Fifty Plus (50+) - Road Grime

No, not what you think. I left Massachusetts on Thursday the day after the big snow storm and headed south with my bike on the back of the car. Now with two days of road salt, dirt, and just general grit and grime, I am cleaning the heavy stuff off with the only thing I have, windex and paper towels. And man is it a mess.

Has anyone been successful travelling with a bike on a vehicle in inclement weather ? And don't say put it in the vehicle. I saw a couple of travelers with their entire bike covered in plastic. This seems impracticle because: the plastic eventually will tear, and I insist on bringing the bike in when I finally get to the motel en route.

Ideas, suggestions?

I travel in the summers usually with an RV and the bikes at the rear. I found a bike cover that really is wonderful on the internet. I suggest you do a search on line and see what's out there. Mine is for two bikes. The only thing I found is that I need to protect the brevets from the rubbing, other than that it worked great.

I cover up the brifters or shifters, depending upon the bike, and also the saddle with standard plastic grocery bags and electrical tape. If you keep the bags snug, the wind won't tear them up. For the saddle I run the bag past the entry point of the seat post and tape it there, too. If the bike gets really dirty, upon my arrival, I'll take it to a coin car wash and use the wand without high pressure. Then I wipe it down and lube everything. All of my bikes look like new. If they are not too dirty, a bucket of warm water and a rag works just fine.

"... protect the brevets from the rubbing ... "

What ??? (don't mean to be snarky, but I don't understand...)

I use blue painters tape (the type that is easy to remove) on all the forward facing surfaces (forks, head tube, seat tube, brifters, etc. I use this mainly to keep bugs off the bike, but would work for road grime as well.

Full disclosure: We only get six or eight inches a year of rain around here, so spray isn't much of a problem. But when we go over the mountain to California, I just cover the Brooks saddle with a plastic bag. When we get where we're going, I put the bike in the motel shower, rinse it off and lube.
If I use the rooftop carrier instead of the hitch rack, just wiping is usually sufficient. Bikes are pretty well sealed, and I never find evidence of water inside when I tear things down.
Motel owners hate every aspect of this, by the way.

I use this (http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/ProductDisplay?storeId=10052&langId=-1&catalogId=10551&productId=1023898&cm_mmc=$(referrer)$-_-Bike%20Tools%20&%20Transport-_-XPORT-_-30-0310&CSE=GooglePS&mr:trackingCode=F213BC46-A681-DE11-B7F3-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA) on my bike rack:

http://www.performancebike.com/images/performance/products/large/30-0310-BLK-TOP.jpg

I believe a similar cover is available from either Colorado or Competitive Cyclist...

Velo Dog ,we will be getting your whole years rain fall over the next week and that's on top of last years that we got last week. Enjoy the wet!

A couple of thoughts:


with my bike on the back of the car.

I think carrying a bike on the back of a vehicle is about the worst place for it. Depending on shape, some vehicles really get much dirtier in the rear due to windflow and tubulence. I prefer a roof rack and use "bra" similar to those pictured above.

Cyclo cross racers will often carry a small garden sprayer to rinse the mud off their bikes after a race.

This?
http://www.overstock.com/Sports-Toys/Hitch-Bike-Rack-Cover/2652692/product.html

This?
http://www.overstock.com/Sports-Toys/Hitch-Bike-Rack-Cover/2652692/product.html

Now that looks like it might do it.