Winter-proofing your bicycle & Winter bike maintenance

Sorted. Winter Penge bike.

I like it, it looks like something Q designed for james bond! I think it must be the tyres, tyres with metal sticking out (and not old nails like I picked up last night!) are the way forward.

After building my Gazelle as my winter bike I'm very happy with it.

Planning on riding it through some pretty ugly weather this winter. When the dreaded snow/slush starts to appear am I best to lock the bike outside when I arrive at work or take it in the (slightly) warmer stock room? It's not a heated room, just a little warmer than outside.

James

Take it inside if possible.

When you start getting snow and slush this inevitably means salt, as does freezing overnight temperatures with any prospect of precipitation. Usually this makes it advisable to knock of any snow and slush from the bike and give it a quick rinse before parking it. I usually make sure I have a full water bottle on the ride in for this very purpose.

Be prepared for very frequent cleaning and definitely try to rinse it after every wet ride if they've been gritting.

What about putting grease/lube on the chain? I know that sometimes that ends up picking up more grit, wondered how frequently that's necessary?

That's something that depends on road conditions, weather conditions, gritting schedules etc. Try and do it as soon as it needs it and, if you don't have the time/inclination, at least try and keep it dried out and oiled so it doesn't rust.

I accept that I'm usually going to go through a chain in the course of riding through winter.

Take it inside if possible.

Hmmm, I'd maybe disagree. Warmth will add condensation and accelarate the rusting process.

I can bring my bike inside at work throughout the year but if it gets really snowy and minging I'll lock it up outside.

I run a steel chainring and sprocket on my winter bike which is awesome, I don't need to worry about a grubby chain causing excess wear, I just replace it when it stops meshing properly.

My commuter is left outside, due to space constraints, but i always dry it with a cloth first, and I relube the chain with chain oil (not grease) every weekend during the wet/snowy season. It has worked well so far. As someone said here, it's important to keep salt out of the bike.

What about putting grease/lube on the chain? I know that sometimes that ends up picking up more grit, wondered how frequently that's necessary?

When the roads got real bad last year I found giving the chain a good clean with degreaser and swapping from when lube to dry lube and regular application helped stop it getting shitty. I use my bike daily and so I would wipe chain down every other day with a micro fibre cloth to really pick off the crap and then re apply the chain lube. Will be doing the same again this winter.

Through the winter I wash the bike once a week and try and run a mainly dry chain with only a little oil on it every other day, oh and I use loose bearings on everything, sealed bearings is just asking for all sorts of trouble.

I use the poundies lube - it's excellent and for a pound you can use it loads!

^^wouldn't it be the other way round for the bearings?

^^wouldn't it be the other way round for the bearings?

Depends whether you prefer spending time doing maintenance or spending ££ doing replacements.

surely not if you've got good sealed bearings? theres a reason the likes of phil, dt swiss, paul, etc all use sealed bearings, and a tenner every couple of years is hardly going to break the bank is it?

If you ride sealed during the winter it'll be 20 quid a month. I won't recommend trying sealed in the winter. Ball bearings, on the other hand, packed in good grade lithium grease can do a whole winter no bother.

Three winters even, with very little maintenance.

If you ride sealed during the winter it'll be 20 quid a month. I won't recommend trying sealed in the winter. Ball bearings, on the other hand, packed in good grade lithium grease can do a whole winter no bother.

You might have used dodgy parts. The shortest lifespan on any sealed bearing I've used was 2 years with NO maintenance. All forms of grit and winter road muck including salt. The whole point of sealed bearings is to be protected from the elements,

^this

sorry ciocc, we're going to have to agree to disagree, my sealed bearings have been going fine all winter, and they don't feel like they will give up, Varno on here makes wheels with sealed bearing hubs and has given them to couriers to test during the winter and they've been fine, and couriers all over swear by the likes of phil hubs etc with sealed bearings

like i said though, you've got your view and you seem pretty happy with your methods wich is all that matters

Apart from campag ultra torque bearings, which last approximately 20 minutes in winter. Admittedly they're not sealed.

Anyone used Nokian A10 snow tyres? Thinking of getting some from Starbike.

If you ride sealed during the winter it'll be 20 quid a month. I won't recommend trying sealed in the winter. Ball bearings, on the other hand, packed in good grade lithium grease can do a whole winter no bother.

I am now on my fourth winter on my fixed wheels with some cheap hubs with sealed bearings. I know that when I need to replace them it will cost less than a tenner per hub, and I can fill them with the grease of my choice at the time.
Both my MTBs have sealed bearings, and get a lot of abuse at this time of year. I have never replaced the bearings on them, the oldest (some Mavic Crossmax) are probably 15 years old.

The sealed bearings I use (mainly hubs, pedals and square taper bottom brackets) seem to last alright but I really think it depends on the bearing and application and I know a lot of people think open bearing = going to die in winter which I find really isn't the case.

The bottom bracket on my winter bike is a completely unsealed cup and cone type with loose bearings, there's not a single seal or piece of rubber or plastic on the thing. I got through last winter on the original grease (the bike is from the 50s) then rebuilt it with new grease when I had the frame powdercoated in the spring. That's what's still in there and it probably won't get touched until well into spring/summer 2014 and even then only if it starts to give me issues.

In contrast though I've seen bb30/bb90 type sealed bottom brackets giving up after a couple months of autumn use.

I think with sealed bearings you will have to replace them at some point, open bearings you can probably get away with servicing, repacking etc well into the foreseeable future.