Basic tool kit and silicone spray

[Derailleur]

My husband and I have now sorted ourselves out with mountain bikes, the guy at the store advised us to buy some silicone spray to protect them from the elements here (Middle East) extreme heat, sand and humidity.

So we started to wonder what would be a good basic tool kit for new bike owners.

We are going to UK in 3 weeks, I have googled and Halfords have a couple. Are they a good starting point?

Also any tips on spraying our bikes with silicone would be welcome. I think you have to steer clear of the brakes, tyres and apply sparingly to other parts. Is this correct?

Cheers

 

[HLaB]

Basic tool kits wise I'm lucky enough to have two, keep one at my parents and one in my flat and they do all the jobs I need, except wire cutting (bought a pair of cutters for that). I've got a Lifeline one; I see they've added wire cutters but also upped the price, I think I paid around £40. The other one was £17 out of Lidl and tbh its just as good for what I need but these are seasonal offers and I don't know when they'll be back in stock. A mate just bought the Ed Co Op toolkit and that looks like a good piece of kit for the money and they'll be other similar products out there.

Never sprayed anything on my bike before but from anything I've read before what you are saying makes sense stick away from the brake pads (but also rims) and tyres.

 

[gbb]

Re the silicone spray...i use it frequently and it has (like almost everything) advantages and disadvantages.
Quick and easy to use then just a quick polish with a cloth or paper towel. Shines up well and i assume gives some protection.
You cant (as you say) get it on the rims or brakes...i find it doesnt so much affect braking efficiency but you get this horrible squealing for a while, also beware if you use it regularly in the garage say, it can make a concrete floor very very slippery.
Then there's silicone spray...and there's silicone spray. 3 in One make some and its very 'wet'. Horrible stuff. The dry type silicone is better.

 

[zacklaws]

Once again reference the silicone spray, last winter I was my moaning self in the LBS about how I have to clean my bike almost after every ride with all the muck on the road despite whatever I sprayed my bike with to protect it and they recommended me to use, dash board polish for cars, evidently it has a far higher silicone content than any other polish.

I bought myself a can of Carplan Flash Dash to try and I was most impressed, providing its just mucky water with the usual debris etc that gets thrown up from the wheels and not mud itself, it just forms droplets and drops off as the bike bounces along the road. On getting home just give the bike a quick hosedown with clean water before it gets chance to dry and all muck and stuck on mud just comes off leaving the bike in almost as good a condition as you set off with.

On rides with others in mucky weather it is very noticeable how much cleaner your bike is compared to theirs.

 

[Globalti]

That's a good tip. Just phoned our lab manger and he's going to make me up a small bottle to try.

 

[Fiona N]

So we started to wonder what would be a good basic tool kit for new bike owners.

We are going to UK in 3 weeks, I have googled and Halfords have a couple. Are they a good starting point?

I'm not sure exactly what's in the Halfords kits but I'd suggest besides puncture repair kit (and some spare tubes, too), the useful things are: multitool with Allen keys (say, 2,3,4,5,6mm), Phillips head and straight head screwdrivers, pliers, adjustable spanner (small), wire cutters are useful if you have spare cables otherwise probably surplus to requirements, chain tool and spare quick links (make sure it's the correct size (thickness) for your chain - 8 or 9 speed, probably). These will cover the basic day-to-day maintenance.

 

[rusty bearing]

Good ol' GT85 for lubing the chain + you can polish your bike with it. Its light enough that it wont trap sand particles and grind the chain away but wipe the chain evey week anyway. We see so many bikes in the workshop that have been religiously oiled every week with 3 in 1 but not wiped down in between lubes. Result .....grinding paste and wear!

 

[2Loose]

Good ol' GT85 for lubing the chain + you can polish your bike with it. Its light enough that it wont trap sand particles and grind the chain away but wipe the chain evey week anyway. We see so many bikes in the workshop that have been religiously oiled every week with 3 in 1 but not wiped down in between lubes. Result .....grinding paste and wear!

I'd use GT85 to help clean the chain, but then apply some proper lube and wipe that too. My stint with GT85 as the chains only lube meant the squeaky bike mice didn't even stay away for a whole day! It is very good at cleaning duty though.