Cleaning and lubricating.

[Janrhino]

Right, I am fairly new to cross country biking and am hearing conflicting advice about what to spray and where, please put me right.
So, I have cleaned the mud off my bike and now what?

Gears, chain, shocks, brakes up till now I have been using Muc Off brake cleaner on the brakes and WD40 on everything else but am now told that WD40 is no good near the bearings and the chain should have oil on it.

Sort me out!

 

[gaz]

Finish line lube on the chain will be the dogs balls

 

[HLaB]

WD40 has better cleaning properties than lubricating, so it would tend to strip part likes bearings and chains of the lube they need to operate effectively. Without the lube metal parts grind against metal parts wearing out faster. You'd be better with a lube like Finish Line Cross Country for the chain.

 

[Globalti]

Don't forget to grease those brakes, you'll be much faster down hills!

 

[HLaB]

Don't forget to grease those brakes, you'll be much faster down hills!

I once came across an idiot who done that, his brakes were squeaking so he oiled them! he wasnt much faster though

 

[andyhunter]

wd40 you crazy that is what ruins and builds up dirt and grime .

 

[Tynan]

'mickle method'

 

[giant man]

WD40 has better cleaning properties than lubricating, so it would tend to strip part likes bearings and chains of the lube they need to operate effectively. Without the lube metal parts grind against metal parts wearing out faster. You'd be better with a lube like Finish Line Cross Country for the chain.

+1 - absolutely! I don't know how many times i have told people WD40 is a releasing agent and NOT a lubricant. Finish Line CC is excellent ......

 

[rsvdaz]

so what is the best method for chain maintainance?

i have that dry lube stuff...but boy my chain aint dry....just rub bare flesh against it and u have a loverly black stripe!

when i had motorbikes it was out with the toothbrush and degreaser cleaning the chain and i used profi dry lube..went on white and the chain and sprockets remained fairly clean...whats the norm on bikes..road and mtb?

 

[al78]

so what is the best method for chain maintainance?

i have that dry lube stuff...but boy my chain aint dry....just rub bare flesh against it and u have a loverly black stripe!

when i had motorbikes it was out with the toothbrush and degreaser cleaning the chain and i used profi dry lube..went on white and the chain and sprockets remained fairly clean...whats the norm on bikes..road and mtb?

Wipe chain with a rag, take chain off bike, drop it in a jar with some white spirit, shake vigorously for about 30 seconds. Clean drivetrain using degreaser, remove chain from white spirit, wipe and leave for about half an hour or so to dry, then put it back on the bike and lubricate. If your chain comes with a powerlink this makes it a lot easier to remove/reattach.

 

[numbnuts]

+1 - absolutely! I don't know how many times i have told people WD40 is a releasing agent and NOT a lubricant. Finish Line CC is excellent ......

the TRUTH about WD40

 

[davidg]

i use WD for my break cabling/tubes...

 

[Mista Preston]

CCers What do you use to de - grease your chains. Mine is getting a little cruddy despite a weekly mickle lube and wipe so I want to get it off and make it sparkle again.

Do you just dunk it in petrol and give it a scrub then re lube?

 

[Norm]

After having the embarrassing state of the chain on my Tricross pointed out by my LBS, I bought the Park Tools chain cleaner yesterday afternoon and I have to say it's bloody good and very easy to use. It could be considered overkill, though, you could just use the de-greaser applied with a brush but I had a few bikes to do so thought I'd give the Park Tools gizmo a try.

The only trouble was cleaning the cleaning tool afterwards, but, having used it to do four chains, the proportion of time cleaning it out wasn't that bad.

 

[HLaB]

The only trouble was cleaning the cleaning tool afterwards, but, having used it to do four chains, the proportion of time cleaning it out wasn't that bad.

With a cheaper cleaner (BBB IIRC) I got a bit lazy about the cleaning and it kinda disintegrated.