Sand and salt will take a toll. That being said, it can be minimized. Use frame saver to protect your frame and fork. Try to keep salt water out of your hubs and BB, etc. The sand will grind down your drivetrain so don't put a lot of money into your parts, when they wear out get sensible, durable stuff so it'll last as long as possible. Same for Brake pads.
How often you wash it depends on the level of exposure. If there's just a bit of sand on it a quick rinse is fine, if you had to ride through salt water or wind was kicking up a spray then you'll probably want to give it a good thorough washing. Personally, I would say most of my sand rides didn't require a wash, but I do anything I can to stay out of the salt water, and the coastline here doesn't have a lot of tidal flats with pools and streams like I see on other peoples videos.
As far as I know riding on the beach is a big grey area. I ride with one other guy and we do everything we can to not piss anyone off. We stay off any vegetation, away from birds, etc, Environmental groups around here are very protective of beaches and dune habitat. I ran into some state DCR officers counting deer out in the dunes (I was on an equestrian trail) and I swear I could see the gears turning in their heads "Is this guy allowed out here? I've never seen a bike on sand...? hmmm... Nothing against it in the rules..."
If fatbiking takes off I could see this issue being forced, at least in liberal states like we live in. All it would take is one yahoo running over an endangered seabird nest. The tracks we leave on sand last last a surprisingly long time. But I do see random people riding regular bikes on the beach in the summer, albeit only on the hard pack below the high tide mark.
I can get a used Maverick SC32 for 200 i was thinking of using as front suspension (i also will use the bike as a all around mountain bike)...will that get screwed up in the sand.
I love the idea of titanium carbon bike in the future after i hit the lottery...i will give my wife the old pug
I've been riding my Pug on the beach since '07 and it's still rolling. I treated the frame only once with some milspec rust protection I got from a hardware store and did not touch it since.The Pug did experience some surface rust which I fixed via the sandpaper/paint route but I'm not really worried. Drivetrain is also a non issue for me. Yes the chain will rust and yes sand could be an issue but hey that is the hazard we face during beach rides. Oh, for lube DRY WAX is key! I also don't rinse the Pug after every ride. I only rinse when I get a lot of beach sand caked on the frame and tires. So far the only upgrade I would like to try are new Rolling Darryl wheels. I'll give the Pug another 5 years and see....
I don't know about an Alfine, but the Rohloff is in an oil bath and I think is pretty well sealed up - I've got one and done nothing more than an oil changes on it in well over 10,000 miles without problems, and will certainly put one on my next project too if I don't get something off-the-shelf.
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