I road in some snow for about an hour and a half a few weeks back on my mtb. At some point in the ride I looked down and noticed my front derailleur (Shimano Deore) and small chainring were completely covered in snow. When I got home I knocked the snow off with a brush but did not lube. Next ride I could not shift into the small chainring. I took it to the shop, they took the derailleur off, cleaned it and lubed it and said if it still doesn't work to get a new one. Has this ever happened to anyone? Can anyone explain where you are supposed to lube the front derailleur after a snowy slushy ride?

Lube anything that moves. You might want to check any where the cable has to run through a constricted area, it might have gotten gunked up.

I have a similar problem. Front derailler would not move from large ring. A good dose of WD40 got it shifting between the large and the middle but it still will not shift to the small ring. I have not taken a real close look at it yet.

If snow gets into the pivots on the front derailleur, they can freeze and prevent movement, similar to cables if they run under the BB. Definitely lube anything that moves. If the snow is deep enough, it'll get on everything, not much to do about that... Otherwise, fenders and stuff helps a bit.

Jay

After several drownings of WD 40, the derailer seemed clear of crud but still did not shift to the lsmall chain ring. I got a can of Breakfree out of the gun box. One good dose of that at the shifter is back to normal.

This just confirms what I already knew - WD-40 is a good cleaner but a terrible lube.

Here's my front derailer after a recent ride :-)

Yuk!

I guess winter isn't over where you are. That stuff is now a distant memory here.

Yeah, that's what mine looked like. It stopped shifting completely and I took it to the LBS. It was still under warranty, so they replaced it for free.

Just did the WD-40 soak after two years of stuck derailleur. I used 1/3 of a can. I wonder if the salt is a problem, too.

yep, anything that moves. I like to squirt all pivot points with a little tri flow.

I would also advise that you occasionally take off your crank cap, because it can become very difficult to remove after two years winter riding.