Can I bike around in the rain?

Question
I have a North Face Pamir Bicycle Hybrid. The other day it rained really hard, and I was caught in the rain, biking home. My question is: will rain/water really rust my bike a lot and what can I do to increase the bike's life besides the obvious of not leaving it in the rain? (I have a thule 899xt bike rack for the top of my car, and whenever it rains, my bike will also get wet. Please help!

Answer
Hi David,

I am not familiar with the North Face Bicycle and can not even find this bike in net searches. It doesn't really matter though as when it comes to rain and weather a bicycle is a bicycle pretty much. While water and Bikes don't mix real well, proper maintenance of the bike such as making sure the chain is oiled and things of that nature will increase its life. As far as the bike rack goes, if you travel a lot in the rain a cover that helps keep the weather away from the bike may be a wise investment.

Riding in the rain can actually be quite fun and sometimes you have no real choice. Last year I had a planned ride from Albany to Tifton Geoprgia ( about 40 miles) to support the "Bikes or Bust" program of B-100 Radio and the Toys for Tots. It was pouring down rain and I had to make stops along the way that were "scheduled" for the fundraiser. The wind and rain were both against us. The wind was so bad that the RV which was supposed to be raised up on a crane could not be raised. I left about 1/2 later than planned but I did ride a considerable distance in the rain (about 10-12 miles)before it cleared up. The ride total was over 4 days and about 250 miles, after the ride the bike was taken to a shop for a complete tune-up and lube job. I am still riding that bike and in fact that bike has made the last 3 Bikes or Bust rides along with several thousand miles of road riding around Georgia.

To learn more about the Bikes or Bust check out the MSN group Body Mind and Goals. I have loaded several pictures there of past rides.

Rain will rust your bike if proper maintenance is not done, but it doesn't take a lot of extra work to make sure the bike is maintained properly. Since your bike is a hybrid and not a true road bike it will likely have some characteristics of the mountain bike which usually have better "seals" against water anyway, but even so standard maintenance is the best way to guard against rust and damage that can be caused by rain and weather.

Hope this helps,

Have a great day.

Jerry Goodwin
www.bmgfitness.com