Cleaning your bike... Tips & Tricks

LeperousDust

LeperousDust

LeperousDust

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Joined
4 Nov 2003
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Edinburgh
What do you use to clean your bike after a long day?

I just want to make sure i'm looking after it and doing things right :) Currently after a particularly heavy/gritty/muddy ride i'll visit a garage on the way home spray everything down, and then when home I take my chain off scrub with a chain cleaner (but i assume this could just be a general degreaser?) in the sink, but i'm also thinking of using an old bottle and just shaking it may do. I then spray the degreaser on the cassette, chainring and derailleur let it all dry and lightly oil and put it back on, to finish i degrease the discs just to make sure i didn't accidentally lube them up.

Is that too much/too little, what else could i be doing or leaving out? What stuff should i buy to do this, so far been using up stuff i've been bought but its branded (muc-off) and targeted (ie just chain cleaner!) so i assume i can just go out and buy any old 5l+ degreaser? What lubes should i be looking at?

I don't really want to be anal, but after spending some money doing my bike up i realised how much better it was riding, and i want to try and keep it like this for as long as possible, cassette/chain especially!

If anyone can share tips and experience i'd thank them :)
 
Cheer platypus, at present i use a wet grease (muc off chain lube) but i've got some teflon ptfe stuff lying around (again i haven't bought this ;)) it mentioning being an all round performer so next time i clean replace chain lube with that? Dry make sense as it gets dusty muddy out here and my chain lube becomes a grinding paste, hence why i clean it alllll the time now...

When i say wash my bike at the garage, its a regular hose and i have to put my finger over the end, i wouldn't particulary put it under the pressure systems, thats alright isn't it?

Do you ever touch your bottom bracket/hubs/suspension these seem quite a bit of hassle etc?

//Edit:Ok so white spirit spirit seems like a good buy, and a dry lube too, cheers :)
 
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greengiant said:
I find my drivetrain stays a lot cleaner since I fitted a bicycle Scottoiler:

http://http://www.scottoiler.com/active.asp
Click to expand...

Seems a bit of an extravagance really, surely you still have to take your chain off occasionally to remove the gritty paste that inevitably builds up? If you were doing a lot of 24 hour rides i could see why that would make sense, otherwise i'm not sold...
 
willhub said:
Just want to ask, but should tyres never loose air unless they puncture? Is it normal for them to go down over say a couple of weeks, I dont mean totally, just mine seem to have gone down abit, still quite hard but I dont feel happy on them at the current pressure but dare not use my pump as I'll never get the darn thigns back up coz the pump is a pain in the ***
Click to expand...
They can lose a little sometimes, tubless lose more than innertubes generally.

weescott said:
Don't use a hose if you can get away with it. If you have had a muddy ride, let the mud dry then brush it off. It will save water getting into pivots and bearings.

I use Finishline Degreaser and chain lube.
Click to expand...
I can't really get away with that, i can't have mud getting everywhere, i'm in a first floor flat, it just isn't practical :(
 
Haha, it seemed to me like an expensive fad more than a reliable solution :p

I haven't really had a chance to get out on my bike in this wonderful weather and get it dirty enough to warrant cleaning, ive got too much revision and examage on atm :(:(
 
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