Hey guys. I did use the search function but I didn't get what I am looking for.

I rode to class today and this is the second time it has rained since I began cycling, but my first time riding in it. It was real fun and since it isn't very cold I just rode out in bike shorts, short jeans on top, a t-shirt, beanie, helmet, and leather bike gloves. My leather gloves will be ok right? I don't have fenders though.

All was well, in fact I felt so good that I was pushing some high speed, but I took a spill right when I reached my destination I wish it would rain more in this desert. Anyway, I have one question to ask all you that frequently put up with rain. What do you do with your bike once you get home? I hosed down the bike for two seconds to get off all the grit and now I'm letting the bike dry off.

Do I have to worry about rust? It is a steel frame, but what if I rode on my aluminum frame. I'll wipe the bike with a rag but I don't know if there is anything else I should do. I rode my fixed gear, for the same reasons I read why people ride them in the snow, if that makes a difference.

thanks in advance

1) Get fenders.
2) after each ride in the rain I hose off the bike with clean water (low pressure) to remove grit and the black gunk from the brake pads hitting the Al rims
3) I hold the rear brake and bounce the bike on the rear wheel a few times to shake off excess water and grit
4) shoot spray silicone on the chain, brake pivots and any problem areas (usually my c-ring bolts start to rust mid way through winter).

Takes about 2 min total.

I ride a SS in the rain, so don't worry about gears and ders

That's it.

Once a year I do a complete teardown of the bike to re-grese all threads. I use anti-sieze on all bolts that see lots of water (like fender bolts). I also use titanium bolts for my fenders since they don't rust... but thats overkill and I only did it because I had them. Otherwise I would have used Stainless.

Of note: If you are running standard summer brake pads on your bike check them often in the winter for embeded chunks of rock and Al shavings. They play havoc on your wheels and chew up your braking surface in a flash. Better yet, ditch them alltogether and buy Kool-Stop Salmon pads. Brakes well, good in dry and rain, has a wiper edge to help pre-clean the water off the rim so wet-weather stops actually stop the bike faster.

I ride it to work, let it sit in the rain all day, ride it home, hang it in the garage and repeat. Once a week or so I wipe the chain clean. I oil the chain when it's getting squeaky. I wipe down the rest of the bike when it's looking really grimy. All of this is with a steel bike. It rains way too often here to have an elaborate routine.

By the way, when you gently hose down a dirty bike, you should keep away from the chains and just stick to the frame, tires, and brake pads, right?

Since you're in LA, you don't have to contend with road salt and all the other corrosives that winter-snow commuters do. Your frame should be fine in the rain. I used to ride my old steel MTBs through creeks and in the rain, etc. without ever having heard of FrameSaver.

Like Andy K, I contend with a lot of rain all winter and he's right. There's no need for an elaborate routine. I keep 2 chains in rotation for the winter and swap them out from a jar of mineral spirits about every 2 weeks. At that time I'll wipe down the rest of the drivetrain and check my brake pads and rims. That's about it.

Well I'm not worried about the frame getting wet, I just wasn't sure about preventing rust on the more vulnerable parts. So yeah, just keep the moving parts clean and lubed. About that silicon spray, is that fine for a chain? It isn't too thick or anything? I understand the idea of a wet lube for these wet conditions and I'll go back to the dry lube when it stops raining.

My dry lube (I prefer Rock N Roll) which by all accounts is gone after 1 ride in heavy rain. So I hit it with silicone to help prevent rust but not to really lubricate since its not that good at that.

Where I live, in rains probably 2-3 days then stops for 6-8.... so I can run a more "complex" routine. But again, it takes me all of 2 min. I also ride different bikes in the rain or not.

I spend 10 min each week prepping the bike I want to ride that week, rain or shine. I like my bikes and want to keep them as nice as I can for something that gets used daily, if not weekly. I also run Chris King hubs and XTR brakes on my rain bike, so I am maybe more sensitive to them getting too trashed than if they were cheapo parts.

Like Clifton, I ride in the rain all winter. I don't bother cleaning the frame off, I figure that the grime protects the paint job

When I get home, I park my bike inside and let it dry off. I wipe down and relube the drivetrain about once a week in the winter. I just use tri-flow to lube my bike and it works fine for me.

I completely buy that. Similarly, I've noticed that cleaning my chain too often causes it to rust a bit. Of course, the grit left on there wears out the chain, so there's a trade off. Rust protects the metal that didn't corrode, FWIW. Mostly, I just plan to replace chains that I use during the rainy season more often.

I guess I'm off to the hardware store again. Is the tri-flow sold at these stores any different than what the LBS sells, aside from them being in spray cans?

I'm a big advocate of Finish Line lubricants. They're cheap (7 bucks for a bigarse bottle what lasts me a whole year usually) and they're good products. The dry formula is a teflon suspension lubricant which during the summer months lasts me a good 300 miles before I consider reapplication. Not cleaning, since it doesn't pick up much gunk, just another drop per roller. The wet formula is a viscous green ooze which manages to keep my chain working smoothly in 125 weekly miles of snow and slush mixed with sand and cinders (woodway knows what I'm talking about...) For the wet season I also pull my cables and lube them with Finish Line wet formula. It keeps cables from rusting up and seizing, and I haven't had any freezing issues with it even in the mid-teens for temperatures.

I like this idea. The cummute bike is due for a new chain, I think I will get two and give this a try for the winter. Nice tip!