Jump to content

Riding and saltwater


Hoffers

Recommended Posts

We often go down to the coast and ive seen many riders on fat bikes sending it along the beach sand. It looks great fun and adds another dimension to being in the sun and sand etc.

Whats the deal with the salt, sand etc getting into your components, bearings and causing havoc? Is a simple rinse with fresh water after your ride enough to halter the damage or are there preventative measures that need to be taken to avoid this kind of damage?

Would appreciate feedback, Go!

 

Hoffers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't do it with your pride and joy!

 

Just don't

 

Buy a second cheaper bike - you don't need high spec for the beach and enjoy!

No suspension needed just 2.5 inch tyres.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What Porqui said, we ride the wild coast a lot at times, and there riding along the beach, and swimming rivers can be unavoidable, so long as you take reasonable care (thorough wash) of your bike after each day and then strip the bike and flush  the bike out after you get home, it should be okay :whistling:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Buy a cheap hardtail bike, strip and rebuild all bearings and moving parts with marine grease obtainable from boat shops. Stay out of the sea water. Try to time your rides for spring low tides as this gives the hardest sand to ride on. Rinse with fresh water and regrease often. Recycle your used components from your 'nice' bike through your beach bike till destruction.

 

Try to use grease or Copaslip on all threads (especially pedals) to aid removal. Try to avoid dissimilar metals in contact where you can. E.g. alloy chain ring bolts for alloy chainrings, or use lots of marine grease where not possible.

 

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Edited by JXV
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

We do alot of riding up the West Coast doing route recce's for the Weskus Fatbike Adventure.

 

Normal or + size tyres are fine for riding shallow slope beaches like Blouberg, Melkbos, Muizenberg etc at low tide. For anything else you will need a fatbike with at least 3.8" tyres.

 

As a general rule try avoid riding in the water, however that said if you have a decent quality alloy fatbike with Deore upwards components you need do very little extra in terms of maintainance/preparation. We make sure thru axles are greased and run chains with as little lube as possible as sand sticks to anything you put on a chain. Best results so far have been using a light machine oil with all excess wiped off. We also treat our bikes with Namgear Bike Polish which leaves a protective coat on the bikes and can even be sprayed on disc brakes without negatively affecting braking.

 

Post ride:

 

Remove wheels and wash thoroughly with bike wash/Pink Stuff/Clean Green and hose down. Dry and apply Namgear Bike Polish. If you don't want to use the bike polish lightly spray some WD40 on all moving parts and wipe down.

 

After 18 months of regular beach rides bikes are still running smooth and no signs of corrosion.

 

Exploring the coastline on a fatbike is a truly amazing experience and would reccomend every cyclist try it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Settings My Forum Content My Followed Content Forum Settings Ad Messages My Ads My Favourites My Saved Alerts My Pay Deals Help Logout