Road Cycling - After rain maintenance

i took my first long ride yesterday and it started to rain...like downpour during our ride. we ended up finding some shelter when it was really bad but e prob did an additional 20 miles with drizzle and wet roads.

question is, is there any special maintenance i need to do because i was riding in the rain?

Wash the road grit off your bike and then oil the chain. When you have time this winter overhaul the hubs, bb, pedals, headset as you normally would if they are not sealed bearing.

Next, install fenders. It's the only intelligent way to ride in the rain.

I hate biking in the rain. The same thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago where the first 20 miles of the ride was in heavy rain. I probably would skipped the ride had I seen the radar first. But anyway, my bike (me as well) was covered in road grit so I "Simple Greened" the entire thing and cleaned the chain real good with dregreaser and lube her up real good. Anytime I get stuck out on a wet road I always do a complete full detail.

ya ok ill probably stop by REI today and get some de-greaser and chain lube as well

Wash the road grit off your bike and then oil the chain. When you have time this winter overhaul the hubs, bb, pedals, headset as you normally would if they are not sealed bearing.

Can you please further describe what is involved in the 'winter overhaul'?

If you have a relatively modern bike with relatively sealed bearings you'll be fine with the chain stuff. In other words what pedals, hubs, bottom bracket, and headset do you have?

An added thing to check would be the wheels - move them around to see if water got trapped in the rim. Deep profile rims are prone to this. Mine get pretty loaded up with water after a wet ride.

My "winter overhaul" consists of the same thing as my "after rain ride clean up":
http://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-to-clean-your-bike-illustrated.html
(I took pictures when it wasn't raining, but I've done the same thing on very cold days - I just use warm/hot water for my soap and rinse buckets).

If it's raining really hard I don't find fenders to be much help. It helps if you're riding *after* it rains but the roads are still wet - then it's nice to stay relatively dry even though you're riding through puddles and such. I also find fenders to be good when riding in snow or slush since that stuff gets everywhere and then melts once the bike gets inside. A guy at a local LBS pointed out that my bike's downtube is wider than a fender - and he's right.

"Normal" fenders are not sufficient for true protection of drivetrain (rear fender) and feet (front fender). I remember using a rivet gun, zip ties, and cut up antifreeze bottles to create fenders for a recumbent being used in a Southeast Asian tour. We made a guard for his drive train (only on the tire side - if he dumped his bike it'd be his problem), big flap at the bottom of the front fender (protect his butt, but in your case protect your feet). He took pictures, it worked really well. I've been thinking of doing the same to my mtb (which has fenders) but I haven't actually done it. My very nice mtb fenders are totally inadequate for protecting my feet or my drivetrain. The only thing they do well is protect my butt/back from that mud stripe you get when riding through melting snow.

cdr

Dry off and wipe off the chain with a rag. Then, re-lube the chain. Dry off the rest of the bike. That is it buddy.

Dry off and wipe off the chain with a rag. Then, re-lube the chain. Dry off the rest of the bike. That is it buddy.

exactly what i did...chain had tons of grime and dirt on it, hit it with some degreaser and paper towels till it looked clean and the grime was mostly gone then i put a drop of teflon lube on each chain link, spun a few times and wiped excess away with a paper towel lightly....noticed the bike shifted smoother and i could now pedal backwards with no problem (sometime the chain would fall off)