Love your bike thoroughly and often this winter.
This is a session re-cap from Grease Rag’s 6th Annual Winter Skill Share (2014).
There were two big take-homes for me in Angie’s presentation: preparing your bike; and maintaining your bike. Angie explained that no matter how careful you are, riders will have to consider the likeliness that salt, wet, and grime from the roads are sticking to your bike’s insides, and outs. Knowing this, riders can prepare their bike with proper lubrication, and maybe even using a “frame saver” (frame saver is a spray that goes INSIDE the frame for protection).
Angie’s basic instruction for daily care is wiping grime from the chain, the frame, and other easily reached areas. Follow this up by re-lubricating the chain and cables (there are different products to consider for all of this – see handout!). If you can, do both of these things every time you ride. For weekly maintenance, try a little extra care to clean the entire bike, wheel rims, nuts/bolts, and moving parts with “Simple Green” or other bike-care cleaning product. Repeat lubrication! At the end of the season, Angie recommends a full bike overhaul. Hint: excellent Grease Rag project!
Read Angie’s notes about maintenance & cleaning.
A question I hadn’t expected to hear, but was glad I did, was about storing your bike inside vs. outside… which is better?
Both! However, consider the melting/freezing of water on your ride’s cables and moving parts. If your bike is brought inside and ice thaws, causing water to drip into tight spaces, this could re-freeze when you go back outside. This could easily happen
The best tip for bike cleaning that knocked my socks off?
Toilet bowl brush. A quick brush with a long handle and lots of bristles to get between the tight parts. Thanks to the person who shared this!
About Angie: I’ve been wrenching and teaching in bike shops in Detroit and the Twin Cities since 2009. When my car was stolen the first year I moved to a new city, I began to ride year-round out of necessity. It was a humbling and empowering experience to get through a winter completely relying on myself and my bike. My presentation demonstrates tools and maintenance methods for you to keep your winter commute rolling through the winter.