Originally Posted by
SlimRider
If you don't rinse your bike of the salt and crud, immediately after parking it indoors, the best procedure would be to place a coating of wax or oil over the steel frame, keep it outdoors as long as the temperature is below freezing, and there are no security issues.
If your frame is made of aluminum, it won't matter much either way. Aluminum tends not to oxidize to any appreciable rate like steel does.
Last winter my wheels and the aluminum kickstand on my bottom bracket shell were covered in a nice salty slush/block of ice for a few weeks because the snow froze in the spokes and I couldn't get it out anymore. The wheels have gone a bit spotty, with bubbling around the spokes and also the kickstand did get a fair amount of bubbling, causing the paint to just flake off.
Mind you this is a 5 year old aluminum bike that stands outside every single day and only goes inside during the night... which can be at midnight sometimes. So it is pretty exposed.
Technically the bike is still perfect, it just has a few imperfections now.