Commuting - Effects of Salt on componets

This is my first winter season commuting and have a concern for the effects of salt on the derailleurs, cables, chain, etc. I live in New Enland where salt is mixed with sand to help reduce the icing that takes place during and after a storm.

Has anyone experienced any problems with this and if so what have you done to prevent it?

Thanks for any information you may have.

Frank C.

I make liberal use of car wax to protect the paint, cables, bolts etc.
Make sure any metal-metal surfaces are greased or lubed to avoid seizing.

Ride a beater. I find my 5 speed frankencommuter with tourney components works better than my mtb with Deore in crappy weather anyways. The simpler the components the less chance of things freezing up I find.

I rode a 1992 Norco MTB with SunTour indexed rear der all last winter. Lots of crud, but I tried to rinse it off every day (we have a wash bay at work), but ended up being more like once a week. I also tried to keep things lubed up (in spite of many contrary posts on these forums I used WD-40 on my chain all winter) I thought last winter's salt and sand would kill it, but I rode all summer too with no problems, so it's going to be #1 bike this winter too!

I also tried to keep things lubed up (in spite of many contrary posts on these forums I used WD-40 on my chain all winter)
In fact you did quite the opposite. WD-40 is Water Displacer Formula 40 it is NOT a lubricant it's a fine degreaser and wonderful for creating pieces of rust scuplture out of chains. (Every week I get someone in complaining of a squeaky / stuck chain and when I ask them if they ever lube it they will invariably respond with "Oh yeah I spray it with WD-40 all the time. Just like I'm supposed to. Right?) :crash: The "many posts to the contrary" were absolutely correct in telling not to use it many of them coming from bike mechanics (like myself) or people who do thier own repairs and have done so for years. With the accelerated wear you've subjected your bike to I wouldn't be suprised if you end up at a shop or online soon to get a new chain and cassette in the near future.

Road salt eats bicycles just as I am sure you have heard.

The fewer steel parts your bike has, the better. Sure, aluminum will also corrode, but not like steel. Steel spokes are probably the most problematic.

Frequent washing and waxing helps, but you can hardly do it fast enough or frequently enough.

The best advise so far is to ride a beater that you don't mind sacrificing to the salt Gods.

Sounds like the salt is pretty nasty on the bike. I'm riding a recumbent for the winter months and dont have a beater to sacrifice. It sounds like a lot cleaning and heavy on the wax will help or at least slow it down.

Thanks for all the info, I was considering the WD40 thing, but now I know better.

Does siclone sprays help at all?

...Does siclone sprays help at all?

That is all I use as a chain lube. I spray it on after every ride and wipe off. I also clean the chain about every 150-200 miles.

Sounds like the salt is pretty nasty on the bike. I'm riding a recumbent for the winter months and dont have a beater to sacrifice. It sounds like a lot cleaning and heavy on the wax will help or at least slow it down.

Thanks for all the info, I was considering the WD40 thing, but now I know better.

Does siclone sprays help at all?


Depends which silicone, but yes, it should help. If you like a messier bike, get something like Finish Line Cross Country lubricant in spray or apply grease to critical parts. And get fenders and mudflaps.

Regards,

Salt also affects the rider - Shoes and pantlegs get splashed and soaked and if there's some higher speed traffic, you'll get to work with a salty face as well. I occasionally had to stop and clean my glasses to get the salt spray off.

Salt also affects the rider - Shoes and pantlegs get splashed and soaked and if there's some higher speed traffic, you'll get to work with a salty face as well. I occasionally had to stop and clean my glasses to get the salt spray off.

Good point. Get yourself a pair of leg gaitors to keep your pants clean when you ride in winter. You can get gaitors where cross country ski and back-country camping suppies are sold. Outdoor Research makes a very good, but very expensive product.

SILICON: Silicon spray is simply finely ground solid silica mixed with a solvent based carrier (the silica does not disolve in the solvent). After you apply the spray, the solvent evaporates and the tiny solid particles remain.

I personally do not think that hardware store grade silicon spray has worthy lubricating applications on a bicycle. I have noticed that if you spray it on your frame around the bottom bracket where there are so many tight little nooks and crannies that cleaning with soap and water is easier.

I would not ride a good recumbent in winter. Get yourself a $35.00 bike at the thrift shop. Now is the time to start looking before the snow starts flying.

I'm from Buffalo NY which gets a bit snowy indeed, and I commute to work daily. Now maybe I'm ignorant of an obvious piece of information, but what is the best lubricant to apply to a chain? I've been using motor oil and it doesn't seem to be doing the job... but that might just be the winter salt & wetness at work.

I'm from Buffalo NY which gets a bit snowy indeed, and I commute to work daily. Now maybe I'm ignorant of an obvious piece of information, but what is the best lubricant to apply to a chain? I've been using motor oil and it doesn't seem to be doing the job... but that might just be the winter salt & wetness at work.

I'm not an expert on this but,

There are "wet" and "dry" lubricants that you can find in your local bike shop or online. The "wet" variety is what you should use if you ride in the rain (or snow) as it is heavier-duty. The downside is that it attracts more dirt which can act as an abrasive on your drive train - this is why many people (who don't ride in the rain and snow as much) use the "dry" lubricant. The downside to the "dry" lubes is that it needs to be applied more often, and doesn't give as sturdy protection in the nasty weather.

My advice would be to: 1) use a "wet" lube (Finish Line Cross Country "wet", for example), and 2) clean your chain and cassette to get out the sand/grit frequently.

In fact you did quite the opposite. WD-40 is Water Displacer Formula 40 it is NOT a lubricant it's a fine degreaser and wonderful for creating pieces of rust scuplture out of chains.

I agree with Raiyn - in my first year of commuting I made the mistake of regularly hosing down my bike with WD-40, thinking I was lubing it. Oops - that bike is now dead. Crappy frame anyways. Now I now better and rarely use WD-40 at all.

I commute 150K per week in all weather. My maintenance routine is to clean and lube the bike every Sunday afternoon. I use that Finish Line lube mentioned in an earlier post and it seems to work fine. In the winter I think going 5 days between each maintenance is pushing it, but hey there's a limit to how much time I can spend maintaining my bike.

I've resigned myself to replacing pretty much the entire drive train on both my summer and winter bikes once a year. That's OK for my winter bike because it uses cheap, heavy components. But it's a bit pricier for my summer bike so I'll be upgrading my summer maintenance routine a bit and hoping for two seasons from the drive train.

Before winter, be sure to remove your pedals, seat post and stem (if quil style) and lube the entire interfacing surface with marine grease. If you don't something will end up really, really stuck.

Well....this is my third year of riding my 'cross bike in Vermont and upstate NY. There is a lot of salt/sand used on the roads here and winter lasts a long time. I commute by bike no matter what the conditions. I have heard about salt damage, but have never really noticed anything on my bike. I pretty much do what I do in summer: keep it sorta clean, lube the chain when it starts to squeak, and try and keep the brake pads clean. Maybe those who ride the beaters notice more corrosion because there was already some there from the years of wear the bike already had? Or maybe my bike was made in the future with alien metals? :)

Don't use any magnesium parts.