Spectrum: In the fourth and final part of our winter check series, we also want to show you a few tips and tricks on how to get yourself and your equipment through the winter as gently as possible. Where is care worthwhile and where not? What should you pay particular attention to?
While a bike and its technology usually remain unaffected by the low temperatures during the winter, something else really affects it: road salt. From the first snow until February, a large part of the German road is a real salt mine. Of course, motorists, pedestrians and cyclists are happy about clear roads, but the road salt puts a lot of strain on the material, especially when it is wet.
Salt water accelerates corrosion, especially on steel. This often affects bicycle frames (if not made of aluminum or carbon), chain, cassette, bearings, brakes - actually everything. It is unavoidable that the city bike comes into contact with salt water over the winter, but with very little care you can still effectively prevent large areas of rust from forming.
Fight the road salt - 3 care tips:
1) Rust thrives when you soak your bike in salt water on the street and then store it in a warm basement. Therefore: After every ride in salt, rinse the bike completely with cold, clear water at home in the basement or in the garage - this also applies if snow and ice are stuck to it.
2) Re-oil drive at regular intervals. Due to the frequent contact with salt water and water in general, the lubrication of the drive suffers considerably over the winter. A poorly oiled chain is noisy, works poorly and increases wear. In winter, you should therefore relubricate the chain after every second ride in the rain or snow. Simply drip any chain oil into an old kitchen towel or similar and pull the chain through. In this way, you can also remove the coarsest dirt directly.
3) If you have a steel frame, you should check it for scratches in the paintwork before the first onset of winter. If rust starts to form in one spot, it can possibly spread under the paint - this affects the frame and the paint suffers considerably. If you don't know whether the frame is made of aluminum or steel, you can easily check this with a magnet. If it's magnetic, it's made of steel. If you discover scratches, you should repair them as soon as possible.
Even if the low temperatures, as mentioned at the beginning, are not a problem for most components, an exception has to be made here: If you ride a padded saddle, you should definitely check it for cracks in the seat before the first frost. If the seat cushion inside gets wet and then freezes, it expands, which often leads to even more cracks appearing - after just a few weeks the saddle is then ready for scrap. If you discover a crack, you can possibly close it with superglue. A piece of well-intentioned advice at the end: Unfortunately, duct tape or other fabric tape does not last long on the saddle - as can be seen from numerous examples.
That should have been it from our side. We wish you a safe trip at all times, come safely through the winter.
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