"see that my bikes kept clean"

[JohnRedcoRn]

cleaning my bike ; how often and what with ? and what do i oil and how often ?
the chap in my ever impressive LBS suggested soapy water and elbow grease (he could easily have tried to sell me products).

had it 2 months, havent cleaned it yet apart from one of those hand held water sprayers with just water.

its a 'giant' hybrid, i do average 5 - 10 miles every other night, then 20 - 30 on a sunday. mainly road and cycle tracks.

I'm concerned that i should look after the bike properly unlike my car, and i'm worried that i'll cause rust / other damage if i wash it the wrong way.

is an all over rub with soapy sponge, then rinse, then drip dry the way to do it or do i neeed to rub it dry after ?

any advice much appreciated !

 

[swee'pea99]

Leave it dirty. Saves time, helps avoid thieving scrotes.

 

[Globalti]

Best way IMO is to use a trickle of water from a hose and an old soft-bristle hand floorbrush, which gets into the nooks and crannies and you can even get it inside the spokes to clean the hubs.

However for the chain you are better off removing it every few months, cleaning with paraffin/kerosine/white spirit, drying and re-lubing. At the same time give the sprockets a good clean. Keep the cleaner away from your bottom bracket and freewheel though because any that penetrates will wash in dirt, wash out grease and wreck them.

Whatever you do, never clean the bike upside down. Water will enter the steering head bearings and wreck them.

Best I find is leaning against a wall with the wheels chocked with a couple of bricks.

 

[Chris James]

Wash it when it is dirty or when you can be bothered.

Lean it against a wall. Use car shampoo or washing up liquid in warm water and a sponge.

If you are doing a really good job you may want to remove the wheels as they are easier to clean off the bike.

At the end, rinse off the bubbles with a hosepipe (on very gentle, not pressurised).

Spin the pedals a few times to drive off water from the chain and wheels. Maybe gently bounce the bike on the ground to knock off more water (such as water stuck in allen key heads).

Dry the bike with a rag to get the worst of the water off.

If the chain looks as though the oil has been washed off then I squirt it with TF2 to act as a water dispersant before lubing it later.

A far as lubrication goes, I used a light teflon lube (TF2) for brake and derailleur pivots. The chain is also lubed (I use TF2 in summer and Finish Line Cross Country Wet the rest of the year - and most of this summer with it being so rainy).

I tend to avoid degreasing my chain if I can help it, preferring the lube and wipe method, however I sometimes use TF2 to wash crap from my chain. Always lube on the inner chain surface to wash dirt to the outside.

You can't ruin your bike cleaning it. Just don't use a pressure washer and relube after cleaning and you will be fine.

 

[JohnRedcoRn]

thanks. so assuming i wash all parts including gears and chain and brake mechanisms, do i have to 're - lube' after each wash ? (i suppose worst scenario over lubricating inst really going to do any harm ?)

and is it all moving parts i lube ? is there any step by step diagrams etc anywhere ?

sorry for being such a fanny but all this stuff passed me by as a youngster so i'm learning from scratch !

 

[Chris James]

If you think you have washed off the lube then you need to reapply. Yes, you lube anywhere that parts move against each other or hinges.

I always lube the pivot points on the brake callipers and derailleurs. I also put a drop of lube on the derailleur jockey wheels. If you use a light lube then just wipe off the excess and that should be fine. Avoid using light oils near your wheel rims(!) and also near your bottom bracket or wheel axles as the oils will dissolve the grease there if given half a chance. Obviously if anything squeaks then you should lube that.

Don't over lubricate. A little and often is best. Lubricants tend to attract muck so should be used sparingly. This is especially true for your chain. If you do a search there are many threads on here about lubing chains!

Back on the cleaning, if your brakes make a grinding noise when you use them it is worth taking off your wheels and examining the surface of your brake blocks - thsi is particularly true during winter. They can clog up with crap that can be removed by a tooth brish or knife and sometimes pick up bits of aluminium from your wheel rims which will wear your rims out if you don't remove the swarf from your blocks.

 

[swee'pea99]

Judging by your posts, you might find this site worth a look.

 

[Scoosh]

... or this one !
You might even persuade one of the distaff side to have a go !

 

[Scoosh]

However for the chain you are better off removing it every few months, cleaning with paraffin/kerosine/white spirit, drying and re-lubing.

Hmmmm ...... most of what I have read on here advises keeping well away from these for chain cleaning, on the basis that they will disolve all the grease inside the chain, which is what you are trying to maintain/replace when cleaning and lubing your chain.

Worth reading this ....
..... and our own 'Unckle Mickle's Foolproof Chain Maintenance Programme':
(1) Purchase a bottle, not an aerosol, of proper chain lube (not WD85, not GT40, not 'oil', not 3 in 1, not even basil infused virgin olive oil although any of the above will work better than nothing. Just) of the kind manufactured by Finish Line, Pedros, White Lightning etc and sold in your local bike shop.

(2) Wipe your chain with a rag (Cotton. Old T shirts or sheets are ideal) until no more black gunk comes off on the rag. I do it with the bike in a work stand, set the bike in top gear and drag the lower run of chain through the rag.

(3) Apply lube to the chain ensuring that every link gets a drop. If the chain is warm all the better. Then spin the pedals backwards a few times, this allows the lube to get to the inside of the chain by capillary action.

(4) Wipe the chain until the rag comes clean.

(5) Lube.

(6) Wipe.

(7) Wipe.

(8) Ride a few miles and wipe again.


As a general rule aim to spend ten times longer wiping the chain than applying lube and the last thing you do is wipe it.
There should be no lube on the exterior surfaces of the chain save a thin barrier against oxidization.

No degreaser. No chain cleaning machine. Job done in four minutes.

Repeat as often as you like, the more often you do it the cleaner your chain will be and the longer it will last.

... which comes from here

 

[cycling fisherman]

hiya mate, i opened a thread about washing up liquid on bikes...

http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=17370


some cyclists say it contains salt but i personnally think its fantastic, the wheels come up really well with washing up liquid...

as long as you rinse well afterwards and lube you will be fine.

 

[fossyant]

Goes off to sit in the corner of the room.....hmmm hmmm hmmm.....OCD...

You've not cleaned it in two months........argh.....

Soap and water - (well car shampoo - not washing up liquid). REGULAR.

Mr Sheen is also brill - fast and efficient if the bike isn't full of grit.

Chain needs lubing regular, and wipe the excess off with a rag. Get a silver chain - if it looks black, it needs wiping clean with a rag, re-lube just the middle, let dry and run wipe off with a rag. Best rags are old T-shirts....
Don't forget to run the rag edges through the sprockets to remove any rubbish !!!