Parts seizing in the cold

stfc1
stfc1 Posts: 505
edited December 2009 in Workshop
Unable to cycle in today as my rear brake and chain were seized up after another night of cold temperatures. The chain, to be fair, is a mess and probably needed replacing anyway, but do I just need to add a bit more grease to any moving parts at this time of year. Got through last winter okay, so am a bit annoyed to be defeated on the first day of snow this time (first snow in the balmy south west, anyway).

Thanks for any advice.

Comments

  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    Could be humidity on the parts, so it's frozen and not seized? Bring the bike into room temperature and see if there's any improvement...
  • gundersen
    gundersen Posts: 586
    the problem is water
    so oil would be better than grease
    water repelling oil

    i have in the past also used anti freeze in my brake and gear cables - bit extreme but i was living in norway with temps under -20
  • pete.whelan
    pete.whelan Posts: 788
    I used to have a problem with the brake cables on the front of my Trice siezing up in the cold. Fixed it by having plenty of grease in the cable and bots on the end to stop the water geting in
    Recipe: shave legs sparingly, rub in embrocation and drizzle with freshly squeezed baby oil.
  • stfc1
    stfc1 Posts: 505
    Thanks everyone. Might have to see if I can sneak it into the kitchen to warm up and dry out while mrs stfc1 is out tonight, as long as I remember to get it back in the shed before I start throwing the grease and lube around :)
  • tomsdad
    tomsdad Posts: 221
    after reading your heading i was going to sugest thermal underpants then realized what you meant
  • couldashouldawoulda
    couldashouldawoulda Posts: 186
    Ive never had a chain freeze.

    The most common problems I've had on the rear derailleur are are jockey wheels turning into near perfect circles of ice (ie you cant see the teeth anymore) and ice forming in the cassette between the cogs. Either seems to cause random gear changes especially under power. If the jockey wheels are really bad (they seem to grow in size) the can jam the chain but brute force usually gets around it.

    Ice can also form where the H or L screws meet the body - stopping getting into higher or lower gears. Seems to happen more if you havent changed gear in a while.

    One the front ice can form around the derailleur body and stop it moving in one or both directions.

    I carry a small screwdriver to pick the ice out. Nature also gives us a natural de-icer. Just drink lots of water to replenish your supply ;)

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