Cycle fitness

June 24, 2007 12:24 PM

How can my push-bike stay healthy if stored outdoors?

About 6 months ago I spent UK£400 on a new city bike (mountain hybrid type pedal cycle). It's pretty spiffy, but already I've noticed some of the alan-key bolt heads have started rusting. I've also moved to a smaller flat, and will have to store the poor thing outdoors. Here in the UK that means rain and cold (with approximately 3 weeks of scorching sun toward the end of August, if we're lucky). I did recently buy one of those big plastic tarpaulin bags for it (called "bike pyjamas" I was delighted to find), but it's surprisingly ungainly and time-consuming to bag a bike. Plus it then makes locking the thing tricky, and anyway although it will keep off the worst of the rain the damp and cold will still get to the precious exposed metals.

So what to do? Are there greases or oils specifically for this task? I'll get it cleaned and greased, but that's only the moving parts. Is there a way of better weather-proofing the whole thing? It's a fairly standard beastie, with hub-brakes and triggre gear-shifts.

posted by ajp to sports, hobbies, & recreation (4 comments total)

Um yeah, "trigger" not "triggre".
posted by ajp at 12:25 PM on June 24, 2007

Did you manage to get hub gears to go with the hub brakes? If so (alongside suiting the demands of all but the most hilly of cities really well) they're enclosed from the elements, so when combined with a chain guard you wouldn't really need to worry about that whole area of the bike.
posted by dance at 1:33 PM on June 24, 2007

If you absolutely can't find a way to bring it indoors and stash/prop/hang it out of the way...

There's chain lubes that are intended for wet conditions. Keep all moving parts clean (use something like WD-40 to clean and remove surface rust) and well lubricated. That includes the lubing the cables to prevent them from rusting inside.

Wax the frame and other non-moving parts every so often. This will help resist moisture and seal any exposed chips in the paint. Furniture polish like Pledge can be used for a quick wipe-down.

I've never tried this, but for exposed allen-key bolt heads you might be able to protect them with some clear silicone caulking. It should remove easily enough if you need to adjust the bolt.

Accept that parts are going to rust and wear. Replace them as necessary.
posted by hungrysquirrels at 1:51 PM on June 24, 2007

Argh, WD40 is hell for a bike. It may clean up rust but it will then attract dirt like no other, which in turns wears down any moving parts far more quickly. I'd also agree that when a bike is outside all the time, it will age more quickly than not - even covered, you'll be exposed to humidity and other ambient water sources. Cleaning and lubing more often is your best defense.

If you do use WD40, make sure to then remove as much of it as possible and re-lube with an appropriate dirt-shedding lubricant. Tri-Flow is not a bad all-conditions lube that should both remove any surface rust and repel future water, for example.
posted by kcm at 2:43 PM on June 24, 2007