Would you ride your carbon bike in the wet?

mosa

as titled im scared to take mine out (cant be bothered to give it a full clean & dry when i get in) do you all take your good bikes out in the rain/wet? cheers


ps whats the best way to dry your helmet after an outing in the rain? Can anyone point me towards a rain cover for my helmet? cheers

desweller

I may have said this before, but...it's soot and glue. It ain't gonna rust or dissolve. Just give the chain a wipe and dob some fresh oil on it when you get back.

As for the second question: I usually keep mine zipped up when I'm out of doors, but Durex might have something along the lines you're looking for.

The real answer is to wear a skull cap under the helmet.

jibberjim

Of course I do. And I don't clean it either. Carbon doesn't rust or degrade in any way due to wet.

majormantra

Yes! The fact that's it's carbon is irrelevant to how it fares in the wet. Whatever the frame material, it's the drivetrain which can suffer but if you lube it occasionally (and clean it if you're feeling really enthusiastic - I'm pretty lazy) it'll be fine.

The bigger issue is having a wet arse which is why I prefer to ride my Ti bike in the rain - it has mudguards.

ShutUpLegs

whoosh

themekon

I know we've had a long dry spell but there are times in this country that if you waited for it to be dry you would never get out.

p9uma

Yes, it's just a bike.

desweller

ShutUpLegs wrote:

whoosh

See, I thought it might be a wind-up, but having looked at the of the guy's posts I'm not so sure.

Buckled_Rims

Use Crud road racer mudguards if there's a longish spell of rain. It'll help no end in keeping the bike semi-clean. Only takes 15 minutes to put mine on and that includes 10 mins looking to find them in the cupboard!

For the helmet issue, use cling film.

tiredofwhiners

My winter bike is carbon, my summer bike is carbon. the only difference is whether I fir raceblades for the wet.

No reason not to - its not going to dissolve.

Bozman

Whatever you ride in the wet you'll end up having to clean it, carbon alloy or steal it's makes squat difference.
The wheels are the only thing that gets shafted in the wet, so If it looks like rain i just swap the wheels to save grinding grit into the rims.

andy46

This time of year is fine, it's the winter that I like to clean the whole bike to get rid of any salt.

Having said that, I'm reluctant to take mine out in the rain at the minute as I've just fitted new tyres.

navrig

http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/file ... fishin.jpg

ilm_zero7

no - i wont go out if its already raining - sometimes get caught out - but its too dangerous in the wet - and a crash can be curtains for a carbon bike

FSR_XC

Well I have a choice . . .

If it's raining I can either ride my carbon bike or stay in - not much use if I want to ride.

I suppose I could always take out my carbon mountainbike & get wet and muddy instead.

Mmm now I come to think of it, :roll: maybe I shouldn't ride my carbon bikes in the wet. I think I need a new aluminium framed bike for the bad weather. I'll just go & mention it to the wife . . . . . . . .

jgsi

It's going to rain tomorrow ... shall I p1ss away my race entry fee for the sake of a wet ar$e?
Don't think so.
Bikes clean up as does kit, just a bummer that it takes a bit of effort.... but better than staying warm and playing darts, I think..

Sunderland Supporter

I was out on mine today and it pi$$ed down. Its in my garage and wont be cleaned until sunday afternoon, so answer to OP question is yes.Only thing I ever cover up is when Im washing it with garden hose, I put lunchbag over my san marco selle rolls saddle.

MattC59

Don't do it, what ever you do, don't do it. Carbon bikes start to disolve and go soft in the rain. The Pros only continue to ride carbon frames in wet races because they get a new frame every race. Carbon wheels survive longer because of the heat build up from braking. This serves to drive off the water and 're-cure' the resin.

This is also why you heve to take more care when descending in the wet; you neve know if the water has effected the structural properties of the carbon.

You'll notice that in wet Formula 1 races, the cars have differend paint jobs. That's because any naked carbon has to be protected from the rain by a complete covering of paint. Obviously it's not such an issue in F1 because of the money involved.

MattC59

I was talking sh*t in my last post.

rick_chasey

Carbon wheels left out in the rain innit.

markos1963

ILM Zero7 wrote:

no - i wont go out if its already raining - sometimes get caught out - but its too dangerous in the wet - and a crash can be curtains for a carbon bike

What a load of bo((ox, if you crash a ali' or Ti frame and ding it they are just as 'unrepairable' in fact more so in the case of aluminium frame. I have seen plenty of crashed carbons frames repaired to a very high standard.

CRAIGO5000

I know you're all taking the pi55 but I kind of agree with the OP's sentiments.

I have recently bought a Ribble Stealth with full Sram Force and I want to ride it all the time but if it's wet I do feel like I shouldn't for some reason and I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's that I'm worried about excess grit and dirt running into the groupset, brakes and headset etc. It has no cruds and It'll stay that way but my Allez does which is now my Winter bike.

I've been commuting on the Stealth too when it's nice in the morning and been caught out by the rain on the way home. It's just not nice getting the good bike dirty - my chain is also not so silver anymore which annoys me

rick_chasey

It's totally fine.

The pros now even ride carbon frames with carbon rims in Paris Roubaix - whatever the weather there.

MattC59

CRAIGO5000 wrote:

I know you're all taking the pi55

I wasn't.

CRAIGO5000

I think the issues here isn't the fact that the frame is carbon, but that people who have multiple bikes have a carbon bike that is their best bike with expensive groupsets on them.

I certainly wouldn't be arsed about my carbon bike if it had my Allez's Tiagra groupset on but when your thrashing through grit and dirt on the sides of the road with no mud guards you're allowed to feel concerned for your £1000 groupset grinding away.

mikebikemike

I'm a total tart whose lucky enough to live next to excellent moors for off roading and excellent road riding. Unless I've a social ride planned my road bike only comes out on sunny days. Off road allmost any conditions.

majormantra

Rick Chasey wrote:

Carbon wheels left out in the rain innit.

Positively Dali-esque.

mosa

crud road racers put on this morning and headed out. bike clean & dry until it pi**ed down nevermind no splasher up my back! happy days!

jgsi

Wasnt the bike that dissolved today.. it was me...after 4 minutes of hailstones on the final lap , I was reduced to a soggy mess, then we turned a corner and it was bone dry again for the last 5km to the finish.
As I work in a Chinese laundry I always have pristine white towels to clean the bike off afterwards.

mallorcajeff

Ive never heard an F1 race be cancelled due to rain in case the cars melt or cant handle some water? Of course we do (Well i do) part of the fun for me is the two hours strip down and clean afterwards. As for a rain cover no idea just wear a cap underneath but I live in mallorca cant remember what rain is sorry ;-)

juankerr

It pissed down when I was in Mallorca two years ago. Still, the roads are nice and smooth I'll give you that.