Cleaning your cycle, how far do you go?

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Ming the Merciless

There is no mercy
Location
Inside my skull
on just wet roads not actual rain my chain will go rusty if I don't dry off and apply a drop of Squirt on each roller after pretty much every ride.

Wax easily washed out, especially if you don’t have full guards.
 
I get away with longer, maybe its my cleaning regime. I haven't bothered to relube this yet after Tuesday's night's soaking (although I probably will tonight before tomorrow morning's forecasted soaking 🙃). I use full guards too.

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Done. I'll apply this stuff every 3-4 weeks and it seems to get me a little longer before specs appear. Before I was using (al beit with Tru Tension and not Squirt) after a wet ride I would wake up the next morning to those brown specs.
 

Binky

Über Member
I get away with longer, maybe its my cleaning regime. I haven't bothered to relube this yet after Tuesday's night's soaking (although I probably will tonight before tomorrow morning's forecasted soaking 🙃). I use full guards though.

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Now to me it looks like a few specks of rust on the chain just above the "AHEAD" on chainring. Could be my eyes though...
 

Ian H

Ancient randonneur
The current Cycle magazine has an article on cleaning materials. It's a review of a biodegradable product. Sounds good.
 
Now to me it looks like a few specks of rust on the chain just above the "AHEAD" on chainring. Could be my eyes though...

Maybe, it’s been wiped down and relubed in seconds now though and my hands are clean 👍 I use this stuff every 2-3 weeks over winter and it seems to get a bit longer. Before I started using it It was going speccy overnight. I was using the thinner Tru Tension at the time though and not Squirt.
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The bike doubles up as my winter road bike for training and group rides so its cleaned fairly often over winter (usually weekly). In summer when its just a commuter though, it can be several weeks, even months :shy:
 

Binky

Über Member
Maybe, it’s been wiped down and relubed in seconds now though and my hands are clean 👍 I use this stuff every 2-3 weeks over winter and it seems to get a bit longer. Before I started using it It was going speccy overnight. I was using the thinner Tru Tension at the time though and not Squirt.
View attachment 799449
The bike doubles up as my winter road bike for training and group rides so its cleaned fairly often over winter (usually weekly). In summer when its just a commuter though, it can be several weeks, even months :shy:

You use that Muc Off cleaner in conjunction with Squirt? What process do you use, rinse crap off etc with water then apply that cleaner, dry then apply Squirt?
 
Maybe, it’s been wiped down and relubed in seconds now though and my hands are clean
After any ride which is damp, I just run my waxed chain through a microfibre cloth with some isopropyl alcohol sprayed onto it, as well as spraying some of the same on the cassette and derailleurs. Mickleing with IPA, essentially. I've not had any sign of rust / tarnish doing that. (That's when not re-waxing by immersion.)
 
You use that Muc Off cleaner in conjunction with Squirt? What process do you use, rinse crap off etc with water then apply that cleaner, dry then apply Squirt?

When I use it, I spray it on my chain just behind the chain ring as I slowly back pedal with my hands. I leave it for 5mins then back pedal the chain through a baby wipe. I then back pedal again through a dry cloth. Once that's done I apply the Squirt.
 

Dadam

Über Member
Location
SW Leeds
I used the Mickle method for years. It works extremely well. Then I discovered wax. I use either Silca (currently) or Squirt. Waxing gives a cleaner chain, cassette and chain rings than lube.........by some distance.

After a ride I wipe the chain, every 2-3 weeks I apply wax. The wax application is done in exactly the same way as lube in the Mickle method.

Why do you consider life too short to wax?

I was referring to hot waxing, i.e chain off in some sort of warm tub/pan/bath which I can't be arsed with. Hadn't considered dribbling wax 'cos I don't know much about it.

I've been using Fenwicks All Conditions chain lube It seems to work well, better than the Finish Line wet lube I used to use and way better than the Muc Off dry lube I tried for a bit. Not tried anything else beyond those though.

The commuter obviously gets filthy this time of year and I do try to remember to at least wipe it once a week but I'm not very organised and I often don't. It can be a few weeks between lubings too.

One thing I don't really understand is how it could be much less filthy with wax. The road film, salt and spray isn't going to be magically repelled by a forcefield.

Also could the silent drivetrain that's touted as clear evidence the wax is doing a better job as a lube, just be a damping effect of thicker jollop on the moving parts, and leading to a placebo effect? I don't know, don't mean to deny other folks' experiences, I'm just wondering.
 

Binky

Über Member
If I was commuting or always riding in the wet I'd go with an oil based wet lube or whatever is in them not wax.
I'm a fair weather cyclist but I do go out on wet roads(no choice in UK!) so I stick with Squirt.
 

freiston

Veteran
Location
Coventry
I go for a ride in the rain and hope that it will wash the old muck off ^_^

I might have said differently either here or elsewhere but I'm pretty fluid in my cleaning regimes and I don't really get involved in it enough to remember if I'm following a regime or not. All my bikes have full mudguards and flaps. They tend to get cleaned before I have to do any other work on them or when they're starting to embarrass me. My bikes get ridden in all weather conditions.

Sometimes I will give the drivetrain a proper go-over, even taking the chain off, but usually it's a spray of the chain with WD40 or GT85, followed by a rag down then some lube then some more rag-downs. Whilst I'm at it, I might wipe the frame down with one of the rags. For a "better" clean, I will spray with Muck-Off that I have been given, followed by a brush assisted hose down, dried off and wiped with an oily rag (it helps keep the dirt from sticking imho). Lubing is done as required. When the Muck-Off runs out, I plan on replacing it with car shampoo. I use a common old garden hose and not a pressure hose.

Rim-braked bikes are bad for getting mucky but the Brompton is the worst - it never stays clean for long and often needs the chain going over just to stop it going orange and squeaking, especially in the winter. My newest bike is the best in this respect - disc brakes, Rohloff hub and a belt drive - it doesn't really get that mucky and usually a hose-down is all that's required.
 
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