ricohman

My fatbike was wet with snow and slush when I brought it home. I hauled it down to the basement to dry (wife not pleased).
Do any of you dry your winter bikes? My old Kona's drive train looks like the titanic. And I really don't want my new bike looking the same.

chriskmurray

Mine lives in the garage where it is fine to drip dry. I do make it a point to wipe down and lube the chain after any very wet ride to prevent rust. Other than that I don't do much as far as maintenance when riding in wet conditions.

skijor

I never did when I winter commuted. As long as you're ok with the mess en route to the basement to dry completely, go for it.

"Another school of thought is to never bring a cold bike into a warm place unless you can leave it there till it is thoroughly dry. As snow and ice melt off of the bike they run into all the wrong places and the opportunity for rust is enhances at the warmer temperatures."

https://https://www.icebike.org/Equipment/maintenance.htm

SnowJob

In recent years, now that I've gotten some nicer bikes, I bring them inside during the winter after a ride--I've got a drop cloth down to catch the nastiness. If my bike looks a bit salty after it's dried out a bit, I'll give it a wipe down with some warmish water, dry it off, and lube up the chain. Also, Framesaver is your friend.

Back when I beater-ed it during winter, I didn't do too much to the bike other than occasionally wiping down and lubing up the chain.

Alleycatdad

NO clue how it would work in your temps, but I've used a leaf blower for years to dry off motorcycles after a bath. Avoid bearings, etc with the direct air blast, of course....

SA

Jim from Boston

The last time I rode my road bike was Jan 1; it never is exposed to wetness, much less slop.
I agree with letting the beater bike air dry as described.

EvilWeasel

I work on boats. Mostly boats that live in salt water. Sometimes they sink. I'd assume that's similar to being covered with road salt and snow. The trick to saving all the external accessories on a saltwater sunk engine is to to rinse/soak it in fresh water first to remove the salt. After that spray it with a ton of wd-40. And i mean soak it in wd!!!

You can repeat the steps as neccesery till all the salt is gone. Blow off remaing fresh water and wd residue with an air compressor and a blow *** nozzle.

fietsbob

run a hot water faucet to where the bike wash station is to be , T off the water to the washer?

Bigger, heated, Mud Room and bring it inside?

maybe a shed built over the clothes dryer vent to use that heat ?

scoatw

When I had an apartment, I would take a gallon jug of warm water and rinse the slop off and then bring it inside on a drop cloth. Now I park it in the garage. And let it drip dry there. Sometimes in sub-zero weather I'll bring inside to let it thaw out. It seems to operate better when I do that as far as shifting and braking.

dh024

After a number of years of winter commuting, I found a really quick and easy solution. Every time I do a slushy ride home and I get salt and grime on my drive train, I use a chemical sprayer (the pump type) to wash down my bike (the sprayer lives in my garage where it always stays above freezing). Then I put a big box fan on it to dry for about 15 mins (probably takes much less). Just before I leave the next morning, I do a quick wipe and re-lube, and I am out the door.

I got over 10,000 km on my cross bike over two full years (including some nasty winter riding in two winters) using this method. It really is that salt and grime that eats drive trains, and keeping it off your bike as much as possible keeps it running longer and saves $$$.

kingston 

I'm a recent convert to the chemical sprayer technique. Squirt the grime off with some warm water then dry it off with a towel before I bring it in the house. After it dries, I wipe the frame down with some wd40 on a paper towel. Wipe the chain off with a dry paper towel and apply some chain lube.

I also use the leaf blower technique on my motorcycles but have not found it necessary on the bicycles.

zandoval 

After a hose down its the one thing made for that displacement fluid often mistaken for a lubricant... WD40

Then later when dry... Real lubricant for sure...

zandoval 

Hey, that's good... Gotta remember this.