Commuting - corrosion due to rain

I ride in the rain, oh, about once or twice a week, and then when i get home I lube up the chain. Will the chain be alright? What about other parts on the bike? Any serious bad stuff that could happen?


Thanx

Gabe

Check where the corrosion is specifically. I have something of a policy on this (being someone who actually prefers riding in the rain). If I think the rain has stopped for at least a couple of days, I give the bike a proper clean and re-lube (normally use Finish Line lube). If I think it's going to keep raining for my next ride, I just spray a bit of WD-40 on the corroded areas and let it wash off next time around.

Check where the corrosion is specifically. I have something of a policy on this (being someone who actually prefers riding in the rain). If I think the rain has stopped for at least a couple of days, I give the bike a proper clean and re-lube (normally use Finish Line lube). If I think it's going to keep raining for my next ride, I just spray a bit of WD-40 on the corroded areas and let it wash off next time around.

Coming form rain central Chris is right. I don't worry so much about corrosion as I do grit eating away at the chain. Keep your chain clean of the grit (Finish line is good but there is a product here in the states called Boesheild that doesn't attract dirt as much). Wiping down your bike helps to keep any posible corrosion from happening. I haven't tried the WD40 trick, but it sounds like it would work, so I think I will when it lets up here a bit.

I haven't tried the WD40 trick, but it sounds like it would work, so I think I will when it lets up here a bit.

WD-40 is not a proper lube and was never intended to be. All it really does is keep corrosion out of the parts in the short term. It's useful if you're going to be riding in the rain two or more days running, but if you get a couple of not so rainy days, you should use a proper lube.

Use WD40 on the inside of your (steel) frame, inc the narrow stays, there is usually a small hole at each end.
After giving the bike a total, thorough clean, on a warm dry day, give the frame a few coats of car wax. If you do this, WD40 will dissolve the wax, do dont mix them.
Ensure that your (threaded) stem, seatpost, pedal threads and bolts are all greased where thre is metal-metal contact.

I won't ever use WD40 on my chain, I though you meant on some of the parts of the bike that may corrode like seat posts skewers etc.

WD-40 is mostly kerosene, so isn't a lubricant. However, it is great for cleaning a bike. Then give it a good waxing. I wouldn't spray inside my frame, either. Could get down into the BB and wash away some of the lubricants that are in there (even if they are sealed bearings - nothing's perfect). But, if you have a steel bike you could/should use FramSavr. Most refinishers will put it in the frames they refinish if ask to do so. Charge $5 or $10 for the service. But, once you get your bike clean, use a real lubricant where it should be used (chain, cables, derailleur pivots, etc.) and keep the pretty bits waxed with a good quality automotive wax. I use Turtle Wax because it goes on easily and also includes a cleaner. But there are plenty of others that are also good. And you can use a silicone spray on your bar tape if you need to get anal about it.

I've commuted year-round in Portland for years. I clean & lube my chain once every few weeks or so. Otherwise it just drip-dries at home & in the office - twice a day for months at a time. There's no rust anywhere. I replace the chain once it's reached its stretch limit.

Riding for several hours in a hard rain might warrant a relube each time. Otherwise, in my experience, it'll be just fine if you just bring it in out of the rain after the ride. I'd give up bike commuting if I had to dry & lube the bike every single time it got wet.

Has anybody else found that water tends to collect down in the bottom Bracket after riding in the rain?

Thats why bikes used to have a drainage hole at the bottom of the shell. Why has that feature gone out of fashion ?

After commuting home in a hard rain I will wipe down my bike and then hang it upside down to dry. There will usually be at least 1 to 3 ounces of water that will drain out of the frame from the bottom bracket when I do this.

The WD40 issue was covered in this weeks email from roadbikerider.com here is the article

www.roadbikerider.com

2. Uncle Al's Rant: WD-40

Dear Uncle Al: I use WD-40 to clean my cassette, crank,
chain and derailleurs. It's cheap and does a nice job of
degreasing everything. Do you see any problems with using
it to clean these parts? -- Michael D.

Hey Unc: I've been using WD-40 as a chain cleaner. I hold
an old rag on the other side of the chain and spray a
section, catching the overflow with the rag. The stuff
literally melts goop and gump. I then thoroughly wipe the
chain dry and apply lube.

WD-40 is inexpensive and can be found on almost any street
corner. My question is, can you think of any reason why I
shouldn't be using the WD-40 in this manner? The stuff also
removes grease smudges from the frame, and even my hands
if I get too careless. -- Neal

Uncle Al Fires Back: Many of you faithful readers have asked
about using WD-40 on your bikes. It's one of those products
that is totally misunderstood, misused and generally abused.

WD-40 makes a great flame thrower (don't you dare try it)
and a terrible lubricant for nearly anything related to your bike.

But it does do a pretty good job as a solvent/cleaner and
anti-corrosion agent. You can put it on a cloth for wiping down
your frame if you've ridden in a salty climate or speckled it with
toxic sweat.

It also displaces moisture from hard-to-reach places like
cable stops, which corrode badly if you ignore them (we're
talking steel and aluminum). It penetrates to help free bolts
and other things you don't want stuck together.

I've never seen it harm frame decals or paint jobs, but you
might want to test it on an inconspicuous part of your frame
to be safe.

WD-40 hails from San Diego and has been around as long as
I can remember, which is really a long time. It's said that WD
stands for "water displacement" and that 40 is for the 40th
attempt to get the formula right. That could be correct, or not.
What's for sure is that it isn't a high-quality lubricant.

The stuff is widely available, as roadie Neal puts it, "on
almost any street corner." I hope he is talking about WD-40.
It's cheap, too. I've seen 11-oz. aerosol cans for 99 cents.

It's made of petroleum distillates (imagine that) and "is safe
for use in federally inspected meat and poultry plants." No
wonder my chicken bursts into flames when I barbecue.

Do not use WD-40 as a chain lube. Yeah, your chain will
stay lookin' clean, but that's because there's nothing on it.
It'll wear out faster than the rear tire on a kid's coaster-brake
bike when he learns to skid.

Go ahead and clean things with it, but then be sure to use a
real chain lube like the one and only ProLink. (You have
been listening, right?) That's a really fine product and will do
everything good for a chain that WD-40 won't.

So I might just try it to clean my chain for a while and see what happens.