Keeping a road bike running well through a winter

This is the whole routine, and it matters far more than any monthly deep clean:

1. 1

   Step 1: Rinse the salt and grit off

   A watering can or a hose on low pressure. Never a pressure washer at the bearings — it drives water past seals into hubs, bottom bracket and headset, which is how a bike gets destroyed by cleaning rather than by riding.

   You will know it worked when: The corrosive part removed before it dries on.

2. 2

   Step 2: Wipe the chain and re-lube

   A rag along the chain, then wet lube in winter rather than dry — it stays put in rain where dry lube washes off within an hour. Wipe the excess: what is on the outside collects grit, and only what is inside the rollers does any work.

   You will know it worked when: The component that wears fastest, protected.

3. 3

   Step 3: Dry the frame and let it stand

   Particularly around the bottom bracket, the seat clamp and any cable ports. Standing a wet bike in a cold shed for a week is how corrosion starts in places you cannot see.

   You will know it worked when: No water sitting in the places that trap it.

• Wear rates rise sharply — Grit is an abrasive and a wet drivetrain collects it. A chain that lasts a summer can wear out in a couple of wet months, so check chain wear monthly rather than seasonally and expect to replace more often.
• Brake pads and rims go quickly — On rim brakes, wet grit turns the pad into a grinding surface and eats both pad and rim. Check pads for embedded grit and rims for wear. Disc brakes largely remove this problem, which is much of why winter bikes moved to them.
• Mudguards are a maintenance item, not a comfort one — They keep the worst of the road spray off the drivetrain, the bearings and the person behind you. Fitting them is the single cheapest thing that reduces winter wear.
• Tyres want to be wider and tougher — More puncture protection and a little more air volume. Winter roads carry debris that summer roads do not, and the time lost to a slightly slower tyre is trivial next to the time lost at the roadside.
• A second bike is a legitimate answer — Not an indulgence but a maintenance strategy: an older bike with guards and robust wheels takes the winter, and the good one stays clean. Whether it is worth it depends entirely on how much you ride in the wet.