Originally Posted by
Banzai
So I really think I want to go back to a derailer, and a triple crank. How bad is it in the ice and snow, really? Are there tricks to keep the mech from turning into a dangling hunk of rust? Tricks to keeping things shifting? And honestly, if a couple of cogs skip a lot, it will still be doing as well as my Alfine.
Originally Posted by
cyccommute
I haven't found them to be that bad for the 35 years I've winter commuted. If you want to avoid rust, don't use steel components. That's a bit tough for the chain but not so much for the rest of the bits. Also rinse them off once in a while. I realize that's harder in St. Paul than in Denver but it should be impossible.
I'm with cyccommute. I've never really understood what all the fuss is about. The only steel is in the chain and cassette, and using a good, persistent lube (like our own FBinNY's
Chain-L) takes care of that.
As for shifting, the trick to keep it shifting is... to shift. I've not had problems, except in rare circumstances. I suspect it's because I use close-ratio cassettes and shift a lot to keep my cadence high, which I've found helps me keep balance in side-slip situations.
In the rare cases where the cassette has gunked up, it's because I was stuck behind pokey traffic and not shifting. This leads me to believe that those who report problems with gunked-up cassettes are those who find a favorite gear and stick with it, single-speed style, then change their minds after they've let the gunk collect.
I can see too where ice in the cables could be an issue, but thus far I've avoided problems there by shifting, and by using the newer high-end cables (Shimano OP-41 and OP-52 housing, and anybody's polymer/teflon coated cables) along with long-nose ferrules (Jagwire). Keeps the water out, and the silicone inside the housing with the teflon on the wire, means that even when water gets in there, it has a tough time making things stick.
As my STI levers have gotten older, the grease inside them tends to thicken at higher and higher temperatures. The WD-40 flush does the trick for that. I have a Dura-Ace left lever that now begins to stick below about 55°F. That bike has leather bar tape I don't want to replace just yet, so I put up with it. On the bikes with the plain-Jane bar tape, I didn't mind sacrificing the bar tape.
Finally, good fenders with mudflaps that threaten to brush the ground keeps the drivetrain a lot cleaner in all conditions, but particularly in slush. My 2006 Portland with SKS Longboards:
Those are the three-seasons 35mm width. When the studs go on, I swap them for the 45mm width.