and what ever water got into the hubs and/or bb has dried.

I have a stream crossing that during the winter gets anywhere from 2' to 4' deep. We ride through even the 4' deep parts (at least we try ;) ) and even jump of the bolders into the stream. Our components get a good soaking but we do not bother with an overhaul until after the rainy season as long as there was not a lot of dirt/sand in the water. The hubs and bb work fine for the few months until they get cleaned out. So I would say wait if you want to.
Just remember, the longer you wait the more work that will need to be done and you DO run the risk of having to replace parts. Cleaning and regreasing the hubs is not all that hard and if you are concerned about destroying them you should follow the advice from the others.

Also, when you do work on the bike, be sure to check the derailleur pullys and moving parts, front and rear. Lots of riders worry to much about the hubs and bb and forget to do the deraileurs (then ask why the shifting is not as good) and headset (if the hs was submerged or if it is not of the sealed type).


MSF:beer: