Not sure about others but after some time, I simply can’t open up the zipper of various items like saddle bags. Today, I couldn’t undo the XLab mini saddle bag. I haven’t flatted in a while so the zipper has not been used for some time. Today I tried to open it for some cash to buy a drink and it was corroded and wouldn’t open. When I got home I tried WD40 and a toothbrush to clean it and hopefully get it to open, to no avail. Come to think of it this is the second Xlab bag I had zipper issues with. Is there something I should be doing to avoid corrosion on the zipper? Ended up cutting up the bag with scissors and now looking for another bag, maybe one with velcro instead :). Just wondering if I am the only one or if there some trick to avoid this. Thanks.
This is a pretty persistent problem up here in the PNW, and Boeshield has worked great for me.
Randomly I grabbed one of their bags out of my supply box this weekend (was there for 2+ years I’m guessing), and couldn’t open fire to corroded zipper.
I’ve had this happen on leg warmers and rain vests/jackets as well. Super annoying but I’ve broken a few of the pulls trying to get the to free up.
My n=1 trick is to move the zipper around in the days after you sweat on it, and then again in the weeks after. Not sure this is the solution, but it definitely has prevented my zippers from corroding in the past year, on the same type of stuff that was frozen solid when I neglected it. I think that lock-in corrosion takes time, so you can break the buildup by moving the zipper, but just guessing. FOr sure, be xtra careful when storing things or not using zippers-long term - biggest offendors are the bento box, next cold weather rear-zip booties. Now would be a good time to move those bootie zippers around from the winter!
This will sound weird but I used to wipe the zipper with a small dry bar of soap. Worked great, kept the zipper moving freely. Then one day, didn’t have soap with me so rubbed it with body glide. Worked equally well, no worries about oil or WD40 scent or contamination of contents. I’ve mostly had the stuck corroded zipper thing happen on snowshoe gaiters.
Vaseline or ChapStick are my go to solutions for keeping my my zippers freely moving. You don’t need a lot. A little on you finger tips and rub into the zipped up zipper and then work the zipper a couple of times. I always start small and add more as needed to keep things from getting gunky.
I use beeswax on the zippers on my sailboat. Lasts a long time and works really well.
It depends on the zipper.
Most small bike bag zippers are composed of plastic zipper chain (the zipper “teeth”) and have a metal (plated or painted) zipper slider. The plastic parts should not have seizing issues, but the metal slider absolutely can be affected by moisture and fine dirt, but, way more than that, zipper sliders are affected by salt. And salt corrodes the steel of zipper sliders mighty fast.
What seems to make a difference:
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Start with a high-quality zipper (we use only YKK zippers only on our packs).
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Design the pack with the zippers reversed (i.e., the zipper chain is not visible outside the pack, when the zipper is closed, the zipper teeth are hidden inside the pack; and this design choice also reduces the impact of dirt and grit on the zipper; we do this on all of our pack zippers as well).
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Keep the zipper clean (so gently wash the pack AT LEAST once per season and more if you use the pack anywhere near dripping sweat on an indoor trainer).
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Don’t lube with WD-40 or any petroleum based lubes, they likely won’t harm the zipper slider, but they WILL eventually harm the zipper chain and/or the pack fabric.
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After gently cleaning the pack to remove dirt, grit, and salts, after the pack is completely dry, lube the zipper with a plain wax candle. Just rub the candle firmly along the zipper chain, and then slide the zipper sliders back and forth a few times to work it all in. If the zipper teeth are hidden, rub the candle from the inside of the pack. Simple and works great.
If it helps, we have a summary of most of this posted here:
https://www.darkspeedworks.com/cleaning.htm
Use wax for zippers. Any candle will do. Works like magic for bags, jamming jackets etc.
Yep I too say wax.
I’d have expected here on ST where it’s nearly a criminal offence not to wax a chain, waxing a zip would have already have several threads. In fact It may even be 4 watts faster 🤥
Sorry to hear about your troubles with the Mini Bag - can you email me as I would like to get more information and provide the feedback to our engineers. Unfortunately we don’t get many customer issues with the rear bags and definitely want to look into it.
Can you email me - would like to get more information. As I mentioned to the OP we don’t see many zipper issues with the rear bags so would like to look into this further.
I’ve had an xlab bento bag zip seize and break. Quite disappointing given its only been used for a handful of race and training sessions over a couple of seasons and stored over the winter in an dry environment.
I wasn’t aware that candle wax was the best lubricant, so thanks all for this.
Can you email me - would like to get more information. As I mentioned to the OP we don’t see many zipper issues with the rear bags so would like to look into this further.
Will ping you separately, but for posterity - I love XLAB products and have happily used for a long time. This bag is a top tube bag, not a rear bag
Speedsleev - its all Velcro, no issues with zippers.
Cleaning definitely helps however we have also improved our bento bags in this area - I am wondering if yours was our first generation…either way please do reach out to us if you have any issues, no matter how long you have had the item. I see you might be in the UK - our UK distributor is very good as well in helping 