Winter Salt on Your Chain? Clean It Tonight

If you rode today and there’s salt on the roads, clean your chain tonight. Not tomorrow. Tonight. Salt corrodes steel faster than almost anything else, and your drivetrain is full of exposed steel.

Why Tonight Matters

Salt draws moisture from the air. While your bike sits in the garage, that salt-water solution keeps working on your chain, cassette, and chainrings. Eight hours of exposure can cause visible rust on an unprotected chain. A week turns a healthy drivetrain into a grinding mess.

The Quick Method

You don’t need a full degrease. Just wipe down the chain with a rag to remove the bulk of the salt. Then apply fresh lube—wet lube works best here because it displaces any remaining moisture. Wipe off excess.

Total time: three minutes.

If You Already Waited

See rust spots? Scrub with a stiff brush and degreaser, then rinse with water, dry thoroughly, and apply wet lube generously. Check your cassette cogs for rust between the teeth. If rust has progressed to the point where chain links stick or cogs have visible pitting, replacement time has arrived.

Prevention is cheaper than replacement. Clean it tonight.