commuting in the rain?
 

It's starting to rain here in the Bay Area and I've been thinking of whether I should commute to school or not. The trouble I have is not getting the bike dirty or muddy because that can be cleaned. I'm more worried about maintenance troubles and my hubs, bearings, etc. wearing out faster than I'd like.

Heres my setup that may have potential problems with rain:

Surly Cross-Check (I treated it with Frame-Saver already)
2003 Ultegra Bottom Bracket for a Triple
Ultegra Hubs with my Mavic Open Pros
Chris King No Thread Set
Sigma Wireless Computer with Cadence
Chrome Citizen bag
Ultegra Chain & FD
Deore XT RD

So aside from fenders, helmet cover, and rain clothes, what else do I need to worry about in terms of bike maintenance?

Chain lube. Especially right after riding in the rain and preferably before.
I think you have the other bases covered, (someone here will certainly think of something).:)

You should. Otherwise, you will not graduate.

Take your bike. Grime will make things wear out faster, but you still can get a lot of use out of the various components. I got over 30,000 miles out of my last set of wheels, roughly the same out of my BB, about 25,000 miles out of the cassette. Went through lots of chains and brake pads, though. We get more rain than you I think.

Wow those are impressive numbers. And you didn't have to do any maintenance with your bearings, hubs, etc? Those must be some good seals. I am using Kool-Stop Salmon pads for the rain btw.

I didn't maintain my hubs, but they were in pretty sorry shape by the time I replaced them. Since the rims were chewed up I went ahead and got new wheels. My rear hub is XT, front is Ultegra. Mavic CXP33 rims. I did repack the BB every once in a very long while. I went through a couple sets of the salmon pads a year. Headsets last a long time too. I think I have about 20,000 miles on my current one, but I didn't get quite that much out of the last one. I have replaced the pulleys on my RD (Deore LX) a few times.

Still, bottom line is you can get a lot of life out of your equipment. I think wiping the grime off regularly helps. That stuff acts like grinding paste.

Assuming you're not fording streams or riding through volcanic ash drifts your bike should hold up just fine with maybe a bit more frequent routine maintenance.

Looks like you got it covered. My only suggestion is a good lube. I use Finish Line XC on my commuter during the winter.

I like Finish Line XC for wet stuff. Lasts a long time - I could ride in rain daily for a couple weeks between applications.

Pam works well too...and cheap !
Spray the whole bike after cleanng and the road sploodgie doesnt stick !

I used to live in Florida and personally I would worry more about the dimentia addled senior citizens, and insane rednecks in cars, than the wear and tear on your bike. I vote for brightly colored rain gear, and lots of flashing lights. When you graduate, you should be able to afford a new Surly anyway.

You've got it covered. Best choice you made was switching to Kool Stop Salmons. I rode in the rain a couple of times with stock Ultegra pads, and the resulting 30 minutes of cleaning black gritty crap off my wheels and tires was no fun. The Kool Stops are the best investment any rider can make. Excellent pads---and it's amazing to me that Shimano hasn't just licensed the design.

I don't do nearly the distance some of the riders do here on this forum, but I ride just about every day rain or shine and I'd recommend repacking your ultegra hubs every six months, and that way, you shouldn't have many issues. I have much cheaper hubs on my commuter bike now and I am having to redo them every 3 months or so. I got some chrome bearings at an Ace hardware for 6 1/2 bucks which should last a year or two but I'll check the grease or repack them again in another three months. My biggest recommendation other than opening the bearing and checking for brown grease is not using any kind of high pressure water. Use something like Simple Green on the frame and drive train and use a soft spray of water to rinse it off. I do use an air compressor to blow off my components to prevent corrosion but, this probably isn't any better than using high pressure water but I check the status of my bearings often enough that I'm OK doing that. I don't use solvents on any bearings or races, I just wipe them clean with a lint-free rag and repack. It helps a lot to just rinse the bike off in the evening if it's gritty and then lubing the chain unless you're using XC or Pam :)

Yeah the Kool Stops are great. The stock pads I had got my rims so dirty. The only thing I didn't like about the Kool Stops is that it's so squeaky if you don't toe it in right. Other than that the stopping (and cleaning) power is excellent.

How did you repack your BB? I don't think I can do it on mine since it's a sealed cartridge. The hubs I still have yet to try to service but I know how to do it theoretically thanks to Park Tool lol. As for the Chris King, is there rubber seals I can put on that makes the headsets even more waterproof? haha just wondering. Headsets sound like a pain to service since I don't want or have the tools to remove mine.

I use cheap chains and cassettes on my commuter, then just replace them every year to year and half. Thats about 12,000km a year. So 75 bucks or so every year is justifiable to me.

I'm also much happier just paying $75 a year and only doing bare minimal maintenance. Semi chain cleaning every few weeks, add some new oil, thats it. Oh and I ride in rain every day in pac north west.

$75 bucks for a CHEAP chain and cassette?

o i forgot to ask one of my biggest concerns which is do you guys have any problems with rust on your components from riding in the rain?

Thats installed and comes with the tuneup done at the same time :)

+1

It's the only stuff I've found that works in the wet and isn't a total dirt magnet.

If it's sealed cartridge, don't sweat it. If you don't ride in water over your BB, you'll get years out of it. Besides, BB's are reasonably cheap and easy to replace.

Yes. My cables rust which caused one of my brakes to seize the first time I wasn't paying attention. I replace them every year. Also, my brake calipers seize up (my winter bike has canti brakes) . I have to disassemble, clean, and grease things up a couple times a year, most recently this past Saturday. The other rust that appears is just cosmetic, but I remove it.

Good tip to keep an eye on the brakes. A quick and relatively reliable thing is to give cables and calipers a good flush with WD-40.

To prep my bike for foul weather, I wax the frame using car wax and coat any exposed cable and bolt heads.
Ensure that the wheel bearings are well packed to avoid ingress of gunge.
Ensure all metal-metal contacts (seatpost, stem, threads etc) are smeared with grease to avoid seizing.
You CK headset is well sealed so dont worry about it.
I would avoid the use of WD40, it is a solvent that dissolves grease. If you have std cables, make sure the inner cable is smeared with grease, right up to the head (which can sieze to the brake/gear lever)
If you have fancy teflon cables, check first on care and feeding.
The only worry with a build that nice is security. You could get some heavier duty hack wheels for winter.

I prefer stainless steel cables to avoid the cables rusting. After a heavy rain, I'll let the bike dry and then lube the chain with ProLink (good stuff, that). After light rain, I won't bother unless I hear the chain squeaking. The chain is the only thing which rusts a bit, and that is fixed with some lube.

If you buy good quality chains ($35 instead of $10), they will last longer too. I've been running the same campy C9 chains on two bikes for over two seasons now (though I spread the commuting miles out amongst two bikes) with no measurable chain stretch. I always keep the chain lubed with ProLink and I never run it while it is squeaking.

Even when it rains in the Bay Area it's never a heavy rain. Grit and grime are issues and should be cleaned off at the earliest opportunity, and lube as the others have mentioned. Otherwise, go for it!

RFM

Lizard Skins makes a headset seal, it is just a piece of neoprene with some Velcro but it does a good job of keeping the gunk and water out of the lower bearings and is only a few bucks.

I use loose ball hubs (Deore LX) on my wet weather commuter and repack the grease at least once a month. I live in Vancouver Canada and in the winter often hit puddles where my hub is nearly submerged so the hubs get water in them pretty quick. I also like to go with a plated chains and cassettes (I use SRAM PC-68 chains and 850 cassettes) to try to keep the rust to a minimum.