Winter Commuting and Road Salt | Thread profile

I bought a $40 winter beater bike as the answer to Boston road salt.

I've lived in New England and they don't use salt nearly as much as NE Ohio. There is a huge salt mine right in Cleveland and the city and surrounding areas use huge amounts of salt. I just try to keep some lube on any exposed metal. If you can clean the bike and allow it to dry in someplace above freezing it is helpful. Expect to replace items like cables, chains and even rear derailers come spring. Craig

I think there is nothing you can do. But it's not a tragedy. It's not like your bike will be ruined immediately, instead be prepared to replace some parts in the spring. Depending on how much you use your bike, you would need to replace some parts anyway. What you can do - remove snow/mud/salt immediately after returning home. You might just wipe it off with a wet cloth or something like that. This will at least protect the colour...

Lots of clean fresh water. I use car hand wash places. DO NOT PULL TRIGGER FOR FULL PRESSURE. Just give bike a good rinse job.

What I try to do is: 1) Antiseize or grease on metal to metal contact points like bolts, seatpost/frame, stem/fork. 2) lube on all moving parts regularly 3) rinse bike with water from a bucket on a regular basis 4) I've drilled a small drain hole in the bottom of the bottom bracket shell of my winter bike to drain water that gets into the frame. I also remove the seatpost if the bike has seen really wet conditions and spray a water...

^^^ What they said. I don't switch to a beater, I ride my MTB all year round. Rinse it as much as possible. The more non-ferrous materials the better. You'll probably need a new chain in the spring. Cars are almost entirely made of low-grade steel, but somehow avoid turning to dust by April. Well, most of them.

Fenders and a long mud flap help a lot.

Fenders and an aluminum frame work great. Other than that, use lots of grease where required, keep your chain lubed up all the time, use SS cables if you can get them.

I am new to bike commuting, due to a change in jobs. One question I have about winter commuting is dealing with road salt. I live in the norteast and salt is used copiously. What tips/tricks/suggestions do you have for dealing with road salt? Thanks in advance.

Apply car wax to the frame , exposed cables and bolt heads but NOT to braking surfaces!!! Apply grease or antiseize to threads, seatpost and stem interfaces.