How to stop my bike rotting
CptKernow
Posts: 467
I was swapping some stuff around on my bikes this week and took the bar tape off my trainer bike. What I found was a bit of a shocker.
There were piles of salt under there. These were tinged with blues and greens, which I now think are the oxidized remnants of my handlebars. I'm now throwing out a set of year old 3T bars as they have holes in.
The levers have fared a little better although I've had to drill out one of the fixing torqx bolts as the teeth had been totally corroded.
So, what is the solution? I already have a sweat catcher but this doesn't cover the areas I'm talking about. I suppose I could try draping a towel over the bars...
There were piles of salt under there. These were tinged with blues and greens, which I now think are the oxidized remnants of my handlebars. I'm now throwing out a set of year old 3T bars as they have holes in.
The levers have fared a little better although I've had to drill out one of the fixing torqx bolts as the teeth had been totally corroded.
So, what is the solution? I already have a sweat catcher but this doesn't cover the areas I'm talking about. I suppose I could try draping a towel over the bars...
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Comments
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Sweet baby jeezuz. How much turbo do you do ?
I do a fair bit thru the winter - but always with a towel over the bars.
I like to have a fan blowing from the side too - the sweat tends to fall away from the bike slightly.
If the bike is on the turbo for a good time you could clingfilm it a bit ? Or yourself if that floats your boat.0 -
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if it's running down your arms, sweatbands on wrists, headband might help toomy bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny0
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I don't know how you could ride without a towel over your bars! If you really are sweating too much for most it simply means their fans aren't sufficient.0
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I've two fans in a cold garage - I still sweat and need a towel. And usually a cap that I reverse half way through a session for extra sweat mopping up ability....0
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I'm guessing you don't use a fan on the turbo? It's an essential piece of kit.
Sometimes, if I'm doing a short, easy session and I can't be arsed to set it up, I'll get going and within 5 minutes be literally dripping with sweat and wish that I had. With it running, even in extremely hard workouts my clothes will get sweaty but nowhere near the point where it's dripping all over the bike or running down my arms onto the handlebars. It makes a huge difference.
If you are already using one, it clearly isn't powerful enough. You need to be looking at a decent size (20+ inches) floor/drum fan, not some crappy 12" desk or pedestal fan. You should be able to pick one up for <£50 and IMO it's money very well spent.0 -
Fenix wrote:I've two fans in a cold garage - I still sweat and need a towel. And usually a cap that I reverse half way through a session for extra sweat mopping up ability....
What kind of fans are you using?
To my cost I've determined that, as with bike lights, one good one is better than two cheap pieces of crap! Outside most cyclists are going to be moving ~20-40 kph and finding a fan that can shift air at anywhere close to that speed is difficult.
Take a note of how much wind-noise you can hear with the fans going next time, I bet it's not even close to what you experience on the road.0 -
I agree one of the fans I have is just a house fan - on a podium thing - but the other fan is one of these - http://www.screwfix.com/p/ge-45-18-high ... 240v/2824k
Its much louder than outside but I'm working much harder inside on a turbo session than my normal longer and steadier outside bike rides.0 -
Right. New fan ordered. I was using a fan heater (w/o the heat).
This will go nicely with a set of sweat bands and the cling film I'll be wrapping myself in...0 -
gross0
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Here's a photo of my 1 yr old bars in case you're interested...
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Blimey !!
And you only realised with the tape off ? No idea they had great big holes in them ?0 -
That's quite impressive.0
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Fenix wrote:Blimey !!
And you only realised with the tape off ? No idea they had great big holes in them ?
Yep! Bar tape looked as good as new. Only one weird little thing - a lump appeared under the tape one place. This was the result of crystals building up as the metal dissolved.
Bit scary really. I would have probably been out on the roads with these bars, completely oblivious that the tape was holding them together. Would have been nice to get on the drops for a sprint and snap...
So, lesson learned. Always use carbon bars on your trainer bike
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I have my tt bike on the turbo - so that does have carbon bars on. Only the handgrips are taped anyway so most of the bar is exposed and I have the towel down. So double phew !
I don't think I've ever heard of anyone corroding their bars with sweat before.
Kudos for the sheer volume you've put out !0 -
Woly shit you're what they call an 'aggressive sweater'.
Be glad you didn't find out on your first sprint of the next season. Breaking handlebars seems like the worst thing that could happen (other than kissing the front of a big truck, but that probably hurts less).0 -
Slightly off topic but can anyone recommend a decent fan? I've bought 2 so far and they're both shit so would welcome suggestions for something that is decent.0
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I think I found your issue
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Irohug5 wrote:Slightly off topic but can anyone recommend a decent fan? I've bought 2 so far and they're both shoot so would welcome suggestions for something that is decent.
I've got a 20" John Lewis own-branded floor fan (unfortunately since discontinued); depending on the ambient temp and workout intensity it's usually enough, but I've occasionally thought I could do with something a bit more powerful so I'd say, as a reference this is the minimum kind of size you want to be shooting for:
However, the fan is only half of the equation, you need a source of fresh air as well. If you're working out in a cupboard you can have all of the fans you like but they're only going to be pushing hot air around. Having a door or big window open too is essential.0 -
I think whatever fan you have - you WILL sweat.
Get a towel on the contact points and if the bike is there all winter - the clingfilm trick may be of use.0 -
That looks more like a massive speaker than a fan - get those tunes blasting out in your face!BuckMulligan wrote:Irohug5 wrote:Slightly off topic but can anyone recommend a decent fan? I've bought 2 so far and they're both shoot so would welcome suggestions for something that is decent.
I've got a 20" John Lewis own-branded floor fan (unfortunately since discontinued); depending on the ambient temp and workout intensity it's usually enough, but I've occasionally thought I could do with something a bit more powerful so I'd say, as a reference this is the minimum kind of size you want to be shooting for:
However, the fan is only half of the equation, you need a source of fresh air as well. If you're working out in a cupboard you can have all of the fans you like but they're only going to be pushing hot air around. Having a door or big window open too is essential.
I've heard various people say that they find the fan more effective if it's offset to the side by 30-45degree.0 -
Yeah, I can see that offsetting it might be beneficial; cooling is all about surface area and at the moment the whole of my back gets little to no airflow. Perhaps I'll experiment this winter.0
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Very true. We sit on the bike in such a way to minimise surface area so having the fan slightly off to one side makes a big difference.0
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Found a nice 18" fan on Ebay for £35. Copious sweating is now a thing of the past!
Just did a 40k race on Zwift and no drips. Only downside is I have to crank the music up a couple of notches!0 -
Nice! Glad to hear it's made a difference. Cheaper than a new set of bars every winter
I've found bluetooth headphones are a pretty good investment for the turbo too; the music is a good motivator, drowns out the noise of the trainer/bike/fan, no wires to get tangled up and if it's really cold then they're good for keeping the ears warm too!0 -
BuckMulligan wrote:I've found bluetooth headphones are a pretty good investment for the turbo too; the music is a good motivator, drowns out the noise of the trainer/bike/fan, no wires to get tangled up and if it's really cold then they're good for keeping the ears warm too!
Do you not find they get cakes up in sweat, much like the bike?!
I generally end up listening the radio - it's the Today programme at 6am - but just played out on my phone which I have in front on me on the bars.0 -
Sometimes they can feel a bit claustrophobic in hard threshold/VO2 max intervals, but then usually the pain in my legs takes over and I forget about them! But no, as I said above I don't generally sweat too much with a big fan going full-speed right in my face; it probably helps that I'm mostly doing my turbo sessions outdoors in single digit temperatures, I do find it a bit more oppressive on the rare occasion I bring it indoors.0
