Originally Posted by
TriDanny47
I know I was intrigued enough by the reverence Campagnolo is shown in road bike circles to make my 2nd serious road bike Super Record EPS. I just got it so have not been on it yet except for a brief test ride at the shop at pickup then another when I got it home - nor do I intend to until spring -
I was told quite seriously by more than one person NOT to expose it to road salt - and it looks like our stretch of no snow/no ice is going to end. I'm not too keen on riding any bike with narrow slick tires any time I could encounter ice anyway - happy to ride my hybrid and fat bike until April.
In the meantime - it can function as artwork!
Originally Posted by
StanSeven
It sounds like your advice on not riding the bike is from people with OCD. If road salt caused damage, bikes wouldn't last. By the time it really caused parts to wear out, assuming you take reasonable care, you'll be 30 years older.
Originally Posted by
gregf83
It's made mostly from aluminum and carbon fiber not sugar. Wash off the bike and it will be as good as new.
As owner of an expensive CF bike myself, I side with @
TriDanny47, his “serious" people, and my trusted mechanic. IIRC from another thread, TD47 may be from my native state of Michigan, with similar winters to Boston. I would think that road salt must be corrosive, and while it might not wear out parts for 30 years, it may strip away the final metallic finish on the aluminum parts, and perhaps dull the paint on the CF, if only for aesthetics, for what that is worth.
Of more concern I think is that road salt is abrasive, and can more effectively damage the drive train that way. And since the salt is used to melt snow and ice, it produces standing salt-water containing road grime, and very often even more abrasive sand, that can be thrown up into the drive train. I’m not particularly inclined to wash my road bike that I use so frequently for commuting, and for which I don’t have easy facilities (in an urban condo).
Earlier this year I posted to a Winter Cycling thread,
”Road Bike Up-Keep”
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
I have a variant question about riding my pristine carbon fiber bike in winter.
Obviously if riding on wet roads with salt, it will be flung into the drive train. But what about on dry roads with caked salt? Would “salt dust” contaminate the drive train significantly? If I were to ride, I would avoid visible salt patches. I realize there may well not be a definitive answer, but "whaddya tink"?
This winter I have ridden my CF bike up to January 1, and it looks like it may be relatively mild (for precipitation), with increased dry road days [in February and March we had record snowfall].
I do have a beater mountain bike with fenders and studded tires otherwise for winter riding.
Originally Posted by
modernjess
Rust never sleeps, and salt is the enemy. The effects of moisture alone can be mitigated with proper lubrication, but salt eat parts and can wreak all kinds of havoc.
So obviously keeping it as clean as you can is important, take out every bolt and grease the crap out of it.Grease and lube everything often. Make sure you remove and grease your seatpost often! Salt spray finds it's way down into it and seizes them up.(not on CF frames) I just use standard teflon grease, and I use Boeshield T-9 spray lube for winter. I over lubricate most everything. I'd rather clean dirty lube off than try to remove rust or a stuck seat post. Chains do get rusty easily, much of it is light surface rust that cleans off ok if you keep on it. But I expect that and I replace my chain every spring on my winter commuter.
It's the cost of doing business if you want to keep your bike in good shape. In the meantime save your money for a winter beater, it can be less costly in the long run.
Because the beater bike is a drudge to ride, and even as one who enjoys the conspicuous consumption of an expensive bike
,
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
…
Last year, I thought about a second lesser quality road bike to ride on dry, but salted roads...
My wife nixed the idea of three bikes in the condo…The reason I want a
second tier, (but not
crappy) road bike is for a nicer ride, without
too much remorse about messing it up.
I started to look at second tier road bikes. My trusted mechanic suggested an aluminum BMC costing about $1500, with upgraded components and 25 C tires. That would then become a year-round beater/rain bike, and the mountain bike would become the most severe winter ride. I think if I promised to store the carbon fiber bike away during the winter, and mountain bike during the nice weather, my wife might allow that...