Ride my racing bike in the rain?
I have a half IM triathlon this weekend, and the weather is supposed to be rainy. Should I ride my racing bike (Scott Plasma) in the rain and forget that I spent $5,000 on it, or should I ride my training bike and not get the racing bike wet.
The racing bike will probably shorten my bike leg by 15 minutes.
If I do ride the racing bike, what can I do afterward to prevent the water from hurting the bike.
Not a poser, just bought the bike earlier this summer and not sure I want to take it out in bad weather.
i only have a $2000 mountian bike, but after i ride in the rain ill spray critical areas with WD40 2 get the water out. as soon as i can i dry the bike with a rag and regrease everything. if u do that within a a cuple hours everything will b fine.
if i were u, i just woodnt ride in the rain. ive dun MTB races in the rain and its just not worth dealing with all the filth and post-maintainence, but its up 2 u
I would say ride it. I have been riding for 10 years now, and 80% of the time it is raining. I suggest that you lube your bike with a silicone based lubricant, and then after the race wash it and wipe it dry paying attention to every little detail, then relube using silicone based lubricant and your bike will be fine.
ride the trainer. the extra 15 min will do you good, and your racer will be ready for race-day.
Are you serious? Anyone with your type of experience will know the answer to that question. Are you some kind of poser or what? Right on Boomer!
OK, still got that new car feel to it then? I whole heartily agree with what others are saying about cleaning it afterwards. You will be in recovery mode so you might not be too interested it wiping your bike down after the race. Have one of your support people handle it. OR you can use WD40 as a cleaning agent ONLY. It does work well for displacing water, that’s what it was designed for. That’s all you want to do right now, displace the water. Ensure its wiped away shortly after. Some are suggesting to use extra oil on the bike, yes but not too much. The night before the race, just oil as you would normally don’t over oil your chain. (common mistake) Use specific type of oil for inclement weather. Good luck on the race don’t worry about the bike it wont melt. Hammer It!
Dru, please explain how WD-40 used as stated above will ruin this bike……please explain, lets not bother with how it will collect dirt or dry out seals, stick to the facts as stated above. I agree with most of what you said.
It’s a racing bike, not a candy cane. It’s meant to get wet.
Then dry it off and hit it with some lube.
Ride the racer and crush some skulls!
Whichever bike you ride, the answers the same: riding in the rain is not the problem. The problem is knowing the right way to clean and lube a bike.
Hint: WD40 is not the answer. Google for “how to wash a bicycle”
Go ride in whatever weather, then after you get home, within 24 hours, wash your bike the right way, and lube it the right way.
Good luck.
Riding in the rain will not likley hurt any part of your bike at all. I take my bmx bike to races on my roof rack and it gets wet all the time and I have never had a problem with rust or water getting in the bearings. Most parts now adays are made from stainless steele or aluminum and neither rust. Most bikes have seals over all the bearing areas so that water does not get inside. You can spray some of parts with wd-40 but I dont recomend it. I usually use a chain lube because it does not break down as easy and does not collect dirt the way wd-40 does. Use your race bike and kick butt!
I could understand if you were afraid to race the bike because of the fear of wrecking when someone spills in front of you. But to be afraid because of rain is ridiculus. If you don’t want to spend the time cleaning it after a training ride I can understand but why buy the bike if your not going to use it.
If your swimming in salt water for the tri I’d be more worried about the water from the swim damaging the bike than I would about the rain.
Afterwards dry the bike completely and reapply a good lubricant, Tri Flow, White Lightning ect to the chain, cables and such. Don’t worry about the bottom bracket or anything if you spent that kind of money on the bike I’m assuming you’ve got good campy or shimano components on it with sealed bearings. After the season of racing specially tris I’d take the bike in and have it overhauled for a complete cleaning but I wouldn’t worry about that in season.
No matter what DO NOT USE WD-40, there are better cleaning and degreasing agents out there that will not ruin your bike the way WD-40 will.
you bought your bike to ride hard, not to sit and look pretty on the wall. Learn the basics of maintanance and your bike can last a lifetime even *gasp* if it gets wet from time to time.
Have you ridden the Scott in the rain? Do you know how it handles and corners in the rain? I’d be more worried about that. Scrub off a little speed, feather your brakes and stay outa the paint, bike lanes any paint on the road is slippery when wet,
skin side up and the rubber side down