Over haul / rain bike question...

[shinomaster]

I am needing to put together a "rain bike" for winter riding here in Oregon. I don't want to trash my record parts on my cannondale.
In my closet I have, among other things, a Serotta Atlanta frame and some almost pristine chorus 10 speed parts which adorned the frame before being so rudely stripped, so the frame could go back to the Empire State for an "inspection."
These parts seem too nice to wreck also. But I am wondering what really happens to parts from rain riding. I know the rims will wear, the hubs will get messed up and the BB may get trashed, but what about the derailleurs, and ergopower? Will they get damaged? I know the brakes and cranks will last for ever.
I'm thinking of getting some super cheap 105 9 speed parts to use ( all I need are sti, derailleurs and a chain ad cassette) That just seems too expensive.
Should I just ride the chorus stuff and replace what wears out? THE price will probably come to be equal in the end. I just always feel guilty using good stuff in the rain .
Am I the only one who worries about this stuff? :confused:
ARe my writing skills improving?

[vaxn8r]

I use Record components on my rain bike. Not on purpose but the entire bike got demoted, so to speak, so the parts stayed. Yeah, I think they take far more wear and tear but I like feeling that I am getting my money out of them. I have a bunch of Ultegra 9 parts from my Atlanta that I recently sold. If you want them talk to me. Shifters, brakes, fd, rd, crank, but no bb. I also have SP, seat, stem and bars.

BTW, if you take care of your hubs they will be fine. The rims do wear down faster. Funny, but I can't seem to wear out my bb's and they aren't even Phil's, just cheap old Ultegra (I really don't get $200 bb's).

[gasman]

My demoted to rain bike Ultegra gruppo doesn't seem to be wearing out any faster in the rain. The rims are and the brake pads go more quickly but the hubs and BB seem to be fine. I do strip the whole bike down at the end of the rainy season-like July. I also rinse off the bike and dry it after every ride in the rain finished with a chain lube. No problems after many seasons in the rain.

[bcm119]

My philosophy is this: riding in the rain is bad enough, but riding a crappy bike in the rain is even worse. Ride something nice and it might get you out there a little more often, and don't worry about the wear... replacing a few components is cheaper than buying a whole new 105 gruppo.

[shinomaster]

True...but my silver chorus parts are so nice and pretty...and they don't make them anymore..boo hoo..

[cs124]

You're right, that Chorus is too pretty to trash on a rain bike.

I'd get the 105 (or an ebay mirage/veloce/daytona deal), ride it in the rain, look after it just like Gasman described and not feel the least bit guilty.

Actually, that's what I would have done 5 years ago...now if it's raining I'll sleep in and then take Jnr out for babycino and pancakes. :p

[shaq-d]

rain doesn't do anything to aluminum parts... that said i use crappy parts (or rather, high quality cheap parts) for my rain bike. :)

sd

[Too Tall]

Perfect situation for a single speed.

[72gmc]

Why spend any moment on the bike, even a rainy slime-covered moment, with something you consider a compromise?

I've ridden Centaur year-round in Seattle for three years now. Never a problem with the brifters, brakes... anything really. I just wipe down the bike when I get home, clean the drivetrain once a week, and once a month or so spend a little alone time with the bike, the radio, and some waterproof grease for the jockey wheels, bolts, etc. Hubs get serviced every 6 months.

If you haven't already, consider having fender eyelets put on your Atlanta. Huge difference over raceblades.

[coylifut]

chains, cogs, rings, pads and rims. that's what you'll go through. your shifters and everything else should have a normal life.

see you out on the road

[Hysbrian]

and you will go through the 105 stuff twice as fast if you ride it in the rain...ride the campy, you know its the right thing to do....stay away from the shimaNO

[pdxmech13]

shino, use that sweet campy stuff. Your correct about the hubs getting a little water in'em but as long as the adjustment is good and there's a little grease applied once a year you should be fine. The BB that wore out on your cross bike dosn't surprise me do to the quality and just the abuse of cross weather. My recommendation for the great northwest riders is much different than say people in the midwest or east coast. To much salt on the road to ride real nice stuff but heh we could all die tomarrow. Have some fenders installed (real ones) and rider this winter. Worse thing you should be concerned with is putting a purdy dent in the frame from a slip in fall. IMHO

Oh, I think I could put you in touch with an ok mechanic to have that stuff installed by thursday. ;) :beer:

[Ray]

...think about getting them built with ceramic rims. Ceramic rims stop better in the rain and wear forever. Open Pros are (or were?) available in ceramic. Then you're just down to wearing out chainrings and cassettes more quickly, but everything else should be fine.

-Ray

[wasfast]

My rain bike is also Campy, Daytona in this case. I had 2 goals with the rain bike: the fit be a duplicate of my "dry" bike, and that it had Campy so I didn't have to keep making the mental switch from Campy to Shimano when changing bikes.

Drivetrain wise, the main thing I see that is taking the wear is the chain. They're $50 once a year which is nothing IMO. That will help preserve the cassette and chainrings to some extent. I've not noticed anything else (brifters, derailleurs etc) being any different in the rain.

I'm attempting to keep the bike hosed off after slosh-fests as all the grit accumulates to make a fine sandpaper.

I've kept fairly close track of mileage/days on the dry bike vs the rain bike. Surprisingly, it's split right down the middle with 50% of my miles/time on each. This lends even more credence to having a decent rain bike with reasonable components.

[shinomaster]

Perfect situation for a single speed.

I bought a cool steel frame from a phorum member for this exact purpose. I even got some really bright yellow rims to go with it. I just need hubs and some monkey to build me the wheels....That costs $$$$ though....The frame has 126 rear spacing..

I should just ride my junker crosss bike...It even has fender eyelets..

Thanks to all who wrote me back!!
:banana: :banana: