3 ms·

Did you have to do anything special when maintaining your bike? E.g. last time in did winter biking (in Pittsburgh, so not nearly as crazy as you, maybe 10 F /

by cfallin 11y ago

Did you have to do anything special when maintaining your bike? E.g. last time in did winter biking (in Pittsburgh, so not nearly as crazy as you, maybe 10 F / -12 C) the ratchet mechanism in the freehub would often skip and I'd find myself spinning pedals. I'm guessing you did something about the grease/lubricant in your case?

gkop 11y ago
When winter biking in Pittsburgh, I found the road "salt" rapidly corroded everything it touched on the bike, except my aluminum frame. Perhaps the road salt screwed up your freewheel moreso than the cold.
- cfallin 11y ago
  Possibly, though it got better with warmer weather, so my first guess was grease viscosity. shrug I hear you on road salt though. I had to be pretty religious about oiling my chain to keep it happy and unrusted.
  - mikestew 11y ago
    Viscosity is a good guess. Whereas the grease will normally flow well enough to let the ratchet teeth settle into their spots and turn the wheel, in cold weather the lubricant can thicken enough to fill in the notches and the the teeth just slide right over the thick lubricant and don't grip anything. Meaning you freewheel both directions, similar to what you mention. Maybe if parent is tough enough to ride in Whitehorse in the winter, they're tough enough for a fixie. :-) (Whitehorse proper isn't all that hilly.)
grecy 11y ago
> Did you have to do anything special when maintaining your bike? I didn't, but I probably should have. I would get that freewheel thing too on on really cold days, the trick is to just not stop pedaling, and if you do, stop the bike before you start again. I also installed my own studs every year, which was easy and worked very well. - like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI-fR2tXR_8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI-fR2tXR_8

3 ms·

Did you have to do anything special when maintaining your bike? E.g. last time in did winter biking (in Pittsburgh, so not nearly as crazy as you, maybe 10 F /

by cfallin 11y ago

gkop 11y ago
When winter biking in Pittsburgh, I found the road "salt" rapidly corroded everything it touched on the bike, except my aluminum frame. Perhaps the road salt screwed up your freewheel moreso than the cold.
- cfallin 11y ago
  Possibly, though it got better with warmer weather, so my first guess was grease viscosity. shrug I hear you on road salt though. I had to be pretty religious about oiling my chain to keep it happy and unrusted.
  - mikestew 11y ago
    Viscosity is a good guess. Whereas the grease will normally flow well enough to let the ratchet teeth settle into their spots and turn the wheel, in cold weather the lubricant can thicken enough to fill in the notches and the the teeth just slide right over the thick lubricant and don't grip anything. Meaning you freewheel both directions, similar to what you mention. Maybe if parent is tough enough to ride in Whitehorse in the winter, they're tough enough for a fixie. :-) (Whitehorse proper isn't all that hilly.)
grecy 11y ago
> Did you have to do anything special when maintaining your bike? I didn't, but I probably should have. I would get that freewheel thing too on on really cold days, the trick is to just not stop pedaling, and if you do, stop the bike before you start again. I also installed my own studs every year, which was easy and worked very well. - like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI-fR2tXR_8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI-fR2tXR_8