Originally Posted by
Barrettscv
I could make a good case for a beater as a winter bike in Chicago.
The heavy use of salt on the roads would keep me from using anything nice from December to mid March.
If I walk around the city, my shoes are devastated by the salt. However, the bike is pretty immune. Most bolts have been replaced by stainless. Otherwise, the areas that could rust are covered by a protective film that I need to update at a frequency of once per two years or less. Only the kickstand may require a couple of applications per winter, in the areas where the film gets rubbed off, while the chain gets 2-3 applications per year.