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Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride..
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okaypatrick
Nov 5, 09 7:30
Post #1 of 16 (402 views)
Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride..
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I try not to ride my bikes in wet weather so as not to get the drivetrain wet. However, I bit the bullet yesterday morning and ended up riding in foggy weather not realizing that it would get my bike wet. I dried and cleaned off the frame and my wheels, but I realized I forgot to dry off the drivetrain. Do I run the risk of getting my drivetrain rusty by not doing this? I plan to re-lube my drivetrain this afternoon when I get back home.
desert dude
Nov 5, 09 7:34
Post #2 of 16 (395 views)
Re: Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride.. [okaypatrick]
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clean then re-lube and you should be fine.
Brian Stover
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Schwingding
Nov 5, 09 7:40
Post #3 of 16 (385 views)
Re: Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride.. [okaypatrick]
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I try not to ride my bikes in wet weather so as not to get the drivetrain wet. However, I bit the bullet yesterday morning and ended up riding in foggy weather not realizing that it would get my bike wet. I dried and cleaned off the frame and my wheels, but I realized I forgot to dry off the drivetrain. Do I run the risk of getting my drivetrain rusty by not doing this? I plan to re-lube my drivetrain this afternoon when I get back home.
Rusty depends on the composition of your drivetrain. If you bought a stainless steel chain and have DA rings and cassettes, no they won't rust. Dirt however, is the reason you want to clean out your drivetrain after a rainy ride, as grit and grime get a free ride to your drivetrain with water droplets bouncing off of the road or flying off of your wheel. That grit will inflict a great deal of premature wear on your goods, and can cause shifting/operational issues. Without detailing a cleaning regimen here, after a wet ride I disassemble the entire drivetrain and clean and relube. This is a great reason to keep several chains in rotation as well, it takes a lot longer to properly clean out a chain than the other components, so while one is being cleaned, one is doing duty, the other remains clean and ready to use. I always have a clean and ready to go chain that way.
The drivetrain is not the only area that needs attention after a wet ride. The frame can accumulate water as well and it needs to be dealt with. Prolonged wetness in the seattube can cause a permanently stuck seat tube. Brake pads build up a coating of grit and grime that can etch your wheel's braking surfaces and decrease braking efficiency, sandpaper can renew them with little effort (the pads, not the wheels). Not lastly, but another area that is ignored is the housing that the shifter cables runs through underneath the bottom bracket. It gets clogged with grit, grime, and leaky drink bottle fluid and can screw up shifting. Cleaning it out and lubing that area can fix many shifting issues.
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(This post was
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okaypatrick
Nov 5, 09 7:53
Post #4 of 16 (370 views)
Re: Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride.. [Schwingding]
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I believe I have an Ultegra cassette and chain with DA derailleurs.
Schwingding
Nov 5, 09 9:46
Post #5 of 16 (314 views)
Re: Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride.. [okaypatrick]
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I believe I have an Ultegra cassette and chain with DA derailleurs.
Your Ultegra chain will rust if water is not removed from it. However, it only rusts as long as it is wet - an incidental amount of time. If really want to get rid of the water, immerse the chain in a tub of denatured alcohol, which will replace all the water with alcohol that does not cause rust and evaporates quickly. That might be extreme (is), however, and unnecessary.
The plating on the ultegra cassette and rings will eventually wear and the metal underneath can rust.
Rust is still incidental to dirt and grime as they're present long after the water has evaporated.
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Don't hate me for not waving.
Frank Day
Nov 5, 09 13:11
Post #6 of 16 (257 views)
Re: Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride.. [Schwingding]
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I believe I have an Ultegra cassette and chain with DA derailleurs.
Your Ultegra chain will rust if water is not removed from it. However, it only rusts as long as it is wet - an incidental amount of time. If really want to get rid of the water, immerse the chain in a tub of denatured alcohol, which will replace all the water with alcohol that does not cause rust and evaporates quickly. That might be extreme (is), however, and unnecessary.
The plating on the ultegra cassette and rings will eventually wear and the metal underneath can rust.
Rust is still incidental to dirt and grime as they're present long after the water has evaporated.
You can also use a hair dryer to "get rid" of the water. Be sure to relube after drying because the water itself tends to get rid of the oil that is protecting the metal from rusting.
Frank (can't be a scientist because I'm a physician) Day - Inventor of PowerCranks
Exercise physiologists don't DO "mechanisms" - de-tri-mental
Avago
Nov 5, 09 13:45
Post #7 of 16 (235 views)
Re: Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride.. [okaypatrick]
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I try not to ride my bikes in wet weather so as not to get the drivetrain wet.
However, I bit the bullet yesterday morning and ended up riding in foggy weather not realizing that it would get my bike wet
. I dried and cleaned off the frame and my wheels, but I realized I forgot to dry off the drivetrain. Do I run the risk of getting my drivetrain rusty by not doing this? I plan to re-lube my drivetrain this afternoon when I get back home.
you rode in the fog man, not a typhoon. wipe the bike down, as you have done, wipe the chain off with a cloth, relube chain. lean it against the wall ( or put it on it's rack ) ready for your next ride.
okaypatrick
Nov 5, 09 13:51
Post #8 of 16 (226 views)
Re: Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride.. [Avago]
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LOL. I knew I was over-analyzing the situation. Thanks for keeping me in check, Avago.
chur
Nov 5, 09 13:55
Post #9 of 16 (219 views)
Re: Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride.. [okaypatrick]
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You dont ride in the rain?
WTF!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
nec rege, nec populo, sed utroque
Avago
Nov 5, 09 14:07
Post #10 of 16 (212 views)
Re: Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride.. [okaypatrick]
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LOL. I knew I was over-analyzing the situation. Thanks for keeping me in check, Avago.
slowtwitch is the international home of over-analyzing! :-) the more time I spend here the more I realise the KISS & JFT are for me.
jroden
Nov 5, 09 15:37
Post #11 of 16 (183 views)
Re: Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride.. [Avago]
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Good lord, it's not a huge deal, people ride bikes every day in the rain, mud and snow. Wash your bike with a bucket of soapy water and a brush, use a different brush for the chain and perhaps some degreaser. Wipe if off with a rag and put some 30 weight on the chain and park it inside over night so it dries out nice. Store the soap and bruses away in the bucket and get on with your day. It takes about 5 minutes to was and lube a bike, it's no big production.
karma
Nov 5, 09 16:32
Post #12 of 16 (159 views)
Re: Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride.. [okaypatrick]
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Plug in the air compressor when you get back from your ride. Put the air jet nozzel on it. Set the PSI to 40 (Don't go up to 100 psi, you don't want to force moustue into your bottom bracket or seals). Shoot off the bike with air to remove surface moisture, paying particular attention to the chain. Towel off the rest of the bike. Lubricate the chain.
If you don't have an air compressor turn in your man card at the next meeting.
dave
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"For those people who just refuse to be likeable, I'll accommodate them by not liking them" - Slowman
desert dude
Nov 5, 09 17:29
Post #13 of 16 (141 views)
Re: Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride.. [karma]
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I'm thinking if they don't have a compressor they aren't going to the meeting to begin with.
Brian Stover
Accelerate3 Coaching
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Blog
Save at TriSports.com - use code BSTOV-S
roady
Nov 5, 09 17:39
Post #14 of 16 (138 views)
Re: Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride.. [desert dude]
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air compressors? alcohol?? stainless steel chains??? hair dryers???? wet-weather advice from a guy named 'desert dude???? (to your defense, I got poured on 2 of the 4 days I've spent in Tucson)
1. ride bike in rain
2. put away bike
There you go--it's that simple. Make sure your your chain is adequately lubed. This serves me just fine for the 7+ months a year I spend riding in the rain....
jroden
Nov 5, 09 18:40
Post #15 of 16 (113 views)
Re: Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride.. [roady]
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air compressors? alcohol?? stainless steel chains??? hair dryers???? wet-weather advice from a guy named 'desert dude???? (to your defense, I got poured on 2 of the 4 days I've spent in Tucson)
1. ride bike in rain
2. put away bike
There you go--it's that simple. Make sure your your chain is adequately lubed. This serves me just fine for the 7+ months a year I spend riding in the rain....
I was thinking the same thing in that perhaps some of the responses were from people who live in places like CA where a rainy day is sort of a special event. We are heading into the road salt crap grit slop ice and rain time of year, when you end up washing up the bike after most rides and it still rusts over the winter. Spending more than 5 minutes on the job is just overdoing it.
Riding a bike in the rain and just putting it away is kind of barbaric though, I expect cave men did that.
Bell Head
Nov 5, 09 19:38
Post #16 of 16 (93 views)
Re: Drivetrain maintenance after a 'wet' ride.. [chur]
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You dont ride in the rain?
WTF!
I'm surprised it took 9 posts for somebody to say this. If I didn't ride in the rain there would be some seriously long stretches where I didn't ride.
And what fun I would miss (seriously)!
Victor
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