[coprolite]

Somebody may have asked about this before, but my limited searching abilities have found no mentions. Commuted home friday in a wet snowstorm, rare for these parts but somebody farther north or east must have encountered this. Half way home I noticed quite a lot of skipping, as though freewheel/freehub pawls weren't engaging. Made it to the house with so much crap hanging off my helmet mirror it wouldn't stay aligned. Turns out my cassette was so packed with frozen H2O that the chain wasn't engaging the sprocket teeth, just riding on top of them. Short of a fully enclosed drivetrain, anybody got any suggestions? Fenders do very little to protect the drivetrain, and my rear derailleur is new enough I don't think its a chain tension issue. Am I missing something?

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[Mtn Mike]

Check out the recent thread Become a Mechanic (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=167476) in the Car Free forum... In short, the consensus seemed to be SS/fixed, or geared hubs are the best way to commute in the winter. Personally, I've found that going single speed has eliminated the problems that you describe, plus maintaining is easier.

[CastIron]

When it gets gunky out, I just hose it down with WD-40. Really, dripping wet mess. No conversions or other huey, just a $1.99 can.

[TRaffic Jammer]

Love the WD-40.... makes a good after shave as well.
OR I make myself custom fenders that will address that issue, but this winter has been so lame that I haven't bothered.

Carry the can in your bag and you're good to go. The protective layer of filth and oil will keep you safe.
Back in day of real crap weather riding you might have to dis-mount, bounce your bike a couple times to shake it loose then continue on.

[coprolite]

Hm, sounds positively filthy. But it has suggested to me that I take advantage of all the methanol I've got out in my shop. A WELL LABELLED water bottle of CH3OH ought to get me through the week's-worth of days in the season this might be a problem around here. Anybody got some actual experience with a Crud Claw?

[PaulH]

How about mudflaps on the fenders?

Paul

[2manybikes]

How about mudflaps on the fenders?

Paul

+1

it's a big help! Flexible flaps almost touching the ground.