Derailleur Freeze

Ron Hardin said:

It's snowing, there's water on the road, and the
handy thermometer on the handlebars shows 25
degrees. What does this mean?

It means that water that splashes up freezes your
derailleur.

Sure enough, in a mile, I'm stuck in the lowest
gear after a hill.

You'd think the design would have been fixed by
this time.

I would agree. My trike has had a few issues with the freezing. I
have tried many, many possible "solutions" and, as yet, NONE have
seemed to cure the problem completely. But I do try and look on the
bright side......at least my BRAKES still work!!!!!!

Every time I see an adult on a bicycle.....

....I no longer despair for the human race.

---H.G. Wells---

Ron Hardin said:

It's snowing, there's water on the road, and the
handy thermometer on the handlebars shows 25
degrees. What does this mean?

It means that water that splashes up freezes your
derailleur.

Sure enough, in a mile, I'm stuck in the lowest
gear after a hill.

Put some Parson's Ammonia in a squirt bottle, and spray it on the derailleur
to de-ice it if that happens. Works on slushy rim brakes, too.

--

Kristian Zoerhoff
[email hidden]

"Kristian M Zoerhoff" Put some Parson's Ammonia in a squirt bottle, (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
How about filling your water bottle with alcohol, and running a flexible
plastic tube back, tie-wrapped to a seat stay, so you can give the deraileur
a shot every once in a while? Maybe alcohol mixed with a little oil would
be good.

Leo Lichtman said:

"Kristian M Zoerhoff" Put some Parson's Ammonia in a squirt bottle, (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
How about filling your water bottle with alcohol, and running a flexible
plastic tube back, tie-wrapped to a seat stay, so you can give the deraileur
a shot every once in a while? Maybe alcohol mixed with a little oil would
be good.

I'd rather give the shot to the rider (minus the oil, of course).

In all seriousness, though, that's actually not a bad idea.

--

Kristian Zoerhoff
[email hidden]

Probably the cables not the derailleur is frozen, lube them.

Ron Hardin said:

It's snowing, there's water on the road, and the
handy thermometer on the handlebars shows 25
degrees. What does this mean?

It means that water that splashes up freezes your
derailleur.

Sure enough, in a mile, I'm stuck in the lowest
gear after a hill.

You'd think the design would have been fixed by
this time.

Two fixes:

1) Fixed gear or single speed freewheel.
2) Internal hub gear, e.g. Sturmey-Archer, Torpedo, etc.

Both have been around since forever and are perennially popular with
off-season riders.

--

John ([email hidden])

Kristian M Zoerhoff said:

Put some Parson's Ammonia in a squirt bottle, and spray it on the derailleur
to de-ice it if that happens. Works on slushy rim brakes, too.

What's that do to the anodizing?

--

John ([email hidden])

John Thompson said:

Ron Hardin said:

It's snowing, there's water on the road, and the
handy thermometer on the handlebars shows 25
degrees. What does this mean?

It means that water that splashes up freezes your
derailleur.

Sure enough, in a mile, I'm stuck in the lowest
gear after a hill.

You'd think the design would have been fixed by
this time.

Two fixes:

1) Fixed gear or single speed freewheel.
2) Internal hub gear, e.g. Sturmey-Archer, Torpedo, etc.

Both have been around since forever and are perennially popular with
off-season riders.

Thanks but no thanks. I'll stick to my 24 speeds and deal with the
water and possibly freezing.

Every time I see an adult on a bicycle.....

....I no longer despair for the human race.

---H.G. Wells---

Quoted message said:

John Thompson said:

Quoted message said:

You'd think the design would have been fixed by
this time.

Two fixes:

1) Fixed gear or single speed freewheel.
2) Internal hub gear, e.g. Sturmey-Archer, Torpedo, etc.

Both have been around since forever and are perennially popular with
off-season riders.

Harry Brogan said:

Thanks but no thanks. I'll stick to my 24 speeds and deal with the
water and possibly freezing.

Internal geared hubs can offer just about the same amount of range as a
derailer system. Obviously, the jumps are bigger, but there are also no
redundant gears.

\\paul
--
Paul M. Hobson
..:change the f to ph to reply:.

"Ron Hardin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

It's snowing, there's water on the road, and the
handy thermometer on the handlebars shows 25
degrees. What does this mean?

It means that water that splashes up freezes your
derailleur.

Sure enough, in a mile, I'm stuck in the lowest
gear after a hill.

You'd think the design would have been fixed by
this time.
--
[email hidden]

The design has indeed been fixed. Internally geared hub, as in the
Electra Amsterdam Royal 8, which I plan to buy this week.

External derailleur systems are not suitable for winter riding. Unless you
just love to fuss over your bike, on a daily basis.

J.

Paul M. Hobson said:

Quoted message said:

John Thompson said:

> You'd think the design would have been fixed by
> this time.
Two fixes:

1) Fixed gear or single speed freewheel.
2) Internal hub gear, e.g. Sturmey-Archer, Torpedo, etc.

Both have been around since forever and are perennially popular with
off-season riders.

Harry Brogan said:

Thanks but no thanks. I'll stick to my 24 speeds and deal with the
water and possibly freezing.

Internal geared hubs can offer just about the same amount of range as
a derailer system. Obviously, the jumps are bigger, but there are
also no redundant gears.

Opinions on the Icebike list vary about the usefulness of internal hubs in
the winter. There are a number of dissatisfied users.

When I get around to it, I'm going to convert to a single speed on the
winter bike. It's flat in Chicago, so the lack of gearing won't be a big
problem. The original poster (Ron Hardin) is in Ohio, which is flat in the
north and Appalachian in the southeast, so this might or might not be an
option for him.

Ron Hardin said:

It's snowing, there's water on the road, and the
handy thermometer on the handlebars shows 25
degrees. What does this mean?

It means that water that splashes up freezes your
derailleur.

Sure enough, in a mile, I'm stuck in the lowest
gear after a hill.

You'd think the design would have been fixed by
this time.

I think this is why someone invented hub gears.

--
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

Jay said:

"Ron Hardin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

It's snowing, there's water on the road, and the
handy thermometer on the handlebars shows 25
degrees. What does this mean?

It means that water that splashes up freezes your
derailleur.

Sure enough, in a mile, I'm stuck in the lowest
gear after a hill.

You'd think the design would have been fixed by
this time.
--
[email hidden]

The design has indeed been fixed. Internally geared hub, as in the
Electra Amsterdam Royal 8, which I plan to buy this week.

External derailleur systems are not suitable for winter riding. Unless you
just love to fuss over your bike, on a daily basis.

J.

It must depend on where you live. I've ridden with derailleur gears in
winter for about 15 years and never had a problem with them. I did have
the free-wheel freeze up one day but the bike still shifted.
--
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

ZBicyclist said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

<[email hidden]> wrote:
>> You'd think the design would have been fixed by
>> this time.
> Two fixes:
>
> 1) Fixed gear or single speed freewheel.
> 2) Internal hub gear, e.g. Sturmey-Archer, Torpedo, etc.
>
> Both have been around since forever and are perennially popular with
> off-season riders.

Quoted message said:

When I get around to it, I'm going to convert to a single speed on the
winter bike. It's flat in Chicago, so the lack of gearing won't be a big
problem. The original poster (Ron Hardin) is in Ohio, which is flat in the
north and Appalachian in the southeast, so this might or might not be an
option for him.

One advantage to a fixed gear over a single freewheel is that as long as
you have traction you have braking control. Ice build-up on calipers and
moisture freezing inside cable housing can sometimes incapacitate cable
actuated brakes.

--

John ([email hidden])

ZBicyclist said:

Quoted message said:

Internal geared hubs can offer just about the same amount of range as
a derailer system. Obviously, the jumps are bigger, but there are
also no redundant gears.

Opinions on the Icebike list vary about the usefulness of internal hubs in
the winter. There are a number of dissatisfied users.

I have a Shimano Nexus hub on one of my bikes and can confirm that it
also has shifting problems with below-freezing temperatures. It's not
just a dérailleur phenomenon.

Andrew Price said:

I have a Shimano Nexus hub on one of my bikes and can confirm that it
also has shifting problems with below-freezing temperatures. It's not
just a dérailleur phenomenon.

Is there a chance using a less viscous lube might help in winter?

Or a generator-driven heating element? ;-)

- Frank Krygowski

"Andrew Price" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

ZBicyclist said:

Quoted message said:

Internal geared hubs can offer just about the same amount of range as
a derailer system. Obviously, the jumps are bigger, but there are
also no redundant gears.

Opinions on the Icebike list vary about the usefulness of internal hubs in
the winter. There are a number of dissatisfied users.

I have a Shimano Nexus hub on one of my bikes and can confirm that it
also has shifting problems with below-freezing temperatures. It's not
just a dérailleur phenomenon.

So what exactly do you do to compensate? Is shifting impossible at a certain
temp? Or just sluggish?

J.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

So what exactly do you do to compensate? Is shifting impossible at a certain
temp? Or just sluggish?

J.

I have been out when it has been 16 below zero. I have not had
problems with shifting. The only issue I did have was once when the
front wouldn't shift and that was caused by a corroded cable. I use
stainless steel cables with a light lube inside. Seems to work pretty
good 99% of the time.
__o | Every time I see an adult on a bicycle....
_`\(,_ | I no longer despair for the human race.
(_)/ (_) | ---H.G. Wells---

Harry Brogan said:

John Thompson said:

Ron Hardin said:

It's snowing, there's water on the road, and the
handy thermometer on the handlebars shows 25
degrees. What does this mean?

It means that water that splashes up freezes your
derailleur.

Sure enough, in a mile, I'm stuck in the lowest
gear after a hill.

You'd think the design would have been fixed by
this time.

Two fixes:

1) Fixed gear or single speed freewheel.
2) Internal hub gear, e.g. Sturmey-Archer, Torpedo, etc.

Both have been around since forever and are perennially popular with
off-season riders.

Thanks but no thanks. I'll stick to my 24 speeds and deal with the
water and possibly freezing.

I know of at least two tadpoles that have a Schlumpf 2-speed bottom
bracket combined with a Rohloff rear hub. No derailers to freeze and
greater range than a derailer system. However, that combination would
likely double the cost of the Harry's trike.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful