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In today’s send I’m going to talk about getting your bike to and from the trailhead in winter. I’m also going to talk about how to clean your bike without destroying any bearings.

Also, based on some inquiries, I’m now offering Bike Consultations, you can find more information about it here.

Should Your Bike Be in Your Car or On Your Car When Transporting It in the Winter?

As with most of the subject I talk about, the answer to this question will depend on where you live. If you live in a place that doesn’t get too cold during the winter, you can keep the bike on the back or top of the car with little worry. If you are like me, and you live in a place where snow, ice and road salt are common this is something that will be a concern of yours. This is especially true if you use a hitch mounted rack. With a roof rack, you should be fine with the bike on top most days.

I love my hitch rack, and I wouldn’t give it up for anything else. That said, it’s not the best solution for the winter. The back wheels of the vehicle will kick up snow, slush, ice, and salt or other chemicals used to treat roads, and they end up all over your bike. All of those things are terrible for your bike, but if you want to ride in the winter you’ll need to deal with this.

There are a few different options here. The most simple solution is to put the bike in the car. Depending on what you drive, this is easier said than done. You might have to take one or both wheels off, and you can get dirt and/or grease on your car seats etc. The next option is to use a roof rack during the winter. This is an expensive option, and roof racks aren’t great. They can be difficult to load if you are vertically challenged or you have a large vehicle. They are also noisy, and they can reduce your miles per gallon. The last and probably best option is to keep snow and salt off with a single bike cover, double bike cover, or rotor cover. 

Full disclosure here: I have only used the Muc-Off rotor covers linked below, and I have not been super happy with them. The plastic backing can get brittle and crack when it’s cold. The velcro holding the two halves together is starting to give out. The BiKase rotor covers linked above address these two issues with a different design. The single cover might let salty water through the material. At a minimum it should help. The double cover looks the best option for the full bike protection.

Bike I’m Eyeing: Reichmann's Senduro

Maintenance Files: How to Clean Your Bike without Damaging Any Bearings

You just purchased a new bike, and you go it dirty on it’s first proper trail ride. You might be thinking that you want to keep your new bike clean, so you are going to hose it off. That’s not a good idea. The hose or even worse, a pressure washer, will get dirt and grit in places you don’t want it, and it will remove grease from places where you want it. The only place you will want to use a hose is to fill up a bucket with soapy water.

On my bikes I have grease on the pedal spindles, crank bolts. front a rear axle threads, bottom bracket threads etc. You get the point that there are a lot of places you want the grease. You want the grease there, so those things are easier to remove when that time comes. Frequent washing with a hose washes all that grease away. Without grease there the bolts could get seized. Seized bolts are really bad. There can be difficult to impossible to fix, and they will cost you money in the form of labor and/or parts.

Bearings are similar to other places with grease. First I should explain the difference between loose ball bearings and sealed cartridge bearings. Loose ball bearings are exactly like they sound. It’s loose metal balls on a race that’s packed with grease. These are mostly seen on older or lower priced bikes. Loose bearings are more prone to pitting and corrosion. Cartridge bearings have the balls, race, grease etc. in a cartridge with a membrane to keep contaminates out. See below.

All bearings are happier when they have just grease surrounding them. Contaminates or lack of grease can lead to pitting and corrosion. Pitted bearings don’t spin smoothly in their race anymore causing more friction when riding. If a bearing gets really bad it can just come apart. I had sealed cartridge bottom bracket ball bearings end up falling out when I removed a bottom bracket. Before that the bike sounded and felt terrible.

Now to the actual fun part, cleaning the bike. A good cleaning kit is a good place to start. Otherwise you will want a bucket, brushes, cleaner, rag, and a towel to dry it off. The first step is to clean off any caked on dirt or mud with a rag. This will make the whole process easier. Once that’s done you will want to move onto the bike cleaning spray or sponge with soapy water. Go over the whole bike(wheels, frame, fork, and drivetrain) to clean off anything that you didin’t get with the rag. Using bike cleaner alone is a great option for the colder months, so you aren’t messing with a bucket. Spray on, wipe off, and repeat as needed. The brushes are great for getting into tight spaces, and for cleaning the cranks, derailleur and cassette. When cleaning with bike cleaner or soapy water you don’t need to worry about getting anything on the brake rotors and brake pads. If you decide to use a bike polish when you are done be very careful to not get any on the brake calipers or rotors. Polish will contaminated the pads. It’s best to spray it on a rag first, and then apply it to the bike. Once everthing is done, be sure to lube your chain.

Did you miss some of the previous Maintenance issues? Here are some of the most popular ones:

• Keeping Your Drivetrain Clean

• Maintaining Your Tires

• How to Do a Quick Lever Bleed

What am I reading?

My favorite stuff: Holiday Gift Guide Editon

The recommendations below include affiliate links, if you make a purchase I’ll receive a very small commission.

Video of the week

Just getting started

This is a pretty cool look into the Norco pro team, and what they go through during a season.