On my evening commute home it began to downpour--a big mess for me in my week old bike(lemond sarthe). Is there some things i shoudl be doing to properly maintain it after it gets wet?

I usually fire up the air compressor and blow all the water off my bike/aound the heaset/nuts, etc. . If you don't, the nuts, etc. will get surace rust after a few rain episodes.

I employ essentially the same technique, but since I don't own an air compressor I go the more low-tech route--I use the leaf blower. Moves a much higher volume of air--you can dry off the entire bike that way too. Of course, you have to endure the neighbors thinking you're some kind of dork blowdrying your Trek with a WeedEater leaf blower. Oh well...

Gee Wheez I live in Seattle! I've never used an air compressor or a leaf blower!
Let's not get carried away. Depending on my mood I'll clean me or the bike first.
With the bike I gently hose off any big crud. (when it's rainy you'll be amazed at how much sh*#t your bike will pick up.Wipe the rims dry, wipe the brake pads dry,
lovingly wipe the bike dry, clean and lube my chain. already to go for the next ride.

OK, someone else who is really qualified to discuss rain. Yeah, its just part of life in the Pacific NW.

My rain care routine would make any of the OCP boys cringe: return from rainy day ride soaked, toss bike in garage, eat, shower, nap, hose important spots (on bike) down with WD-40 to displace water, wipe off the worst of the grunge, relube as required, ignore until next time.

Bike gets a total rebuild every year. I will also relube the headset after few REALLY wet rides. None of the parts ever seem too much the worse for rain wear though. Although the grit that the water carries can be brutal on chains and other bearing surfaces.

The rain here is why I ride the JunkYard Dog (stripped alu frame) instead of a nice steel bike anymore.

If its an MTB ride, it just gets the mud hosed off and doused with WD-40. No problem.

Bikes are tougher than most of us think.

-Z

If it's been a rainy week, then wash-the-bike weekend immediately follows. After washing, I put the bike in the gargage under a ceiling fan. A floor fan should produce the same effect. I just give let the bike air dry in the gentle currents for a few hours, then lube it.

I'm surprised nobody has yet mentioned the merits of thread-taping your water bottle cage bolts and seatpost with teflon plumbers' thread tape.



Another trick to getting moisture out of a frame is to put a silica dessicant pack (the same stuff that comes packaged with dried cereals, computer hard drives, etc) inside your seat post tube for a few days. It'll absorb any humidity that might be lurking in the frame.