Winter Maintenance Tips - Riding on the West Coast

Out here on the coast of British Columbia, we’re lucky to essentially have year round riding. Sure, once in a while we get what we consider to be a “big dump” of the fluffy white stuff, but moderate temperatures mean that our trails and roads (and everything in between) tend to run all twelve months of the year. However, winter riding also typically means we’re heading out in extra soggy and chilly conditions. Usually we find more salt on the roadways and more mud and grit on some of our favourite go-to singletrack trail networks, which over time can take its toll on our bikes. We’ve compiled a list of our at-home winter maintenance top tips for keeping your bikes in tip top shape through the wet, cold winter months in the Canadian PNW.

Rinse and Dry Your Bike

No, we aren’t talking about the painstakingly long and detailed bubble baths we’ve all given our bikes before (although our bikes could definitely use a couple of those throughout the winter). We’re just talking about giving your bike a rinse with clean water. That’s it! Bikes are comprised of many intricate components, with lots of opportunity for salt and grit particles to make their way into small crevices. By giving your bike a quick rinse with the hose after your mucky, salty rides, you can reduce wear on all of those pivoting and cranking points. Avoid blasting your bearing systems with high pressure water as this can lead to premature wear. Keep the spray light and quickly move over these areas. Bearing systems include your bottom bracket, headset, hubs, and frame pivots on full suspension bikes.

After rinsing your bike clean of road salt or mud (or both!) it is equally important to dry it off. As you’ll see in tip #3, certain components of our bikes are more prone to rusting, which can in turn lead to faster deterioration of these parts.

Bike Storage

In an ideal world, we would have a room dedicated just to all of our bikes…right? Of course this isn’t the reality for most of us, and we have to come up with some creative solutions to maximize our storage options. When it comes to storing our bikes during the winter months though, we do have some tips for keeping your bike running smoothly.

If you have do the space, we recommend not hanging your bike by its front wheel for storage, and to store it with both wheels on the ground. The hanging storage method can cause air bubbles in your brake line to move from the reservoir to the brake line, which can result in an inconsistent, vague, and “pumping-up” feeling brake which all lead to inefficient braking. If you do need to hang your bike up for storage, try to avoid engaging the brake lever while placing your bike on and off of the wall hook. If there are air bubbles trapped in your brakes, this can help to keep those air bubbles in the lever reservoir rather than allowing them to travel into the line, which again, is what causes our brakes to start to feel spongy. If they do feel spongy after bringing your bike down, pump your brake levers in quick succession while jiggling the brake line to get them feeling back to normal (this issue is more common with low-viscosity mineral oil brake systems; for example, Shimano).

Our number one recommendation to avoid squishy brakes? Get a fresh brake bleed before the onset of the cooler months, and avoid having those air bubbles in your brake lines altogether.

Another tip for bike storage during the cooler months, is to find a warm, dry location. Inside your house or a water-tight, insulated shed are great options. Keeping your bike out of a high moisture environment will keep your steel-based components from rusting, and as a result, increasing their lifespan. The warmer temp will also help dry out any parts that may have been missed in that post-rinse drying process, and prevent any moisture from settling in.

Lube Your Chain

Most chains for bike drivetrains are made out of steel. While this means that chains can be produced for a lower cost and provide durability, it also means that they are incredibly prone to rusting. Higher quality chains will often have an anti-corrosive coating/treatment on them, but even this can wear off eventually. One easy way to increase the lifespan of your chain AND your entire drivetrain, is to lube it after every ride. We do want to be lubing our chains year-round, but it is especially important during the winter months as the increase in precipitation means that our chains are more likely to rust. This corrosion can lead to a shorter chain life, as well as increases the friction between the chain and the cassette and chain ring, causing damage to the entire drivetrain at a faster rate. 

After you’ve given your bike a rinse and dry, drop some wet chain lube on the chain as you run the pedals backwards a few times, and give the remaining residue a wipe with a clean cloth. If you don’t have access to a hose or water source, replace the rinse with running the chain through a clean cloth to wipe away some of the dirt before completing the rest of the process. Every 5-10 rides your bike chain deserves a real cleaning. Investing in a good chain cleaner and some degreaser is a great way to extend the life of your hard working chain. This will also prevent the inevitable mixture of dirt and thick wet chain lube from building up on your drivetrain, especially your derailleur jockey wheels!

“Boost” Your Seat Post and Suspension

For the all-weather mountain bikers out there, we definitely have to consider the havoc that the tiny, gritty dirt particles may be wreaking on our dust seals and stanchions of our bicycle’s suspension. One way that we like to help clean the dirt out is to give them a boost. When we say “boost”, we’re talking about Whistler Performance Lubricants’s Forkboost Lube. WPL is a local company that makes biodegradable performance bike lubricants, and we love how smooth and lubricated our suspension feels after using the Forkboost Lube. 

We just put a dab on a finger, rub it around the stanchions above the seals, cycle the suspension a few times, and wipe off the access with a clean cloth or piece of shop towel. The product will grab dust and dirt from beneath the dust wipers and drag the gunk out onto the stanchion where it can be wiped away. If done regularly it will prevent contaminants from migrating into the oil residing in your lowers or air-can. If your bike has a hydraulic seat post, you can also give it a clean the exact same way.

(A bonus is that we carry WPL products in our shop! If you’re interested in purchasing Forkboost Lube, ask about it when making your next booking).

We completely understand that not all of these are feasible options for everyone out there - but we think if you can give your bike some TLC by doing at least two or three of these easy, at-home maintenance tips on a regular basis, your bike (and your mechanic) will be thanking you.

Ready for your pre-season tune-up? Nomadic Mechanic will come to you! Find out more info and make a booking here.