Sonofamechanic 

…in a coastal salt-air environment, washing your bike with water is not an ideal solution—it adds water into joints and crevices on a bicycle that won’t dry out easily and then the next ocean breeze adds salt…voila! From experience, a better solution is an oil based spray that keeps the salt out of those joints and crevices in the first place. It does make a sticky mess if applied to thick, but a little gasoline will take it off immediately once your back ‘inland’.

FBinNY 

Different parts need different solutions. My favorite for painted, plated, and bare metal is multiple coats of wax applied and buffed in advance. Carnuba auto waxes are durable and UV resistant.

Obviously you want to be sure the chain stays lubed.

However, people tend to overlook one area that's very vulnerable to maritime conditions. Specifically the SS spokes.

While most expect stainless to live up to it's image, the truth is that the grades used for spokes are not known for their resistance to the chloride part of salt (NaCl). Prolonged exposure allows chlorides to migrate into the steel where it disrupts the crystal structure and creates weak spots. (Search "chlorides and stainless steel" for more on this).

There's no magic solution, so try for fresh water rinses every few days as the opportunities arise.

Lombard

This is correct. There are different grades of "stainless steel". The most corrosion resistant type of stainless steel is non-magnetic (has no iron), but it is weak. Think of stainless steel that is used strictly for aesthetic purposes like stainless steel appliances. It doesn't need to be strong.

Carbon steel is the strongest, but it rusts.

So it is a balancing act to have an alloy that is sufficiently strong and corrosion resistant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainl...ion_resistance

This being said, I would be more concerned with the galvanic corrosion when common metals interact with each other such as alloy nipples against alloy rims.

Racing Dan

For salty roads ordinary auto engine/crank case oil is great. It has rust inhibitors that will prevent your chain from rustiong. No need to overthink it.

Schweinhund

This.
Secondly, oil. it's not going to stop anything, but it will slow it down greatly.
Paraffin based furniture polish, wd-40, 99 cent store penetrating lube, literally anything on stainless is better than nothing.
Clean your brake track afterward.

MarcusT

I found alcohol a simple, effective solvent

hevysrf

My experience with T-9 is very different, never had a problem with removal or clean up. In addition to my bikes I use it in a salt water marine application, 7 or 8 thick coats on an outboard trim pump coats before spring launch, cleans up easily with simple green and water at the fall haul out, wd-40 also cuts it quickly.
Are you using the over the counter commercial formula or some industrial grade sourced from an airline?

drlogik 

I lived on Sullivan's Island in Charleston South Carolina a number of years ago. The constant humid, salt-laden breeze coated everything in a brine slime. Oil-based lubes I found were best, BUT, you have to wash your bike every day if you ride it every day, AND you need to keep the bike INSIDE. If you don't do these, eventually the bike will rust. Quite frankly, it will rust no matter what you do but you can minimize it by doing those things.

My routine back then:
I would typically rinse my bike with a garden hose without the spray nozzle. Just let it rain on the bike and brush with a car brush to dislodge any crystalized salt deposits. Yes, if you're on the coast in the south you'll see white spots on the paint. I would follow-up with a sudsy wash, dry completely and take it inside to lube.

Camilo

Oh yea. Shipping costs often distinguish conus and AK/HI. But you might (or might not) be surprised at how many US people don't even realize they're part of the US. Many outside of the US think AK is part of Canada.

Kontact

Working in a bike shop, when customers have thick coatings of black stuff that has to be scraped out of their cogs because citrus solvent won't dissolve anything - they say it was T-9.

Hondo6

The part I emphasized is not correct. 304 stainless is likely what you're referencing. While that has a rather high level of alloying elements, it's still over 65% iron. See the "Chemical Composition" tab at

https://www.upmet.com/products/stainless-steel/304304l

Similarly, 904L stainless has even higher levels of alloying elements, but still contains more iron (min 38.2%) than any other component element. See "Chemical Analysis" at this link

https://www.sandmeyersteel.com/904l.html?utm_term=904l

If it's any type of steel, it contains a large percentage of iron - generally over 50% - with other elements added to produce different physical properties in the resulting alloy.

FBinNY 

Yes, steel, by definition, is an alloy of iron and carbon. If it lacks either, it isn't steel, though it may also include other elements.

I suspect that some of the confusion is because, within the industry, the terms alloy and carbon take on new meanings.

Carbon steels lack significant additional elements.

Alloy steels have additional elements, such as, chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, etc. to boost strength or otherwise influence properties.

Stainless steel has chromium as the primary alloying element, with carbon greatly reduced.

All are alloys of Iron.

The magnetic properties aren't related to the presence or lack of iron, but instead about the molecular structure.

Lombard

Interesting. I did not know that.

Lombard

I stand corrected.