salt.....

flamite

all this road salt can't be doing the bike much good, how often are you guys washing yours off? will it really corrode the frame if you don't??

Beeblebrox

My frame is aluminium so I assume that's not an issue. Obviously steel components are at risk... but I'm a massive wimp and not going out much at all.

Limburger

The shiny bits will become nice and furry if you leave it on. I would hope your frame is painted so thats not the issue.

If you have bare aluminium anywhere that will get it worst. Same reason they don't grit runways at airports.

bradford

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White Line

Clearly they should just put mudguards on planes. :roll:

bradford

bradford wrote:

flamite wrote:

all this road salt can't be doing the bike much good, how often are you guys washing yours off? will it really corrode the frame if you don't??

I wash the bike every day after a salty commute,but don't forget to put some salt on your head each day!

Wallace1492

Limburger wrote:

If you have bare aluminium anywhere that will get it worst. Same reason they don't grit runways at airports.

Are airport runways made out of bare aluminium? :shock:

wgwarburton

flamite wrote:

all this road salt can't be doing the bike much good, how often are you guys washing yours off? will it really corrode the frame if you don't??

That's the idea behind a Winter Hack. Instead of trashing a bike you like by hammering it on salty/gritty roads and in the rain you have a cheap, low maintenance bike that you don't have to wash & lube every other day (when it's dark & cold outside).
I pump up the tyres and oil the chain ("It's all about perFORmance..." :-) ) on mine & that's about it. It'll probably need a new chain next year, but they are well under a tenner. A new sprocket isn't much more and it's worth it not to have to spend hours fighting a losing battle against road-crud every winter. Paint should keep the worst off the outside of the frame. I'm not sure there's much you can do about the inside- I would worry that washing would push the salt into the frame!!

Cheers,
W.

tomb353

have covered my bike in car wax, reoil chain when I get to work and when I get home

MonkeyMonster

I wd40'd it after getting to work to help get rid of it and will dry it all off when I get home and re-lube.

nyanza

I spend no more than 10 minutes each weekend wiping down with a paper towel. Washing down each night is too much hassle, and it'll probably freeze on the bike. There's brown patches of rust all over the chain and various bolts after a week, but it's not really corrosive rust. You can wipe it off with your finger and it leaves no trace. For stubborn patches I spray a little wire brush (used for cleaning spark plugs) with WD40 and scrub it off - good as new, great little tool.
http://www.diytools.co.uk/diy/Main/sp-75-4602-35483-draper-150mm-spark-plug-brush.asp

greg66_tri_v2.0

Limburger wrote:

If you have bare aluminium anywhere that will get it worst. Same reason they don't grit runways at airports.

Bzzt.

Salt water won't corrode alu on its own. Salt water will enable galvanic corrosion of alu if the alu and another metal are both in contact with each other and the salt water.

MonkeyMonster

Greg66 wrote:

Limburger wrote:

If you have bare aluminium anywhere that will get it worst. Same reason they don't grit runways at airports.

Bzzt.

Salt water won't corrode alu on its own. Salt water will enable galvanic corrosion of alu if the alu and another metal are both in contact with each other and the salt water.

the intellectual mollusc speaks the truth once more - its all about electron exchange. Aluminium oxide is very very stable. Steel is not - hence why steel ships have large blocks of zinc (normally) attached to them - it provides electrons to the steel which doesn't rust and the block of zinc slowly disappears. Aluminium next to steel does the same but to a far lesser degree - it basically creates a battery and uses both metals. Oh and nyanza - rust is corroded chain whatever the type - you don't want it at all. Keep getting it and the links will rust through - albeit slowly.

0scar

MonkeyMonster wrote:

steel ships have large blocks of zinc (normally) attached to them - it provides electrons to the steel which doesn't rust and the block of zinc slowly disappears.

Really? That's amazing! where does it go?

ps As you may have guessed I'm not a scientist.

OldSkoolKona

Greg66 wrote:

Bzzt.

Salt water won't corrode alu on its own. Salt water will enable galvanic corrosion of alu if the alu and another metal are both in contact with each other and the salt water.

Very true, hence the joy of having an alu seat post in a steel frame if you don't grease it up, knew someone who literally had to get the concentrated caustic soda to get the thing out!

wgwarburton

0scar wrote:

MonkeyMonster wrote:

steel ships have large blocks of zinc (normally) attached to them - it provides electrons to the steel which doesn't rust and the block of zinc slowly disappears.

Really? That's amazing! where does it go?

It dissolves, like salt, or sugar or .....

ps As you may have guessed I'm not a scientist.

Does this count as science?

Cheers,
W.

rolf_f

So, the moral of the story is: don't fit a zinc bike with a steel chain and leave it out in the rain

simplesimoncardiff

I dont reckon that modern griting "salt" actually corrodes at all. Unless my bikes are magically immune some how?

Certainly no bother the past few weeks and there's been a lot of gritting - my main commuting bike hasn't been washed since i got it over a year ago and shows no signs of corrosion.

frazerbrown

my main commuting bike hasn't been washed since i got it over a year ago and shows no signs of corrosion.

Until one day you find a pile of dust and the remains of a chain laying on the ground where you parked your bike the night before!!!

MonkeyMonster

Gritting salt is just rock salt - it is still a sodium/potassium chloride compound.

nyanza

Until one day you find a pile of dust and the remains of a chain laying on the ground where you parked your bike the night before!!!
Being more realistic, regular riders are going to change the chain or sprockets through everyday wear and tear through friction before corrosion is going to reduce anything to dust.

rjsterry

OldSkoolKona wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

Bzzt.

Salt water won't corrode alu on its own. Salt water will enable galvanic corrosion of alu if the alu and another metal are both in contact with each other and the salt water.

Very true, hence the joy of having an alu seat post in a steel frame if you don't grease it up, knew someone who literally had to get the concentrated caustic soda to get the thing out!

[Smiles grimly to self in recognition] I'm psyching myself up for Sheldon Brown's option no. 15. My seatpost has been stuck for years and although it is at the right height, I'm slightly worried that I'll be giving myself a nasty surprise one day + ruining a saddle worth much more than the seatpost.