Cold weather - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

01-07-2004, 06:31 PM

I'm just starting to commute in the winter. Monday was the first day in
fact. The temps were in the 20's (F) and there was a minor amount of snow on
the ground. By the time I was half way, my rear derailleur had frozen in
place. When I got to the office I brought it inside to de-thaw, and at lunch
time sprayed it with wd40 for the ride home.

This evening I took the cables apart to clean and grease then and found that
there was water in the cables. I'm guessing that the water froze which
prevented the derailleur from moving. It's back together and working now,
but I got to thinking - am I better off leaving the bike outside at the
office?

Thanks,
Doug

01-08-2004, 05:46 PM

"Doug" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:Gh3Lb.6568$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> I'm just starting to commute in the winter. Monday was the first
day in
> fact. The temps were in the 20's (F) and there was a minor
amount of snow on
> the ground. By the time I was half way, my rear derailleur had
frozen in
> place. When I got to the office I brought it inside to de-thaw,
and at lunch
> time sprayed it with wd40 for the ride home.
>
> This evening I took the cables apart to clean and grease then
and found that
> there was water in the cables. I'm guessing that the water froze
which
> prevented the derailleur from moving. It's back together and
working now,
> but I got to thinking - am I better off leaving the bike outside
at the
> office?

From what you say it sounds like you've had water in the cables
for some time. I've had cables that didn't work properly but only
when they were way overdue for a change. Some folks say you should
change them every year, that seems unnecessary but it's not
expensive. Maybe it's time to change yours.

I leave my bike outside at the office, inside at home. The only
problems have been when the bike gets a coat of ice at work. When
you have ice all over your rear cluster the derailleur can't
change, even if it wasn't covered in ice too. Your rear cogs can
ice up while riding so that you can't change gears.

Doug
For email, a sense of wonder.

01-11-2004, 09:05 PM

I have a Redline Monocog (i.e. a one speed bike) that I have used quite a bit
this winter. Of course, they lack "high end" speed, but I don't go very fast in
the winter anyway. And the reduced number of parts to foul up seems to be an
advantage. This is my eigth winter of commuting by bike. Though I haven't had
the specific problem you describe, there's no question the salt, grime,
freeze-thaw cycles, snow and ice take a huge toll on the bike.

Doug wrote:

> I'm just starting to commute in the winter. Monday was the first day in
> fact. The temps were in the 20's (F) and there was a minor amount of snow on
> the ground. By the time I was half way, my rear derailleur had frozen in
> place. When I got to the office I brought it inside to de-thaw, and at lunch
> time sprayed it with wd40 for the ride home.
>
> This evening I took the cables apart to clean and grease then and found that
> there was water in the cables. I'm guessing that the water froze which
> prevented the derailleur from moving. It's back together and working now,
> but I got to thinking - am I better off leaving the bike outside at the
> office?
>
> Thanks,
> Doug