Filth!

[Debian]

Is what I found when I stripped my commuter bike today!

I decided to fit my new Big Apple tyres today and I thought, while I'm taking the wheels off I'll have a look at the bearings, chain, etc.

I stripped the axles, removed the cogs and popped out the ball bearings. Both axles contained a rusty coloured, gritty, oily/watery, greasy mixture! Cleaned everything out with brake cleaner, dried, regreased and reassembled. Everything seems OK and both wheels spin fairly smoothly.

I then moved on to the chain. Cleaned it with a liberal application of WD40, dried well and applied a liberal coating of 3-in-1 oil. Left it to soak for a while and wiped everything down well. I was horrified! For a while now I've been using Rock and Roll but wasn't happy with the appearance of the chain. The 3-in-1 has brought out a load of rust and it won't stop coming out! I reapplied more 3-in-1 and yet more rust came out of the links with the excess oil. I think I'll stick with the 3-in-one for while and see how it goes, not happy with the lack of rust prevention offered by the (expensive) lubes.

 

[Tynan]

I thought everything with bearings was sealed?

as for rust protection for the chain, how often you clean and relube

btw, this if from someone with a veryy very infrequent and reactive maintenance schedule

 

[Debian]

I thought everything with bearings was sealed?

as for rust protection for the chain, how often you clean and relube

btw, this if from someone with a veryy very infrequent and reactive maintenance schedule

Well my bearings aren't sealed! Take out the axle and ball bearings fall out!

I don't clean the chain that often in the sense of taking it off and dunking it in paraffin or whatever but I do use aerosol chain cleaner / brake cleaner / WD40 (whichever is to hand) fairly often. Lately I've been using Rock and Roll blue which claims to clean and lube. It obviously doesn't clean that well!

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

I am cleaning my bike each weekend, complete strip down with chain rings off, brakes off all cleaned inside and out. Frame cleaned and polished, chain cleaned with the Park Chain tool, then re lubed. Not maybe recommend but I hate a dirty bike.

I now do over 600 miles a month going to work by bike, so don't expect the chain to last more than 12 months anyway ...

Wheels off and tyres are cleaned up and re inflated. Cycle computer off, forks cleaned and polished. Both derrealeurs cleaned up, and then all put back together.

Takes me 2 hours solid, but looks brilliant when done. The last few weeks the bike has been very sorry looking come Friday night ....

 

[fossyant]

Well, you just proved you don't look after the bike. Rock and Roll - what's that ?

Finish Line Pro Road Ceramic....£4 for a little dropper bottle, lass about a year. Yuo don't need any cleaning chemicals other than an old t-shirt, wipe chain, oil, wipe and you are off - do it after every wet ride.

Bearings - if you have a rubber seal, they are sealed - the ones you describe are cup and cone. Use Finish Line PTFE waterproof lube - excellent. (And no I don't work for Finish Line - been using their stuff for 20 years...)

 

[fossyant]

I am cleaning my bike each weekend, complete strip down with chain rings off, brakes off all cleaned inside and out. Frame cleaned and polished, chain cleaned with the Park Chain tool, then re lubed. Not maybe recommend but I hate a dirty bike.

I now do over 600 miles a month going to work by bike, so don't expect the chain to last more than 12 months anyway ...

Wheels off and tyres are cleaned up and re inflated. Cycle computer off, forks cleaned and polished. Both derrealeurs cleaned up, and then all put back together.

Takes me 2 hours solid, but looks brilliant when done. The last few weeks the bike has been very sorry looking come Friday night ....

Two hours....you don't need to do that.......... I wash and lube mine after every wet ride - chain rings need a quick wipe with an old t-shirt. Sprockets the same - TBH - little and often means it's 10-15 minutes probably 3 times a week - half your once a week. No need to strip chain rings - asking for trouble there unless a deep clean once in a blue moon.

Easy......... the bike is bling all week also....

 

[Debian]

Well, you just proved you don't look after the bike. Rock and Roll - what's that ?

Finish Line Pro Road Ceramic....£4 for a little dropper bottle, lass about a year. Yuo don't need any cleaning chemicals other than an old t-shirt, wipe chain, oil, wipe and you are off - do it after every wet ride.

Bearings - if you have a rubber seal, they are sealed - the ones you describe are cup and cone. Use Finish Line PTFE waterproof lube - excellent. (And no I don't work for Finish Line - been using their stuff for 20 years...)

Don't look after the bike! Cheeky sod, I've spent a fortune trying to find a decent lube. This is Rock and Roll:

http://www.rocklube.com/products_detail_extreme.html

I have repacked the cup bearings with Finish Line PTFE today.

 

[gaz]

Mine gets a wipe down after every wet ride, that keeps the bike frame it's self mostly clean, at present i clean the whole bike at the weekend, including rims, brakes, chains, cassette, de-railers and frame.

If it was a really wet ride i would wipe the dirt of the chain and add more lube.. if it's salty then a quick one of the above, takes 10 - 30 mins...

edit: basically what fossyant said. job done.

 

[fossyant]

I don't clean the chain that often in the sense of taking it off and dunking it in paraffin or whatever but I do use aerosol chain cleaner / brake cleaner / WD40

Bad move..........

Wipe clean, oil, wipe........ ride... no need for solvents........

Mickle method it's called (although I've always done this in 25 years of riding proper bikes)....

Dump aerosols - just a huge waste of oil and it makes dirt attraction worse - little dropper bottles....just a drop on each roller. You don't oil the outer bits of the chain at all....they get oily anyway...

 

[BentMikey]

Would you like to sit there and lube each chain roller one by one on my bike?

I just blat Pro Gold on mine.

 

[gaz]

Would you like to sit there and lube each chain roller one by one on my bike?

I just blat Pro Gold on mine.

Your chain has a nice protector for most of it

 

[BentMikey]

That section is much shorter than you think, it doesn't do much since the dirt doesn't get on the chain there, it's only for keeping oil off your leg and the chain from rubbing on the fork.

 

[Tynan]

dear god that's a lot of chain

2 hours a week cleaning a bike, christ

I might mickle the chain once a week, afer that I wipe the frame now and then, sometime with the cleaner bits of the post mickle sock

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

2 hours is nothing really, especially when it does 180 miles a week.

 

[Tynan]

it's two hours

I do 125 miles a week, they're made to be ridden imho, your maintenance sounds very high to me

but it's your call of course