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    1100 km for a chain in winter.


    I installed a new chain in July and used Bike 7 Pro wax during the warm weather. When winter came, no maintenance was done because it was too cold. Occasionally, wet lube was used. The chain stayed shiny for almost the entire winter, but when temperatures started to rise above 0°C, rust appeared very quickly. You can see in the picture how the chain looked. The Shimano TL-CN42 tool shows that the chain is almost ready for replacement after 1,100 km.

    by Dziambis

    View 19 Comments

    19 Comments

    2. CedarSageAndSilicone on

      I don’t know what you think winter maintenance is supposed to look like. But it’s certainly not this. Do you leave this poor thing outside?

    3. Accomplished-Way1575 on

      It would have lasted longer if ypu had used wet lube. Everything is now rusted and stuck

    4. AGayRattlesnake on

      bro wtf. where do you store it?? i dont take great care of my bike and it looks *way* better than this after 3 years

    5. automator3000 on

      I mean … I’m not someone who really puts much effort into maintenance. Like, I’m a “kick the crud off” and wipe down the chain once a month or so. I don’t baby my bike. But holy hell, that’s a mess.

    6. StrictEase8207 on

      When it’s cold it’s dry air and snow keeps to ground, now that it’s 0 it’s melting and kicking up water and salt and rusting chain. There’s no other option than to lube it up and do it generously and often. If you have to keep it outside with no cover then try to dry it with towel and then quick lube. I store my bicycle outside and it looks not much better. But at least chain is softened up from lubing.

    7. Dry-Fee-6746 on

      Also a winter commuter here and although mine has never been that bad, I get the avoiding maintenance piece.

      At this point, a new chain and new cassette are in order. You don’t need anything fancy as winters and salt are brutal on those parts. Part of winter commuting is accepting that some drivetrain parts will need to be replaced faster because the salt just eats it up.

      I try to take my chain off and soak it for a few hours in degreaser inside at least once a month in the winter. I’ll throw some new lube on it before putting it on to avoid doing to much in the cold.

      Wax is trash in winter. I use tri-flow and it’s fine enough.

    8. U03A6 on

      Salted streets kill bikes. Actually everything made from metal. The best course of action is to rinse it of and keep the bike in warm place – but when that’s not possible it’s one drive train per winter. Been there done that.

    9. WCProductions12 on

      Chain looks too short, you’d snap it in the big-big combo. Not that you want to use that but since your chain looks like thus I can’t be certain.

    10. WCProductions12 on

      Chain looks too short, you’d snap it in the big-big combo. Not that you want to use that but since your chain looks like thus I can’t be certain.

    11. Me_lazy_cathermit on

      You have to do some maintenance in winter, even if its just wiping the chain down with a damp cloth, especially if you are going to leave it outside. It stayed shiny, but it was accumulating salt and calcium, and now that’s its getting warmer that salt is getting wet, and when you mix salt, water and metal, you get rust.

    13. AvocadoPrior1207 on

      It’s hard to avoid the chain being turned into this rust fest whatever lube you put on it. I switched to a belt drive for this reason. The internal gear is not always super reliable when it’s -15 though but it’s a dream in terms of maintenance. I just give it a wash when the garden hose unfreezes but otherwise I do nothing to it. Done around 4000 km on it with pretty much zero maintenance.

    14. bmagsjet on

      You need to clean your chain. Yes even in winter. I got 4000 km out of a chain over two winters. But you need to clean it. Oil it. Take care of it.

    15. larsy87 on

      The hard tail winter bike has no maintenance, it needs no maintenance. New chain and brake pads every year. Always easier than cleaning it when it’s minus a million outside

    19. ZerotoZeroHundred on

      I bike through similar temps, and store mine in a cold garage. Mine looks about the same. I wish someone here had some actual advice. I can’t be pouring water on it at these temps.

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