Originally Posted by
SnowJob
t's the salt and sand that get's ya. The sand eats away at your gears and chain and the salt gets into your components and goes bad until you gotta lop 'em off at the wrist. (Who's laughing now lx rear der? muahaha).
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However, treebound is right. If you keep on top of maintenance and cleaning then you'll do fine. Be especially sure to clean the chain, cogs, and chainring every day, and your drivetrain should make it through without too much trouble.
The salt slush is nasty, and not just for your drivetrain. My rear canti brake hardware suffered from Chicago winter sludge more than other parts, including my well-lubed drivetrain. I wish I'd used something like Boeshield on all my unpainted surfaces (except for wheels).
Also beware dripping sludge. Using fenders mean your bike carrying twenty times as much wet mess as before. I wasted many a section of the Tribune catching grey sludge melt after rolling my fendered bike indoors.