Biking in the transition season-Winter to Spring

[mimitabby]

a lot of my friends have "summer bikes" and "winter bikes" the winter bikes
have better fenders and are older heavier bikes. Their summer bikes are their babies.
The fact is, when you ride around here in the winter, you really get your bikes filthy from sand and mud on the road.

[indysteel]

I'll be interested in reading the advice given, too.

I have two bikes, one is a Trek FX with 25 cc tires and the other is a Bianchi road (steel) with 23 cc tires. However, I only ride the Bianchi at this point because, well, I love her. I had to take a mandatory weather break from December 30 to January 11. It was too cold/icy/snowy during most of that period. By the time, the skies cleared and the weather warmed a bit (alas only temporarily), I was back on the Bianchi. The worst of the sand and salt was washed away by then, but if I waited for all the gravel to get cleared from the county roads that I ride, I'd never ride. I'm careful in certain turns/corners, but I figure I better learn how to deal with it. The same holds true for bad road conditions. I might make a note of a particularly bad pot hole or patch of rough pavement, but they're otherwise a constant part of riding in my neck of the woods. Indiana sees a lot of freezing/thawing cycles so the roads take a beating. And most of them don't get fixed.

I don't ride in the snow, so I can't speak to that. If and when the Bianchi gets dirty from rainy/dirty conditions, I clean her thoroughly right away. Mud isn't going to kill her, but if she's really gotten soaked, I let her dry off inside. I've found that my trunk rack works as a good "dryer" too. Nothing like going 65 on the Interstate after the rain has stopped to dry her off.

And I keep my drivetrain relatively clean and lubed no matter the conditions.
Get a good chaincleaner and use it and do some reading on how to keep your chain lubed, but not overly lubed.

[lacyliz]

Like other said - I ride my hybrid/cross when the roads are sandy and salty - and in NY they get pretty sandy and salty. Also - they're a little easier to handle in gravely conditions. When that stuff is pretty much gone, my pretty road bike comes out. Lately I've been switching back and forth because of some crazy weather conditions.

I wash my by bikes with some dish soap and warm water. Rinse with water (never water pressure directly at the bearings, though) - make sure the chain is clean and then re-lube. The extent of the wash depends in the road conditions - salt always warrants at least some wipe down/wash for me.