...here in the Northeast, some have advised me not to ride at all. "You'll have to basically take your bike apart to clean it after every ride."

Sorry so newbie at this, but can anyone give advice? I have about a grand invested in my nice bike (yes I have fenders) and I don't want to trash it. Should I avoid riding until the next heavy rain? I'd rather not.

I'm also in the Northeast and I ride in the winter when it's possible. I've been using Pedro's Bike Lust on my frame and I swear by it. I have an 02' Specialized E5 SLX Comp with over 5,000 miles and it looks brand new and I swear it's gotta be the Pedros thats preserved the frame. It's a silicone polish that help's repel all the grime that gets on your frame so when your done riding a simple rinse it with some water and dishwashing liquid dry off the frame really good and spray on a new coat of Pedros.

If you have to use a hose be careful sealed bearings are not always as sealed as you think it happened to my one of my buddies. Hope this helps just my 2c!

Something servicable but cheap and that you won't care about. You should be able to get something for $100 (maybe downtube shifters, but so what?). Ride that all winter and rinse it off when you can. Lube the chain often and heavily. Snow and muck will strip the lube off faster than you might think.

That's the best thing you can do to keep your bike clean, and the money is well worth the decrease in cleaning hassle and worry.

I used to have a crappy MTB with bladed tire to use in the snow, but I sold that last year. Now, I only take my SS/Fixie out when the roads are dry, and the ride I had on Sunday may be my last for a while. This time of year, I get more miles in my x-country skis and workout at the gym a lot more often.

...here in the Northeast, some have advised me not to ride at all. "You'll have to basically take your bike apart to clean it after every ride."

Sorry so newbie at this, but can anyone give advice? I have about a grand invested in my nice bike (yes I have fenders) and I don't want to trash it. Should I avoid riding until the next heavy rain? I'd rather not.

just ride it. make sure you have lube on the chain... don't shift unless necessary.
in the spring, you will need new cables and housing, chain, cassette. brake pads.
if you dont ride, you will need those new parts anyway... they just wont be as wasted.
If the Bottom bracket or hubs are wasted, they were probably cheapos anyway.

and the full fenders help alot. $1k into a bike is not that much. if you had $5k, i would say dont ride and save it for race day...

I live on cape cod. it's salty here year round!

I'd highly recommend either a junker bike or washing your bike a lot.
I live in NH and commute 3.5 (round trip) miles to work in all sorts of weather. So far I have had the rear derailluer bind up twice in the past week because of both salt and it just plain freezing in position.
I'm an advocate of lubing the heck out of your chain and other pivot points on your bike. Take a damp rag and rub off your rims too. Don't be afraid to drop lube onto the spoke nipples every now and then.

$1k into a bike is not that much. if you had $5k, i would say dont ride and save it for race day...


What do you mean $1,000.00 ain't that much? That is easily in the top 5% most expensive bikes on the planet! And for as much as a new set of cables, brake pads, cassette and chain, you can buy a decent beater bike that will be fun to ride around. I'd second the beater bike sentiment, but if another bike is not an option for whatever reason, lots of lube and dilligent cleaning will take you a long way (but you really do have to be dilligent!).

-Damon

p.s. surprisingly, my wife (who has a hard time rationalizing my bike purchases) agrees with you, so maybe i am out to lunch...

I appreciate all responses. Thanks a bunch. I have my fixie, which qualifies as a beater bicycle, but I wasn't sure I was ready to take it on the 10 mile commute. Maybe I should just give it a try.

To me, $1000 is a lot for a bicycle, but I respect the fact that many in this forum have much more invested in their rides. For comparison, the blue book value of my car is approximately $800.

I just hope it rains sometime soon and washes all the salt away. Here in Philadelphia, we got about a half an inch of snow on Monday, and in response, the city dumped about a quarter of an inch of salt on the roads. Great.