Hey everyone, I recently moved to Denmark and we have had a lot of snow. Aside from learning how to ride in the snow and other challenges that come with cycling in this weather my bicycle chains; on 2 different bicycles rusted almost overnight. I am assuming the rust is only on the surface, because before the snow hit, it was not there.
They salt the roads and sidewalks here heavily during snow. Is this whats causing it? I just lubed one of the chains with "Rock N Roll gold" chain lube days before the snow hit and days before it rusted. The other already had some triflo lube on it. Both chains on both bicycles rusted anyway. Same with the chains rings and cogs

How can I prevent this?
How can I remove the rust on there?
What lube do you recommend I use in these conditions?

Some chains and cogs have better surface protection than others.
Wax provides a good surface protector.
In winter you need a lube that you can apply at ambient temp. Oil is often too viscous so I go for a spray.

Funny, I'm just west of PDX, and they lay down Gravel on the ice, not salt.

Raining, you may need to apply oil on your chain, daily.

Try an oil based chain lube instead of a wax and if that doesn't work you can try one of these chains. They have not been out long enough to know if they work well or not but they are tested in some pretty harsh areas. https://45nrth.com/products/category/chains

In the right circumstances rust can develop quite rapidly. Besides finding a good lube that works in the winter. The most important thing you can do is wash your bike and drive train off with clean water everyday. My guess is the high salt level possibly combined with slightly higher humidity than before is causing the problem. The washing is probably more important than the exact brand of lube that you use. Though some will work better in wet or snowy conditions. When the chain goes around it wears and little particles of metal get worn off. Because of their small size they oxidize rather quickly and once rust starts it can move quickly into the inside of the chain.

Keeping it clean and as dry as possible is the best defense. In the situation your now in you will need to clean, dry and lube the chain daily. Once or twice a week will not suffice.

You can prevent or at least greatly reduce this by wiping the chain dry at the end of the day. Even better -spray some WD40 on the rag first. Spray a bit on the cassette too. The topic of chain lube is inexhaustible, so I will just offer 2 thoughts.

- Some of the 'wet' lubes recommended for winter use are extreeeeemly messy. I used Finish Line Green for a while and it is indeed tenacious and protects the chain well; but it becomes a black crawling horror that spreads around the bike and is difficult to remove.

- This year I'm trying Boeshield T9 and so far it seems like a good compromise; it lasts reasonably long in wet conditions, protects the chain reasonable well and isn't hard to clean up.

Thanks for the advise everyone. I will start trying the things you all mentioned and see what works best.

Certainly not trying to start a chain lube debate as I feel both work well in MOST conditions when used properly.

Are you wiping off all the excess after you apply the chain lube? You want to try and wipe off as much as you can from the outside since the only place you need the lube is inside the rollers and when salty out a very very light film on the outside. Squeezing the chain with a rag while back pedaling usually is enough to get it pretty good.

Light rust on the outside of the chain plates isn't much to be worried about as long as the interior of the chain is well-lubricated.

I do not have the time or inclination to wash down the bikes every day. I have been using Boeshield T9 for a while now and it seems to work well. Roads in Chicagoland are very heavily salted in the winter and I just coat the chain and cassette every other day or so. Pivot points on brakes, derailleurs get it once or more a week. That build up of black crawling horror at least keeps the rust from forming.