Your bike needs more TLC during the winter months, due to wetter, dirtier roads, freezing conditions and grit salt. Here’s how to look after it

You need to clean and lubricate your bike more often in winter. Wet and dirty roads mean a wetter and dirtier bike. Rain and puddles will wash oil and grease off your bike’s exposed moving parts, so that they stiffen up and – particularly when grit salt is involved – begin to rust.

Your commuter bike doesn’t need to be pristine. It should be quiet and efficient, and clean enough that you can spot and fix any problems before they develop into  something worse – something that could leave you stranded at the roadside. Prevention is better than cure. Make sure you have at least the following items: some spray lube; a heavier wet lube that won’t wash off too easily; and a couple brushes, one big and soft, one small and stiff.

If problems arise that you don’t have the tools or skills to fix, book your bike in as soon as possible at your local bike shop. If you turn a blind eye, the problem may escalate and become more expensive to fix. A worn chain, for example, could ruin a whole drivetrain, while worn brake pads can destroy rims or rotors.

Tyres

Punctures are more common in winter as the roads have more potholes and more detritus, ranging from thorns to sharp bits of flint or glass. There’s a good argument for using tougher tyres year round for commuting. Even if you prefer faster, lighter rubber for the other seasons, it’s worth fitting tougher tyres for winter. (Wider and softer also helps, as you’ll get more grip on wet roads and less damage from potholes.)

Whatever tyres you use, inspect them periodically for embedded bits of grit or glass. These can work their way inwards and cause a puncture at a later date. Carefully dig them out with a penknife. While you’re checking your tyres, look for wear or damage. Sooner or later, any tyre will need replacing.

Mudguards

Mudguards don’t just keep you clean: they prevent dirty water spraying over your bike, so it’ll work better for longer. Full-length, frame-fitting mudguards with mudflaps do the best job. They closely cover a large arc of the wheel. One consequence of this is that dirt collects underneath such mudguards, even if you only ever ride on tarmac. On a bike with close clearances, the tyres can end up rubbing on this built-up grime. If that happens, remove the wheels and scrape the mudguards clean.

Mudguard fixings sometimes fail. Brackets that are pop-riveted to the mudguard eventually snap free, leaving the stays unattached to the mudguard. You can make a temporary repair with a cable tie: bore two holes through the mudguard, either side of the unmoored bracket, then use a cable tie to fasten it back in position.

Chain care

Chain care is critical in winter. A wet chain will rust if left unattended. A dirty chain will wear more quickly as dirt and oil combines to make a grinding paste. After any ride in persistent rain, or if your bike has been parked in the rain, use a light spray lube; there are instructions here. Spray lubes displace water but aren’t great for lubrication, so you’ll also need to use wet lube (chain oil). If you’ve ridden on wet, gritted roads, pour hot water over the chain or hose it down first. This removes the salt.

Regularly lubing the chain and wiping off the excess oil with a rag or kitchen roll may keep it clean enough. As a rule of thumb: if you can’t see the letters stamped on the chain links, it’s not clean enough. Scrub it clean, either by hand with brushes or with a chain cleaning device. Then lubricate it.

Drivetrain 

A bike’s drivetrain wears year round; it just wears quicker in winter. Invest in a chain checker (from £10) so that you can periodically check the chain for wear. Once a chain is 0.75% worn, it needs replacing. If you replace the chain promptly, the rest of the drivetrain should be OK for quite a while. If your new chain slips and doesn’t shift properly, you were too late: you’ll need a new cassette, chainrings and derailleur jockey wheels as well.

These will need replacing eventually anyway – but hopefully after several chain replacements rather than one. When new and unworn, the drivetrain components have flat-topped teeth that engage precisely with the gaps in the chain. Over time, concave curves cut into the sides of the teeth and they become pointed or hooked.

Brakes

Brake pads wear more quickly in winter so you’ll have to replace them sooner. Keep an eye on the amount of pad material remaining. If it wears down too far you’ll be braking with metal on metal, which will damage rotors or rims. Rim brake pads sometimes make a grinding sound like this even when there’s lots of pad material left. It’s caused by grit becoming embedded in the pad. Prise this out with a penknife.

Hydraulic brakes generally work fine in British winters but steel brake cables sometimes seize. This usually happens if the cable turns upward to meet the brake calliper – as it does with a chainstay mounted disc brake or a rear rim brake that’s fitted to a step-through frame. Moisture can get into the cable housing and freeze so the brake won’t operate. You can help prevent this by periodically putting a drop of oil on the brake cable where it enters the housing, then working the brake on and off.

Lights and reflectors

Long nights and gloomy winter days make lights more important than ever. At the risk of stating the obvious, make sure they’re charged and working before you need them not when you need them.

Lights and reflectors get dirty easily, reducing their visibility. Don’t forget to include them in your bike cleaning routine. A wipe with a damp cloth is usually enough. 

Headset

If your commuter bike doesn’t have proper mudguards (seriously?), water and dirt may get sprayed off the tyre into the lower headset bearing. This will shorten its life. If the steering feels notchy, or if it’s too loose or too stiff and the usual adjustments don’t fix the problem, you’ll need to do one of two things: clean and re-grease the headset bearings and races; or fit new ones. (This may be a job for the bike shop.)

Tool kit

Punctures and other mechanical problems are more common in winter – and they’re more unpleasant due to the weather. To get rolling again with the minimum of fuss, you need to have the right tools and spares with you. It’s easy to become blasé about this. Maybe you think you’ve got a spare innertube but actually you used it months ago? Maybe your mini pump, which you haven’t used since last winter, has now seized solid? Maybe you’ve put your multitool somewhere else? Check your bike bag essentials. You don’t need to do this frequently, just often enough that you’re ready for whatever winter throws at you on your commute.