Winter Riding Survival: Protect Your Bike from Salt & Corrosion

Winter roads may be passable for vehicles, but the harsh de-icing agents used can wreak havoc on your bike and its components. In this video, Josh dives into essential tips and tricks to combat winter road treatments' corrosive and abrasive nature, ensuring your bike stays in its best shape through the cold months.

▬▬▬▬ Video Overview ▬▬▬▬

Here’s what you’ll learn:
• The importance of warm water rinses.
• Why cleaning your bike in a warm environment makes all the difference.
• How to increase the intervals for degreasing and re-lubing oil-based lubes for better protection.
• Special care tips for those with waxed drivetrains, including more frequent rinsing and waxing.
• Why a season-start overhaul of bearings and key components is crucial for long-term performance.

Whether you’re commuting, training, or braving the winter roads for the love of cycling, this video is packed with actionable insights to keep your bike running smoothly and operating at its best.

▬▬▬▬ Links & Resources ▬▬▬▬
Synergetic

Secret Chain Blend Hot Wax

Secret Chain Coating Drip Wax

Chain Waxing System

Anti-Seize paste

Also mentioned…

Cómo Limpiar tu Bici en tu Casa (How to clean your bike at Home) with GCN en Espanol

Bike Garage Overhaul-Tips to improve your space - The Ride with Ben Delaney

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Subscribe to the SILCA Velo YouTube Channel: / @silcavelo

▬▬▬▬ ABOUT SILCA ▬▬▬▬
Founded in Milan in 1917 and now based in Indianapolis, SILCA is renowned for its passion for cycling. Led by cycling industry leader, Josh Poertner, the brand has expanded from the iconic SuperPista pump to a full range of high-end cycling tools and gear, collaborating with UCI World Tour teams to enhance cycling performance. SILCA combines tradition with innovation, inspiring cyclists to enjoy both riding and maintenance.

▬▬▬▬▬ Credits ▬▬▬▬▬
Created by SILCA
© SILCA

#SILCA #cycling #winterriding #roadsaltdamage #chainwaxing #bikecare #bikemaintenance

Do you have any questions, tips, or ideas about bike care in the worst of winter riding? Let us know in the comments section below!

[MnBicycleCommuter]

Great info. I spent 14 winters car free in Northern Minnesota. Sand and salt starts with the 1st snowfall usually in late October. It stays on the roads until late April. I developed a routine of bringing the bike back inside daily. Put it in the work stand and doing a full wash. I used a pump spray bottle with warm water. After years of this I had a custom bike built that was impervious to these conditions. Custom stainless steel frame. Gates belt drive and a Rohloff IGH hub for the drivetrain. It laughed at winter conditions. I could ride it all winter and not have to clean it until Spring.

[ryandavies]

I tried the Synergetic + Secret hot melt wax this winter. After 1.5 weeks of commuting, the chain had rusted solid. (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.) I don’t have time to clean and re-wax my commuter bike chain every day, so I’ll go back to oil for winter riding, and just replace the chain more often. It has worked for ten years and will continue to work. Fully converted to wax for three-season riding though!

[galenkehler]

Fenders, fenders, fenders! Seriously, ive wrapped my rear wheel 270⁰ and the front 220⁰, and its a gamechanger, dont even have to clean the chain much anymore.

[TheGinger]

All this corrosion from the ice melt. I'm staying inside on Hang on, sweat is I'll just drink beer and get fat all winter. Wake me up when it gets warm.

[CurdPattysRoll]

please do video overview of that 4-bottle box of degreasers etc. and how you recommend to use them, and their purpose

[ShawnIsBatman]

Great video as always Josh, thank you! Where I am at (Omaha, NE) they have been using brine pre-treatment on the roads to help with keeping the roads clear vs. relying only on the post-event treatments. For those that are in areas that do this, it is not any better for your bike or components as most of the brine treatments are essentially a sodium chloride mixture.

[ctsingletrack]

If you're transporting you bike with your car, I've noticed the worst place for the bike is behind the car on a hitch rack. That area gets absolutely blasted with sand and salt. The roof is a much better place to be if you can't put your bike inside the vehicle.

[ktube]

What about riding on roads that have dried salt on them? Is the salt powder doing anything worth noting? Not riding through like an inch of powder just the residual stuff that is sorta like dust.

[jacobatherton]

Add full fenders if you can and honestly it might be worth downgrading your entire drivetrain for the winter just so you don't have to fully decrease and decontaminate your summer components

[CoolGreyMan]

Good common sense video. I'm from Toronto, I ride quite a lot through the winter, this city has a lot of salt on the roads. The key is to clean your bike, flush out all the crap that gets in there and make sure everything is lubed up. Clean the moving parts and don't forget your bottom bracket. I keep my bikes inside. I do not ride my carbon bike in the winter, my steel and aluminium yes. Sorry to say but I would not buy any Silca products because I don't want to take out a bank loan, what I use for years keeps me going crap free.

[cxbkpmf]

I use several Silca products and all are excellent. I plane to try that ceramic wash on my car.

[ticklefritz]

Love that you said "shit"😉I appreciate your nerding out info, some of us like to go deep. Cool shirt, I want that in a jersy👍

[MandolinIsFun]

I live in the rust belt. Car mechanics say garaged cars do worse than the ones left outside with all the melting, freezing. So if you bring your bike in, clean it. I coat every bearing, nut and bolt with marine grease. After I clean the bike, I put WD40 anywhere that moves EXCEPT if there's a bearing or the chain lol. Put a little WD40 on the spoke nipples. I guess Triflow would be fine but it gets washed off so fast and WD40 just smells better ha! A couple times a winter, spray whatever magic juice you can find (WD40, frame saver, T-9, Fluid Film) down the bottle cage holes and into any hole hole you can find if you have a metal bike. Anything helps. You could just wipe your entire bike with WD40 every time you wash it and you will be 100x better off than nothing. Put a car wax on your bike too if you like it to look nice I guess. Sending your very expensive bike through a muddy ride is no worse than riding in the winter so keep riding the good bikes all year.

[liszt]

For bikes on the indoor trainer with aluminum bars, would it help to ceramic wax the bars before wrapping them? Would love to prevent the corrosion that ate up the last set.

[giulioaceto]

I love your wax, on my road bike I am at 6000k per chain, no measurable wear, but here in Montreal, roads are horribly contaminated with all sorts of crap. I get wax is a better lubricant, but from what I understand, you still want to wash the impurities off the chain and lubricate again every time you have a dirty ride. Have you ever tested wax vs synergetic or other oil based lubes in a situation where you wash your chain every ride(every day in Montreal) and lubricate again? Assuming wax is better, what would be the quantitative disadvantage of using oil lube in a situation like this? Thanks!

[dawn_rider]

Have you ( Silca ) tested how de-icing agents affect single application longevity ? Salt crystals likely will be pressed into the wax and may not be removed with warm water. Before either immersive or drip waxing a chain, I would always clean with boiling water then dry. There will always be cases where people put chains straight into the wax pot or just re-apply drip wax !

[BDalli]

Silca’s drivetrain cleaner is amazing, but my cassette has started to rust after use. How can I prevent this? Would something like Muc-Off’s Bike Protect work well with a waxed chain to prevent rust on components?

[nickkambitis]

Hi Josh, Can I ask if it’s worth stripping the grease from a headset bearing and hot melt waxing the headset? Maybe adding synergetic to make it softer? I’m surprised you haven’t found an alternative.

[latepier]

I've been washing my bike with your bike shampoo every time after each ride and rewaxing with the drip lube as well. I've been afraid of overdoing the washing because I've already had to replace a brand new freehub with less than 200kms on it. Maybe it was a cheap component or bad luck? We have had a ton of snow on our side and I have been a little over excited going out riding my bike regardless of the weather. I ride mostly trails but obviously need to take some roads to get to the trails. Am I doing it right or wrong or too much? What else can I do? Thanks for the informative video!

[onlycoolnameleft]

Seeing how much shit is on my bike after each ride outside I can't imagine not washing it!