Cold Weather Maintenance

[blackhillsbiker]

How do people wash their bikes when it is well below freezing? What all should I do? This is my first year of riding after fall.

Deb

Mod: please move this to Bike Maintenance. Thanks!

[lph]

I try not to. In cold weather, washing your bike can give you much larger problems than a dirty bike! At least if you normally store your bike outdoors or in a unheated space. The point is that it HAS to dry properly afterwards, or you risk water freezing in places where it can be dangerous, like inside brake cables. If I feel I have to wash my bike, for example if I'm been riding a lot on salted roads, I wash it quickly with quite hot water and take my bike indoors afterwards to dry overnight, which means clogging up our entarnceway...

I usually get by with "dry-cleaning" my chain - rag, thin oil, rag again, more oil, let sit, wipe off lightly before riding. I like to use rags a lot to clean the gunk off my bike otherwise too, no water.

[blackhillsbiker]

Thanks!! That's what I thought. Temperatures haven't crawled above about 8°F this week. I think the forecast is more of the same.

Deb

[Geonz]

+1 ... I had to switch bikes earlier this week 'cause a brake cable was frozen in place. Brought it inside to thaw it. (Happily, we're a little further south ... but still won't spend much time above freezing for the rest of 2009.)

[Melalvai]

My bike had to spend a night next to the Christmas tree so her brake cable could thaw & dry. Then I took it to the bike shop and they showed me how to get oil into all the cables, which is to keep water from getting in there and freezing.