Great info. I spent 14 winters car free in Northern Minnesota. Sand and salt starts with the 1st snowfall usually in late October. It stays on the roads until late April. I developed a routine of bringing the bike back inside daily. Put it in the work stand and doing a full wash. I used a pump spray bottle with warm water. After years of this I had a custom bike built that was impervious to these conditions. Custom stainless steel frame. Gates belt drive and a Rohloff IGH hub for the drivetrain. It laughed at winter conditions. I could ride it all winter and not have to clean it until Spring.
I tried the Synergetic + Secret hot melt wax this winter. After 1.5 weeks of commuting, the chain had rusted solid. (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.) I don’t have time to clean and re-wax my commuter bike chain every day, so I’ll go back to oil for winter riding, and just replace the chain more often. It has worked for ten years and will continue to work. Fully converted to wax for three-season riding though!
All this corrosion from the ice melt. I'm staying inside on Zwift......... Hang on, sweat is corrosive...... Arrrrrggggggghhhhhh. I'll just drink beer and get fat all winter. Wake me up when it gets warm.
Great video as always Josh, thank you! Where I am at (Omaha, NE) they have been using brine pre-treatment on the roads to help with keeping the roads clear vs. relying only on the post-event treatments. For those that are in areas that do this, it is not any better for your bike or components as most of the brine treatments are essentially a sodium chloride mixture.
Good common sense video. I'm from Toronto, I ride quite a lot through the winter, this city has a lot of salt on the roads. The key is to clean your bike, flush out all the crap that gets in there and make sure everything is lubed up. Clean the moving parts and don't forget your bottom bracket. I keep my bikes inside. I do not ride my carbon bike in the winter, my steel and aluminium yes. Sorry to say but I would not buy any Silca products because I don't want to take out a bank loan, what I use for years keeps me going crap free.
What about riding on roads that have dried salt on them? Is the salt powder doing anything worth noting? Not riding through like an inch of powder just the residual stuff that is sorta like dust.
Cleanup almost has to be incorporated into the ride in winter. I've not had any noticeable problems, but I also tend to at least clean drivetrain components and oil cables after most rides
I live in the rust belt. Car mechanics say garaged cars do worse than the ones left outside with all the melting, freezing. So if you bring your bike in, clean it. I coat every bearing, nut and bolt with marine grease. After I clean the bike, I put WD40 anywhere that moves EXCEPT if there's a bearing or the chain lol. Put a little WD40 on the spoke nipples. I guess Triflow would be fine but it gets washed off so fast and WD40 just smells better ha! A couple times a winter, spray whatever magic juice you can find (WD40, frame saver, T-9, Fluid Film) down the bottle cage holes and into any hole hole you can find if you have a metal bike. Anything helps. You could just wipe your entire bike with WD40 every time you wash it and you will be 100x better off than nothing. Put a car wax on your bike too if you like it to look nice I guess. Sending your very expensive bike through a muddy ride is no worse than riding in the winter so keep riding the good bikes all year.
Add full fenders if you can and honestly it might be worth downgrading your entire drivetrain for the winter just so you don't have to fully decrease and decontaminate your summer components
Fenders, fenders, fenders! Seriously, ive wrapped my rear wheel 270⁰ and the front 220⁰, and its a gamechanger, dont even have to clean the chain much anymore.
For bikes on the indoor trainer with aluminum bars, would it help to ceramic wax the bars before wrapping them? Would love to prevent the corrosion that ate up the last set.
I've been washing my bike with your bike shampoo every time after each ride and rewaxing with the drip lube as well. I've been afraid of overdoing the washing because I've already had to replace a brand new freehub with less than 200kms on it. Maybe it was a cheap component or bad luck? We have had a ton of snow on our side and I have been a little over excited going out riding my bike regardless of the weather. I ride mostly trails but obviously need to take some roads to get to the trails. Am I doing it right or wrong or too much? What else can I do? Thanks for the informative video!
I have a Carbon Fatboy........9 years and still doing strong. Only have done crank bearings and chains. Rinse off after major salty rides and wipe waxed chain after rides
I've used a cordless heat gun (using DeWalt rechargeable battery) and you can see the drip wax liquefy as you rotate the chain slowly through the heat.
Super solid choice for rinsing the cogs and chain in slushy weather instead of watching your whole life pass you by , cleaning your bike to Indulge your OCD tendencies. Might want to keep some old newspaper around to protect hubs and rims from overspray seeing as the solvent will attack grease as well. Replaces water in all the tight crevices keeping rust at bay. Good enough corrosion inhibitor that Bell helicopter since Nam has suggested spraying down the internals of tail booms to keep them from falling off in maritime environments. Wintertime? Daily commuting? Want to avoid maintenance after long dreary days at work? WD40 is a champ, don’t let the bike snobs tell you otherwise.
Great info. I spent 14 winters car free in Northern Minnesota. Sand and salt starts with the 1st snowfall usually in late October. It stays on the roads until late April. I developed a routine of bringing the bike back inside daily. Put it in the work stand and doing a full wash. I used a pump spray bottle with warm water. After years of this I had a custom bike built that was impervious to these conditions. Custom stainless steel frame. Gates belt drive and a Rohloff IGH hub for the drivetrain. It laughed at winter conditions. I could ride it all winter and not have to clean it until Spring.
I tried the Synergetic + Secret hot melt wax this winter. After 1.5 weeks of commuting, the chain had rusted solid. (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.) I don’t have time to clean and re-wax my commuter bike chain every day, so I’ll go back to oil for winter riding, and just replace the chain more often. It has worked for ten years and will continue to work. Fully converted to wax for three-season riding though!
Love that you said "shit"😉I appreciate your nerding out info, some of us like to go deep. Cool shirt, I want that in a jersy👍
All this corrosion from the ice melt. I'm staying inside on Zwift......... Hang on, sweat is corrosive...... Arrrrrggggggghhhhhh. I'll just drink beer and get fat all winter. Wake me up when it gets warm.
Best option so far. :)
please do video overview of that 4-bottle box of degreasers etc. and how you recommend to use them, and their purpose
Great video as always Josh, thank you! Where I am at (Omaha, NE) they have been using brine pre-treatment on the roads to help with keeping the roads clear vs. relying only on the post-event treatments. For those that are in areas that do this, it is not any better for your bike or components as most of the brine treatments are essentially a sodium chloride mixture.
I use several Silca products and all are excellent. I plane to try that ceramic wash on my car.
Good common sense video. I'm from Toronto, I ride quite a lot through the winter, this city has a lot of salt on the roads. The key is to clean your bike, flush out all the crap that gets in there and make sure everything is lubed up. Clean the moving parts and don't forget your bottom bracket. I keep my bikes inside. I do not ride my carbon bike in the winter, my steel and aluminium yes. Sorry to say but I would not buy any Silca products because I don't want to take out a bank loan, what I use for years keeps me going crap free.
What about riding on roads that have dried salt on them? Is the salt powder doing anything worth noting? Not riding through like an inch of powder just the residual stuff that is sorta like dust.
Cleanup almost has to be incorporated into the ride in winter. I've not had any noticeable problems, but I also tend to at least clean drivetrain components and oil cables after most rides
I live in the rust belt. Car mechanics say garaged cars do worse than the ones left outside with all the melting, freezing. So if you bring your bike in, clean it. I coat every bearing, nut and bolt with marine grease. After I clean the bike, I put WD40 anywhere that moves EXCEPT if there's a bearing or the chain lol. Put a little WD40 on the spoke nipples. I guess Triflow would be fine but it gets washed off so fast and WD40 just smells better ha! A couple times a winter, spray whatever magic juice you can find (WD40, frame saver, T-9, Fluid Film) down the bottle cage holes and into any hole hole you can find if you have a metal bike. Anything helps. You could just wipe your entire bike with WD40 every time you wash it and you will be 100x better off than nothing. Put a car wax on your bike too if you like it to look nice I guess. Sending your very expensive bike through a muddy ride is no worse than riding in the winter so keep riding the good bikes all year.
what if its out, but there my bike tires have a ton of dried salt from the road? any danger to my aluminum frame/components?
thanks
Add full fenders if you can and honestly it might be worth downgrading your entire drivetrain for the winter just so you don't have to fully decrease and decontaminate your summer components
Fenders, fenders, fenders! Seriously, ive wrapped my rear wheel 270⁰ and the front 220⁰, and its a gamechanger, dont even have to clean the chain much anymore.
We're in the Zwift era , roads in Winters are bike free nowadays
For bikes on the indoor trainer with aluminum bars, would it help to ceramic wax the bars before wrapping them? Would love to prevent the corrosion that ate up the last set.
I've been washing my bike with your bike shampoo every time after each ride and rewaxing with the drip lube as well. I've been afraid of overdoing the washing because I've already had to replace a brand new freehub with less than 200kms on it. Maybe it was a cheap component or bad luck? We have had a ton of snow on our side and I have been a little over excited going out riding my bike regardless of the weather. I ride mostly trails but obviously need to take some roads to get to the trails. Am I doing it right or wrong or too much? What else can I do? Thanks for the informative video!
Seeing how much shit is on my bike after each ride outside I can't imagine not washing it!
Is this another advantage of carbon ?
I have a Carbon Fatboy........9 years and still doing strong. Only have done crank bearings and chains. Rinse off after major salty rides and wipe waxed chain after rides
Especially carbon wheels.
Drip wax freezes before getting into rollers. Any suggestions?
drip at home, give it at least 3h to dry
@@natus99It’s freezing at home too. My bike doesn’t see above freezing temperatures until mid march. Still want to avoid oil lubing
I've used a cordless heat gun (using DeWalt rechargeable battery) and you can see the drip wax liquefy as you rotate the chain slowly through the heat.
I just spray my entire bike with WD-40 every ride, it’s perfect.
Super solid choice for rinsing the cogs and chain in slushy weather instead of watching your whole life pass you by , cleaning your bike to Indulge your OCD tendencies. Might want to keep some old newspaper around to protect hubs and rims from overspray seeing as the solvent will attack grease as well. Replaces water in all the tight crevices keeping rust at bay. Good enough corrosion inhibitor that Bell helicopter since Nam has suggested spraying down the internals of tail booms to keep them from falling off in maritime environments. Wintertime? Daily commuting? Want to avoid maintenance after long dreary days at work? WD40 is a champ, don’t let the bike snobs tell you otherwise.