It rained this morning on my ride, though not much. More of a sprinkle and enough to get my legs dirty. What do I need to do extra to my bike tonight because of it? I assume if my legs were dirty that extra stuff got into the drivetrain...
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It rained this morning on my ride, though not much. More of a sprinkle and enough to get my legs dirty. What do I need to do extra to my bike tonight because of it? I assume if my legs were dirty that extra stuff got into the drivetrain...
I'm not the most fastidious person when it comes to my bike, but in the very least, I'll wipe down my chain and relube it if I've ridden in the rain. I typically wipe the rest of the frame clean, too.
I thought that a relube was probable called for, thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by indysteel
you might also want to give the two cog wheels on your rear derailleur a good wipe down both sides, wipe down the crank teeth of your pedals, wipe down the sides of your tires and the brake pads just to make sure they didn't pick up any grit. Also any where metal touches metal should be at least thoroughly dried, if not oiled.
Of course that should be in your daily end of ride maintainence wipe down anyway ;)
Also clean your rims and brake pads. All kinds of grit gets up in there in the rain.
Oh wow, I spent four hours cleaning my bike on Sunday...first time in YEARS! Everything sparkles, and I put new tires on with red stripes, to match my red bike. I'm going to the LBS today to pick up some new brake pads since I noticed that mine are worn way, way down.
So I'm not one to bother much about cleaning after a slightly rainy ride!
hmmmm, where did you get your tires with the red stripes? Still looking for good 26 inch tires with blue stripes :)Quote:
Originally Posted by tulip
They are Seca Serfas wire bead 700x23. I got them from Amazon because my LBS only had kevlar bead, which I neither need nor felt like paying for. Wire bead is like half the price of kevlar bead.
My old tires were toast. They were showing bald spots, and had cracks in the sidewall. I got them 4 years ago and just kept riding and riding. It was time for new tires, so I got the red striped ones. My old ones were the same tires, but without the red stripe. They are great tires.
for a finishing touch, give your bike a wipe down with a rag with pledge on it to help it hold its' sparkles.
marni
Or if you don't like aerosols, you can wax the frame with a non-abrasive car wax. I do mine once or twice a year, to protect the finish.
It's amazing my bike is still "alive." :eek: Of course, I don't ride in the rain (unless a shower starts while I am out there). Every few weeks (months?) I say to DH, "When was the last time we lubed the chains?" Since my bike runs perfectly, I don't obsess on it.
Pedro's "Bike Lust" rocks - its a pump, not an aerosol and I think its silicone based.Quote:
Originally Posted by OakLeaf
If you don't ride in the wet you can get away with this.... but rain riding on a regular basis is hard on a bike. I've had the same wheels and drive train on my race bike for about 5 years and they're just starting to get to the point where I'm keeping an eye on the wear indicators. My rain bike has been through about 4 sets of rims, countless brake pads, 3 sets of pulleys and needs a new big ring in the same amount of time..... I generally rinse (gently - no high pressure water!) my bike off after a rain ride, then dry and lube it.Quote:
It's amazing my bike is still "alive." Of course, I don't ride in the rain (unless a shower starts while I am out there). Every few weeks (months?) I say to DH, "When was the last time we lubed the chains?" Since my bike runs perfectly, I don't obsess on it.
Oh - and all the junk on your legs... probably came off the front wheel... even if you have on fenders, without a nice generous flap attached too, you'll still get dirty.
Thanks for the tips - and Eden thanks for the note about flaps on my fenders. Will look into that this week when my fenders are installed.
Yes, riding in the rain does cause an awful lot of wear and tear. When DS was racing and training, there were innumerable problems due to his training in all weather. I do keep an eye out for deterioration in all parts, though. The few mechanical things/parts that have broken, have been sudden things, like when my shifter cable broke going up a huge hill (thankfully, I was already in my granny, but not the low cog I needed). I have been on wet rides a bit more on my Jamis Coda, though, since I am more apt to go out to do errands with an iffy forecast; I need to take better care of that bike, though it is properly lubed, etc.
I had my rear derailleur cable snap going up a hill once.... I had been taking it easy, spinning - some dude had just passed me. Then my rear derailleur cable broke and immediately slipped me into my highest gear...... nothing to do but stand up and gut it out.... dude probably wondered what games I was up to, suddenly standing and cranking back by him like that.