Lubricating Brake/Shifters after riding in rain
Notifitsraining
Posts: 72
Should I lube inside the shifter after cycling in heavy rain – even if it only to disperse water?
About 65 miles of this years Dunwich Dynamo was in rain. Normally my ALU road and mountain bikes get a clean, dry then a shower of GT85 and a rub with a rag. However, as my forum name suggests I’m a bit of a dry weather cyclist generally, and whilst carefully tending to my newish carbon Felt post dynamo - I wondered how much water had penetrated the brake mechs every time I applied them.
About 65 miles of this years Dunwich Dynamo was in rain. Normally my ALU road and mountain bikes get a clean, dry then a shower of GT85 and a rub with a rag. However, as my forum name suggests I’m a bit of a dry weather cyclist generally, and whilst carefully tending to my newish carbon Felt post dynamo - I wondered how much water had penetrated the brake mechs every time I applied them.
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Comments
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The important bits of your shifters are greased from the factory, and are probably protected even from the kind of rain which the DD seems to specialise in. I did it a couple of years ago, and I didn't see a working trip computer at the end; all had succumbed to the endless rain...
The gear mechs and brakes are very straightforward mechanisms, and a squirt of GT85 or similar will do no harm. It may do no particular good either- but is a little peace of mind. I oil the pivots from a dropper can habitually after I clean my bike.0 -
I've never lubricated the shifter mechanism, as Balthazar said the moving bits will be covered in grease during manufacture. If anything, something like GT85 or WD40 may actually wash off the factory grease and leave it less protected? If it is shifting and breaking smoothly, I'd leave it alone.0
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Many thanks.
I agree with Balthazar about the DD and rain. In 2007 it rained from about 1/3 distance and I'd forgotten my rain jacket - I was semi-dissolved and surprised I wasn't hypothermic by the end. At least this year the first half was a warm summer's evening, and when it did start to rain it wasn't cold. Forgot my rain jacket again though!0 -
That was the year I did it. I certainly thought I had hypothermia after the dead-of-night feed; I couldn't hold my handlebars for shaking, and it was downhill for a while – I was actually praying for an uphill so I could warm up. I realised afterwards that all my riding buddies felt the same – I thought it was just me.Notifitsraining wrote:Many thanks.
I agree with Balthazar about the DD and rain. In 2007 it rained from about 1/3 distance and I'd forgotten my rain jacket - I was semi-dissolved and surprised I wasn't hypothermic by the end. At least this year the first half was a warm summer's evening, and when it did start to rain it wasn't cold. Forgot my rain jacket again though!
For all that, I'll do it again if I'm nearby at the right time.0 -
I use TF2 Teflon on various bits including my shifters.0
