Narhay

I signed up for a road century some time ago and rode it about 3 weeks ago. It was raining pretty steadily for the hours we were out there and I'd say by a third of the way through my bike ('79 Raleigh Competition, Nuovo Record) was making all sorts of noises of protest. At the end of it the bike was completely filthy. I wiped off the bike as best I could, dried it and then stored it until this weekend. My intention is to do a frame swap with the parts on the bike so I started taking them off. Nearly every bearing system was contaminated with grit and sand. My non drive side hub cone and cup which was looking great when I built the wheels came apart in a brown mess with noticeable wear tracks on the bearing surfaces. The bottom bracket wasn't much better and the freewheel was oozing black tar as I flushed it. Every part seemed to be contaminated in some moving surface.

Do you ride your bike in the rain? My more modern bikes seem to withstand the weather far better than my C&V road bikes. I'm just wondering if one steady rain could do this to a bike how any of them could have survived this long.

dweenk

The soil is sandy where I live, and it gets into everything. Even worse, 2 or 3 inches down it is clay, so if you ride where a 4wd came off the shoulder, you get the sand plastered to your bike with clay. If I were a bit closer to the coast I would also get salt corrosion.

At least the rain washes off the salt.

jon c. 

I never ride in the rain when I can avoid it, but in the summer I do get caught in pop up thunderstorms more often than I'd prefer. It's unavoidable around here. I don't mind getting wet, but I worry about the bike. Never had any real problems, but the drive train always seems a bit noisier on the next ride.

(Got lucky today when the storm went right up the center of the loop I was riding. Got a mile or so of light rain, then later a mile of wet roads, but otherwise stayed dry although I could see it was raining hard at times within a mile or so.)

Salamandrine 

I sometimes enjoy riding in the rain, and pretty much rode in the rain every weekend last winter. You're right, it's a lot easier with modern bikes and sealed everything. It always was a pain in the C&V days.

Generally we would have to repack hubs, BB and HS after every ride in heavy rain. This was pretty normal if you were a racer type running campy NR/SR. For me, that's about a 30-40 minutes of work or so, but obviously it was a hassle. It had to be done though, or your expensive parts were ruined.

If you were a tourist or hardcore commuter, the ultimate setup was Phil hubs and BB, and a some sort of sealed headset.

Fenders help immensely. The UK term "mudguards" is pretty accurate really. They help keep most of the crud out of your bike. (and off of you)

Kevindale

I've read this elsewhere, which is why if there's a cloud in the sky I bring out the Cannondale. If I lived in the PNW or another place where I couldn't avoid riding in the rain I'm sure I'd go to sealed BB and sealed wheel hubs. I've only rebuilt 2 vintage BBs and while I'm sure I'd get faster and more adept with a few more, I can't imagine doing that on a regular basis.

qcpmsame 

I noticed how much grit and road grime had gotten in the bottom bracket, jockey wheels and the headset after a rain ride around the Concord area, near Boston with @jimmuller and his lovely stoker, Sharon, last April. The fine asphalt grit produced by vehicular traffic just seeps into everything that isn't protected by a seal. Modern bearings are usually sealed cartridge, less intrusion of the offending stuff the water carries in the bearings and races.

Jim mentioned to me that he would be thoroughly cleaning their tandem, and it would be a good idea for me to do the same thing to my Medici. He was right on point about it, thankfully I listened and it got a cursory cleaning just to pack it for the flight home, but on return to Pensacola, everything got taken down, cleaned and greased then reassembled.

Bill

Cougrrcj

I've ridden many a Century in the rain. The Original TOSRV is known for it! If it doesn't rain on Saturday's 105 miles, the chances are you'll get it on the 105-mile return on Sunday!

If I ever ride any distance in the rain, the chain gets sprayed with WD40 to remove water (WD40 = Water Displacement 40th attempt) then regular chain lube applied. Never had the grease 'wash out' of wheel- headset- or crankset bearings. I use 'Waterproof grease' aka boat trailer axle grease on those bearings for exactly that reason.

jimmuller 

He! (Hi, Bill.) That was a great ride despite the rain. Yeah, I did clean the frame and external stuff. I haven't taken any of the bearings apart yet and don't usually do so just because it rained. I end up repacking the tandem's BB's and rear hub every 6 months to a year anyway. The BBs aren't any worse than most bikes but the rear hub is a pain.

I have several bikes which get subjected to commute rain pretty often. The Raleigh now has fenders and stays reasonably clean. The Bianchi has gotten filthy a few times but it has cartridge bearings for wheels and BB. On the other hand I took the pulleys off the RD not long ago and found the holes were maybe 1mm larger diameter than the bearing sleeves! Grit wears away the plastic pretty fast.

I use an old, large paintbrush to knock sand off the frame, brakes, crank, etc. and an old toothbrush on the derailleurs. I may wipe down with a paper towel, and even spray the frame with water from a hand-spray bottle. I may hit various parts with WD40. Somehow the chain always ends up rusty anyway.

qcpmsame 

I just did a cursory spray off, and a WD-40 application, at out son's place that afternoon. Due to not having fenders or sealed bearings, I figured that descretion was the better part of maintenance and did a full pull down of the BB, jockey wheels head set, and the wheels since they all felt rough afterwards. The pedals didn't feel rough so they got a pass.

I suspect the time between that Saturday's rainy outing, and finally tearing things down let the grit seep in and set. I couldn't really do much since I had not packed the necessary tools. Live and learn, so they say.

It really wasn't all that bad, riding in the day's showers, we all had adequate kit and some good company. I'd definitely do it with y'all again.

Bill

OldsCOOL

That is exactly why I wont ride in the warm summer rain. Though at times wonderful, the cleanup is not worth it.

gearbasher

I have a bike that I use only for rain and salty roads. It has full fenders and sealed bearings in the hubs, bb, and rd pulleys. I've put just over 10,000 miles on it and had to replace the wheelset, bb, small chain ring, pulleys(2X), cassette(2X) and probably 4 chains. But then again, after a sloppy ride, I just hose it off, hang it to dry and oil the chain.

Salamandrine 

Well obviously you get faster at it with practice. I'm sure I could still repack a BB in less than 5 minutes.

That said usually if it was really raining hard it was an opportunity to do intervals on the rollers instead. It was rare to go out on training rides if it was pouring cats and dogs unless there was a race coming up or something. Sprinkles were generally shrugged off. If it was in between it was kind of a judgment call about whether to repack or not. Sometimes just the hubs got done. After a while you got a feel for how much rain the bearings could take before maintenance was needed. So in reality there might be only 2 or 3 'extra' times the bearings would have to be rebuilt in addition to the normal yearly or bi-yearly overhauls.

Anyhow sealed bearings are awesome...

nashvillebill

What is this thing you are calling"rain"?

steelbikeguy

Like others, my vintage bikes are reserved for sunny days only. I've got other bikes that I keep equipped with fenders, lights, sealed bearings, etc. that get used in the rain and snow. About the only issue with clean up is wiping the black aluminum crud off of the rim's brake tracks. ... or sometimes I have to let the ice and snow melt before I clean it all up....




Steve in Peoria

palincss

Did you have fenders on this bike?

bradtx

Narhay, To be honest, I have had more trouble riding when there isn't rain, but the streets are wet from an earlier rain event or a during a gentle shower where mine and everyone else's tires are throwing off road spray. Road grit lubricated with water is a special kind of problem.

Brad

RobbieTunes

Descended Thunder Ridge in May, in the rain. The "technical" portion on chipseal. In the rain. Tektro R741 calipers, Modolo aero levers pulled all the way on wet Fulcrum Racing 3.5's kept the speed at 26-28. I learned a lot about bike handing and the tire adhesion of Tufo tubular CS33's. Not fun from a safety standpoint. I tore the bike down and, other than wet, it was just dirty.

It's part of the deal.

noglider 

It could be a combination of bad luck, long miles, no fenders, and as you note, lack of seals. In a case like yours, I might take a chance and drop oil into the BB and hubs and see if that flushes the grit out. Sometimes it does. It did with my Campagnolo Record BB and hubs from the early 80s. The BB cups had threaded holes where the spindle went, designed to push grit out. The hubs had oil ports in the centers so the oil would go from center to axle ends. I did this on my three month European tour which had a lot of rain. When I got back home, my bearings were stunningly clean because of my frequent oiling. I might have also oiled my headset, but I don't remember clearly. I didn't have fenders on that trip.

Salamandrine 

Yeah, don't forget about the oil ports... They do work.

Anyhow, back to the OP. It actually isn't normal for a NR equipped bike to start squeaking a third of the way into a century, even in the rain. What grease were you using? Perhaps you could use more of it. All campy NR bearings can be completely packed and oozing grease, not a problem. A lot of people used the tube slice around the bottom of the HS trick during the winter. It works well. Might reduce your no hands riding ability a bit. I've been using Finish Line Wet lube for the chain during the winter. Seems to stay on well in the rain.

I guess it could also be your local road conditions. I'd imagine types of road grit vary by location.

gugie 

In Oregon, I don't even bother taking my fenders off on my bikes.

Fenders + mudguards protect most of the bike. My tires, rims and spokes take the brunt of road gunk when it rains.

sloar 

The main reason for my latest build. Titanium frame, carbon forks, coated Tricolor components and sealed bottom bracket and hubs. Bring on the rain.

Chr0m0ly 

So for a dedicated rain bike use sealed bearings and full fenders. I use a Cannondale 3.0 ST600 for my rain/hauling stuff bike. The aluminum won't rust, and the cantis let me run 32s with fenders. Any other build tips? I notice the rims wear noticeably faster on this rig, but I'm using cheapo hybrid wheels from a dumpster Mongoose. Would hard anodized rims help?

Narhay

It did not have fenders and I had rebuilt all the bearings with oodles of waterproof marine trailer grease about 500km prior. I do have a fendered bike but it wasn't ready to take on that day, unfortunately. I ended up tearing the bike down and there was some wear on the bottom bracket and the non-drive rear hub race and cones were damaged, lower headset is full of grit. I've rebuilt hundreds of hubs and bottom brackets and never had an issue until that day and if it was an issue with the hub adjustment, bearings or grease one would think it wouldn't just affect the non drive side. Too bad.

I think most of the noise was a grit-laden chain and freewheel and I can't imagine the damaged/being damaged hub helped.

jimmuller 

I rode my Grandis to work this morning. I did not ride it home. NWS reports that some places had 2.5" of rain in 40 minutes. Possibly the worst t-storm I have ever seen.

gugie 

The hard anodizing is ceramic - aluminum oxide. It will wear longer since it's significantly harder than the base aluminum alloy, but it's not very thick. On the other hand, braking power is reduced. When you brake, you're changing kinetic energy to heat energy. Mechanical wear of the brake pad and rim results in heat. Harden either, less wear, less heat, less change of kinetic energy to heat.