We received 3" of snow on Sunday morning. The roads are mostly clear, but this evening the sun and salt melted roads re-froze as the temp dropped below 20.
My rear derailleur froze today - the brifter lever would move, but the derailleur would not move. I was able to wiggle it free and when I got home I sprayed WD-40 in the joints. Has anyone had that problem before?
Happy riding!
7 comments:
Years ago I had that problem. The fix. I moved further south.
I still have the problem but it's caused by rust and mud.
Ha ha, that is a good solution!
Haven't had a derailleur freeze. Do you think there was ice on it, or maybe the lube just gave up? Did you use the WD-40 to free up the parts, and then lube with something else, or is it the primary lube WD-40 isn't really good for these kinds of things, it's too thin and won't last long.
If there was ice, I'd guess you splashed something on it during your ride, which then froze. Not sure.
Watch out for that re-freezing. I never have a problem with fresh snow, but once it melts and re-freezes, things get ugly! Speaking of which, I'm about to head to work, and the bike path is likely to be a block of ice. Ugh.
I, too, found a solution to the frozen drailleur dilemma: Fixed Gear. I don't even have to worry about the brakes icing up!
I second Apertome on the lube. Use WD-40 to clean things, then lube with a Teflon-based lube and you should have pretty good luck.
Unfortunately, if the derailleur is getting coated with slush, which then freezes, there just isn't much you can do other than chip it off, periodically, as you ride. (Run-on Sentences R Us)
Thanks Michael and Jon, I figured WD-40 is probably only temporary. On the label it says it displaces water, so temporarily it is ok (I hope).
I'm realizing this winter riding is not the piece of cake that summer riding is. I can see why people ride fixed gear in the winter.
Glad to see you are out there. I second Jon,s idea. That was one of the main reasons I bought a fixed gear. A very good friend of mine commuted year around in Duluth MN. He also worked the night shift and the roads can get a bit dicey at 2AM in the winter, but I digress. I lived with the same problem...I just used an old bike in the winter and lubed and washed a lot. My friend convinced me to go fixed gear. When I finally bought the fixed gear, I made sure it would fit studded tires. This is my first year on it and no troubles so far. Good Luck
rlove2bike - thanks for your input. I have a fixed gear, my old Schwinn LeTour III, but that has sentimental values, so I won't be using that in the salt. I do however, have a Kuwahara I bought for $20 that just might make a good fixed gear for winter riding.
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