well, its now solid winter in chicago, and after a long day of riding, i look at my bike and i wonder - man, this snow, salt, water for the next 5 months could really do some damage! -

so, is lubing every part of your bike every day too much? is there something to protect the cranks and the various moving parts from the inevitable salt and snow? i drop some lube on my chain, brackets, etc in the morning, and by the ride home, it feels like im riding and ungreased bike. . .ungh?

WD40 all over the place works, or so I've heard.

it's what I'm doing this winter.

ugh. no. stay away from grease. sand gets stuck in it and just grinds (grindz) everything up. Search for info on waxing your drivetrain with parafin.

Unfortunately, wax type lubricants don't work as well in cold weather so sometimes grease and all its crap attracting is the only way to go. Although I would suggest tri-flow.

you might try posting this in the mechanics forum too, see what they recommed.

Wax stops lubricating when it gets cold, and treats your chain like rats treat a sinking ship.
A bit of wax lube on the downtube helps prevent snow from sticking, though.

Wet winter weather is hard on the drivetrain- check your chain often.

if you want your chain to stay lubricated, try phil's oil, or my personal favorite motor oil+50%odourless mineral spirits. apply that stuff liberally, spin the chain, watch the dirt and grit come out, and clean off the excess. If the rag is still coming up black at the end, repeat this process.

As for everything else- If you can fill it up with waterproof marine-grade grease, do it.
Fenders are a wonder for keeping gunk out of headsets and bottom brackets.
You can make a little mud guard for the headset and seatpost out of bits of old inner tubes.

you just want to watch the mayhem

motor oil and mineral spirits? what sort of mix?

mineral spirits, huh? I'll have to try that.

i've messed around with it- anywhere from 50/50 mix, to 70/30 motor oil/odourless mineral spirits. with more mineral spirits, the chain stays a little cleaner, and it's easier for it to get into the chain, but there's less overall lubricant left over after the light stuff evaporates.

nice and cheap. apply often.

obviously, don't be mixing this stuff up in your closet with no ventilation.

also, you've got to get the cheap, no special additive motor oil, or the mineral spirits will do strange things to it.

T9 Boeshield, works great for me in all temperatures and has some wax. I use it on the frame too since it leaves a protective film--key is to apply it 2hrs before you ride and let it set up. Never had a problem.

See, seely knows what he's talking about, as usual. Boeshield is good stuff, I swear by it.

yeah from what i understand, WD-40 doesnt have much long-term lubrication effect.

Try a mountain biker trick. Spray PAM on the frame.

phil tenacious oil

For many years, the Goldwing crowd were buying more PAM than anything else. Back then I rode a Yamaha xs650 and my landlord used a can a week on his 'goldie'.

Seen PAM used on the bottom of bass boats to keep the slime off from the Mississippi River. If you didn't or left your boat in all summer, a nice brown green layer would grow.

PAM is also good for the cleats to shead mud and junk also.