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I’ve been doing a bit of (non e-bike) riding in poor weather of late, and it’s really surprising just how wet and dirty everything gets. After a wet road ride,
by lostlogin 2y ago
I’ve been doing a bit of (non e-bike) riding in poor weather of late, and it’s really surprising just how wet and dirty everything gets. After a wet road ride, every surface is covered in black, greasy dirt. It rots fabric, makes grinding paste in mechanical parts and generally makes everything worse. You need really good seals to keep that crap out.
- discreteevent 2y agoDo you have full mudguards/fenders?
- lostlogin 2y agoNo, and this would help. While it’s commuting, I’m taking a route 3-4x longer than I need and picking off PRs. The fender helped a little, but was also finicky and I didn’t get a lot of value from it. Your point is correct - some better gear would help.
- pastage 2y agoFenders needs to be big and cover all the way down to the ground back and front. Small fenders help with the worst, but good fenders are really worth it.
- DANmode 2y agoTo this point, and especially for certain classes of bikes (fat tire ebikes, for example), not selling it full-fendered is just an insult to your customer.
- vr46 2y agoAs a biker, cyclist, skater, and ebiker, I’ve settled about various wax-like sprays to keep crap off and out. ACF-50 for the motorbike, various protective wax sprays for the bicycles, Vaseline for skate bearings.
- etrautmann 2y agoAny brands for the bike sprays?
- andrewshadura 2y agoCyclon, for example
- vr46 2y agoSure, the one I use right now is a German spray: https://www.weicon.de/en/corro-protection-wax-like-corrosion-protection-for-preservation/10053034 https://www.weicon.de/en/corro-protection-wax-like-corrosion... YMMV
- LeifCarrotson 2y agoBoeshield T9
- andrewshadura 2y agoUse mudguards, chain guard and coat guards.
- lostlogin 2y agoAny recommendations? I had guards and found they rattled, slowed me and were less effective than what I wanted.
- simfree 2y agoThe guards aren't properly mounted (or perhaps lack sufficient rigidity & mounting points) if they are rattling and rubbing. It's worth it to invest in good guards to keep the mud off your bike!
- tchvil 2y agoThis one is cheap and light and works great on various bikes but on a 29er: https://a.aliexpress.com/_Eu2mwYj https://a.aliexpress.com/_Eu2mwYj
- analog31 2y agoLink is broken, but my curiosity is piqued.
- _whiteCaps_ 2y agoLink worked for me, the item description is "Rrskit Bicycle Fender Ultra Light Foldable Bicycle Mudguard"
- wiredfool 2y agoHonjo or Velo Orange. Aluminum, come in a bunch of sizes, depending on the frame/tires you’re using. You still might need additional mudflaps on the front to keep the spray off the bottom bracket and rear for others rig is with you.
- andrewshadura 2y ago
- ohples 2y agoThis is one reason I wish belt drives where more common.
- Loughla 2y agoI feel like oil and those sorts of things would be even worse on a belt?
- kibwen 2y agoIt's not hard to find e-bikes with belt drives. Honestly, I think they'll take over the e-bikes market within 10 years or so (I think there are still some outstanding patents?). More expensive and slightly less efficient than a chain, but both of those are probably negligible for the context of e-bikes, and in exchange you never get grease on your pant leg, you never need to lube anything, you never need to worry about a derailleur needing to have its gears realigned or having the chain jump out (of course you could have an internally-geared chain bike).
- jseliger 2y agoProbably the most interesting, cost-effective one I know of: https://lectricebikes.com/products/lectric-one-ebike https://lectricebikes.com/products/lectric-one-ebike
- haiku2077 2y agoI have a lectric and the build quality is terrible. Had to deal with: - a bent frame out of the box - a recall due to defective brakes - lights not secured properly - loose fender after less than 100km - a derailleur that refuses to allow use of all gears- no matter how adjusted it is unable to use either the lowest or highest
- tacticalturtle 2y agoI never see them in the US outside of city bike share programs, but I feel like most casual bike users would be better served by internal gear hubs and similar closed systems. The maintenance is minimal, outside of dropping some oil in every year. But for some reason, every bike in a bike shop, including the most casual upright bike, has a finicky derailleur. So instead we’re doomed to a life of misaligned derailleurs and bent derailleur hangers.
- lostlogin 2y agoI mostly agree - it’s just that every flat I ever got was the read wheel and it’s was a complete nightmare keeping the chain tension right. When it was working, it was a thing of beauty.
- Etheryte 2y agoYou're glossing over the fact that internal gear hub transmissions easily cost in the hundreds, whereas you can get a derailleur for a tenner or so. I've owned a number of bikes in my life and all of them have been cheaper than the transmission you suggest everyone should use.
- adgjlsfhk1 2y agoThat's kind of true, but it isn't the right comparison. The gear hub isn't just a replacement for the derailleur, but also all your gears, and has a simpler axle. The IGH is still a bit more expensive (~$200 vs $80 for a not completely bottom of the line derailleur based system), but it also requires a lot less maintenance to keep working well.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- mikhailfranco 2y agoThe black greasy dirt is an emulsion of worn tyre particles, sandy powdered dirt and maybe a little spilt fuel. It's probably toxic - the pollution from tyre wear is underestimated.
- teruakohatu 2y agoThere is also a lot of metal (random pieces along with nails and screws) and glass on roads. It seems roading contractors here are obligated to pour a box of screws onto the road before they move onto the next job.
- mikhailfranco 2y agoP.S. ... and brake, clutch particles too: https://theconversation.com/air-pollution-from-brake-dust-may-be-as-harmful-as-diesel-exhaust-on-immune-cells-new-study-129594 https://theconversation.com/air-pollution-from-brake-dust-ma... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4315878/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4315878/
- kylebenzle 2y agoIn the tire industry we are well aware that carbon and pollution from grinding synthetic rubber into dust all day everyday is a HUGE problem, that is why we spend millions on promoting "green" rubber and natural products that we don't actually use but make a big deal about to distract people. The biggest problem for tire companies is keeping the truth quiet about how we are on of the largest polluters.
- c0nsumer 2y ago(Note, I don't have an eBike.) Friends will sometimes give me crap for not riding in poor weather, but whether it's mountain bike, road, or gravel, riding in wet/muddy conditions just result in so much work. The bike itself gets really dirty, it gets into EVERYTHING. Wear on brake pads and drivetrain are accelerated. Stuff doesn't work right. Post-ride it requires so much cleanup that it can take just as long as the ride did. Sure, I'll get caught out sometimes, but I really don't like starting out in poor conditions because it's just so much work to get things back to right and can potentially cost quite a bit. I'll usually just skip riding these days.
- infecto 2y agoNot to joke too hard but how long do you ride usually? To me a solid post ride cleanup takes 10mins tops. Thousands of miles on my dirty moutain bike and stuff still works right. Sure I replace parts that wear but seems insignificant.
- jorvi 2y agoYes I am very confused by that statement as well. After rides on muddy trails I just hose my bike down, pat the metal parts dry and apply grease to relevant parts. Any city bike worth its salt will have a chain case and long inverted U-shaped fenders that will redirect dirty spray away from you. You won’t get off completely clean but maybe 99% clean? Maybe OP just has really cheap bikes.
- c0nsumer 2y agoNope, I'm talking about riding fairly high end gravel bikes on Southeast Michigan (US) dirt roads on which the surface has been treated with a chloride spray which acts as a binder and water repellent for the road surface. The treatment keeps light rain from saturating the road surface, which keeps the road nice for longer. If it's been wet enough for the surface to get soft and sloppy, once this flings up on a bike it dries hard. This material requires a solid soaking on the bike to get it to soften before it can be cleaned off, and it also is highly corrosive to metal due to the salt content. (Unless it's had time to soak in water runs off of it.) So it takes a fair bit of time and effort, and it's pretty much required that, you get it off of all metal parts including chain, cassette, rotors, bolts, etc. Depending on the ride I've also had to pull the fork because enough has flung up into the lower headset bearing that it'll be problematic if left alone. By design it doesn't just rinse off, so time and a lot of water and a brush with soap (typically dish soap) and a rag is needed to get it clean and back to a sane state. And sometimes disassembly.
- blindstitch 2y agoAfter a ride in foul weather I pour a kettle of boiling water on the drivetrain, brakes, and rims, let it dry off inside, then re-lubricate. Always works like a charm.