Road Cycling - is rain riding always a hassle

have been lusting after a road bike for a while now
however, i worry about maintenance
it's not hard, i know
but i just hate wiping stuff down after rain riding, for example

i always lube the chain when it needs it
and all pivot points
but i never *really* clean the chain
or any other part of the bike for that matter

this is why i fear owning a road bike
cleaning bikes are a drag

any suggestions on how i can ride
and not worry about maintenance 29/30 days of the month
without screwing up the bike?

hm..is that a poem or a question... i'm confused :p
anyway who said u have to wipe down anything? a good hosing, and bounce the bike a bit, is all a bike needs after a rain. prolink/wd-40 on chain and it's done.

sd

G'day,

(hitchy writes mental note not to let shaq-d ever borrow the KG 486!).....or you could have a 'el cheapo' bike for wet weather riding & keep the good one for good weather. I know lotsa racers in Europe who have a 'winter' bike,

cheers,

hitchy

i love how my bike looks, it gives me great pleasure just being in its sight

so my suggestion, get a pretty bike

hm..is that a poem or a question... i'm confused
anyway who said u have to wipe down anything? a good hosing, and bounce the bike a bit, is all a bike needs after a rain. prolink/wd-40 on chain and it's done.

sd


NEVER USE WD-40 IT IS A SOLVENT SOLVENTS EAT THE CHAIN UP EVENTUALLY. USE THE PRODUCT CALLED SIMPLE GREEN FOR CLEANING !!!!

heh. well, i look KG i don't think i'd take that out in the rain anyway. but my nice tough titanium bike fares fine, and i have an inkling a steel bike will too.

as for wd-40 eating up chains... i don't think so. kerosene doesn't eat the chain. wd-40 certainly won't. as for wd-40 being a "SOLVENT", well, water is a solvent for salt. but you don't see people saying how water will eat up a chain (except for rust, which will).

sd

shaq-d bottomline is, do NOT use wd-40 for lubrication purpose.

...i always lube the chain when it needs it
and all pivot points
but i never *really* clean the chain...
You're joking, right? If you just lube the chain and don't clean it the crud and road grime is still on the chain, chain rings, and cogs. It wears out these components a little bit every time you ride.



...i worry about maintenance
it's not hard, i know
Again with the jokes? Cleaning your bike is not hard or time consuming. Are you just lazy or don't you care about your bike?

Operator is correct, WD40 is not suitable for long term lubrication as it is too volatile. It is OK to use it on the chain after riding in the rain - it will do a fair job of displacing water and grime from the links (as do many other cleaning methods) before one re-applies their chain lube of choice. Just don't squirt it into any bearings, because it will dissolve/displace the grease.

Riding in the rain doesn't cause as much difficulty some fear. If you ride in rain a lot, it is best to have hub bearings with decent seals, same goes for the headset. Most bottom bracket sealed units are very hardy. Pay attention to cleaning the wheel rims and brakepads - this will reduce wear of the rims to a good extent.

Of course, as mentioned by the others, having a whole second bike for foul weather days is a great solution - you simply can't have too many bikes :D . I kept my old 10 speed bike for this purpose, but could not resist improving her over the years until she is as good as the new bike... :rolleyes:

Cheers,

Ed

Yeah..I ride an el cheapo ride in the rain. If I ride in the rain at all.. Does not rain here much...For one thing..I hate to put the wet lube on my bikes ever...What a mess they make, let alone the effects rain.

wd-40 on chain and it's done.

are you trying to troll us?

You're joking, right? If you just lube the chain and don't clean it the crud and road grime is still on the chain, chain rings, and cogs. It wears out these components a little bit every time you ride.

Again with the jokes? Cleaning your bike is not hard or time consuming. Are you just lazy or don't you care about your bike?

to answer your question, RonH
no, i am not joking
i usually wipe down the chain with a old t-shirt
and reapply the lube
every now and then i'll actually get out the hose
i don't think i'm a lazy guy
i just don't have the time for the hassle

btw, thanks for the advice, RonH
and your kind attempt to answer my question
this forum could use more friendly and helpful people like you

Cleaning the chain is easy if you do it regularly (say, every 250-300 miles depending on the conditions you are encountering). Get a cleaner (I use Pedro's Organic Degreaser) and a cleaning machine and, if you are feeling really fastidious, a chain holder for when you remove your rear wheel. Run the chain through the cleaner with the degreaser, apply some degreaser with a brush to your chainring and cogs, and check your tires etc. In about 10 minutes, gently hose down your chain and rear cogs and use a wet rag to wipe down your chainring. Wipe everything down with a clean cloth. Spray a good quality lube (I use a teflon dry lube from Finish Line). Replace your rear wheel. There; you're done!

Cleaning your chain and chainring and cogs won't take more than 15 minutes, so if you ride 500 miles a month, you are talking about 15 to 30 minutes per month on average. Or you can go over your entire bike with a fine eye then...that usually takes me about an hour, but I am pretty anal about keeping everything in good working order. I expect a lot out of my bikes....so I make sure they are ready to take it.

If you are keeping your bike clean like this, depending on the amount of gunk your bike picked up in the rain, you could just wipe her down and spray a little dry lube on the chain until the next cleaning. Oh, and make sure no water has entered into your BB via your seattube - I found this out the hard way: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=58502

You're joking, right? If you just lube the chain and don't clean it the crud and road grime is still on the chain, chain rings, and cogs. It wears out these components a little bit every time you ride.



Again with the jokes? Cleaning your bike is not hard or time consuming. Are you just lazy or don't you care about your bike?

Ron, I had the same thoughts but you beat me to it, well done!

the SRAM site says _not to clean the chain_, and instead recommends simply lubing the chain regularly. no one's trolling.

sd

My bike is my favorite way to get about..Want it to do what I want it to do; It deserves my respect.

this is why i fear owning a road bike
cleaning bikes are a drag



Uh, what is this..."cleaning" of which you speak? :D

bkr
dirty bike, dirty mind

>>Cleaning your bike is not hard or time consuming. Are you just lazy or don't you care about your bike?

No just confusing and it seems that the bike needs constant care compared to other equipment. I'm willing to learn but need simple stuff like a picture of each grease location. Then there's the waterproofing problem that Kaiser stated. Now today, I discovered that certain "road bikes" are so badly designed that they fill up with water. I live in a rainy climate and don't have time to maintain several bikes. No clue how to waterproof a bike. And my LBS said don't worry about it.

There are two aspects to consider: cosmetics and mechanics.

Cosmetics
Cleaning the bike removes road grime and keeps the bike paint shiny. Good fenders with mudflap (at the bottom of the front fender) keep road grime off the bike, so the only thing you have to do is to wipe the raindrops off the frame. That is, if you want the paint to be shiny. Otherwise, don't do anything.

Mechanics
Here again, fenders with mudflaps do a lot to keep the bottom bracket, chainrings and chain clean. I occasionnaly remove deposits off the derailleur's jockey wheels, and I rarely have to clean a filthy chain. I attribute it to the fact my bikes have fenders. The chain obviously needs the occasional lubrication, but nothing in the scale of what I read above.

So far, my 1980 bike a less than perfect paint, but it is due mostly to nicks and minor dents done when parking the bike. But it has been used for more than 70 000 km in commuting, touring, and riding in sunshine, rain, snow, mud, gravel... Both my 2000 touring bike (15000 km) and the newer tandem (1000 km) are good looking and in very good working order. None are showcase material, but they are vehicles, not art pieces, after all.