Hot answers tagged cleaning
9
Rain, hail, and snow don't hurt a chain. Salt makes it rust, and dirt wears it out.
Salt: You won't get all the salt out without removing the chain from the bike. The chain is doomed. You can, however, easily delay this till spring with regular application of wet chain lube. A bit of rust won't hurt if you ride regularly.
Dirt: Given that the chain only ...
8
I've heard you should keep high pressure water away from your bike, because it can easily work it's way into the bearings, even sealed ones, especially around the bottom bracket and wheels. Pressurized water will push the oil out of the spaces between the chain links, and it's probably not a good idea to use pressurized water at all. You should be able to ...
6
Every two or three days is excessive. Biweekly should serve, even in winter months. The simplest thing would be to buy a chain cleaner and use it when you feel it's needed. Parktool provides excellent instructions as well as a suggested schedule for maintenance.
In addition, you should switch to a heavier synthetic lube in the winter. I've personally had no ...
5
Where possible, replace with stainless fasteners. Things like water bottle bracket bolts are readily available in stainless at a good hardware store.
But most fasteners on a good quality bike are stainless to begin with, so it may be that you're not seeing "rust" per se but rather a sort of corrosion that can form on stainless.
5
After cleaning I give the bolts a small squirt of WD40 followed by a good rub down.
This leaves a very fine film of oil that won't hold dirt but is just enough to stave off the rust if done regularly.
The spray also displaces (WD, water displacement, geddit?) any water left from cleaning in any little gaps.
4
Grab some of the disinfecting wipes in the round containers that you normally use for kitchen counters, etc. I like the Clorox brand in the yellow (Lemon Fresh!). Wrap around bars and squeeze a bit as you twist/rotate in the same direction as the wrap.
With cork based wrap this is fairly effective. With some of the slicker surfaced wraps (Lizard, etc), it's ...
4
It looks like what you are asking for is a complete overhaul. Questions similar to this have been asked before so you can see answers like this for checklists and procedures.
The one thing that makes your question different is the time issue. I agree you don't want to spend all day on one hub, and with a little study and practice you should be able to do a ...
3
Little bits of rust shouldn't hurt anything, but if you're getting lots of rust or it just drives you crazy you might consider spraying them down with a wax based lubricant or dry lube. Finish Line's Teflon dry lube might be a good option because it has a tendency to build up on chains, which means it goes on thick and may act as a barrier to oxidation. ...
3
I'd wash my bike with a water jet spray as long as you dont point it towards the sealed bearings. I did that to most of my bikes and they still last. As a point to ponder, water does not destroy your bearings, its the dust and dirt that does the thing. But pressurized water may force through the sealed bearings and push away all your grease out of it, making ...
3
It depends -- on the lube you use, the type of riding you do, and how much of a maintenance nut you are.
The "drier" the lube you use, the cleaner the chain will stay (though "dry" lube does not protect as well against moisture).
If you ride on roads, and rarely ride in the rain or slop, you need less chain maintenance.
Some people have to have their ...
3
So long as it's a good-quality derailer, any common solvent (gasoline, kerosene, diesel, parts cleaner) should be fine (though obviously some are worse than others with regard to the fire/explosion potential).
The danger (other than explosion) would be with a cheap derailer that contains plastic parts (eg, bushings) that are not resistant to petroleum ...
2
Kerosene, gasoline and diesel are fine, because I have used them extensively for years without any problem (I recommend only kerosene, much better than diesel or gasoline).
The symptoms you describe are a bit odd. Does the spring have enough tension? Is the cage bent in some way?
Try the soaking + toothbrushing + lube approach, most probably you'll solve ...
2
I use a cleaning product called Simple Green. It's bio-degradable ( good for the environment ) and really does a complete cleaning job! You can mix it at different strengths from a 1/2 gallon or 1 gallon refill size. It comes in a spray bottle initially. I use it to clean my bicycle rather than soap and water. It is safe to use and doesn't harm the paint. ...
2
You should definitely be careful with it, but at many races we employ the use of a pressure washer to do broad stroke cleaning like getting mud, grass, etc off the bike and tires. You need to be careful and use it from a little distance and obviously not get up close on the BB, hubs, etc. but it does a good job of initially cleaning or cleaning between ...
2
I've used the teflon spray on my cross bike before, especially when it was new, it seems to keep the dirt away for a short period of time, but only a few days. After that it's back to the usual dirt and moisture build up, what seems like more than you can tolerate when you stil want your bike to feel shiny and new. I wouldn't say it's worth the trouble if ...
2
Back when I had a shiny new bike, I used to use car wax on the frame to keep the paint shiny, and at the time I thought it made cleanup easier because I could simply rinse the frame with a little light rubbing to get the dirt off. But I've never waxed my 3 year old commute bike and it's the same - rinse and a light rub gets the dirt off (unless it's greasy).
...
2
Get yourself a Wippermann Connex link. IMO, they are the best and easiest quick links available. Reusable and tool free. Take your chain off and soak it in a mason jar full of mineral spirits for a few hours. Shake it around really good, take it out and allow it to dry. Reinstall and use Phil's Tenacious Oil as a chain lube during the nasty grimy winter ...
2
For those of you who still may be looking for a cheap degreaser, search for Virosol. This is the strongest degreaser I've seen. You'd normally buy it from sites selling industrial cleaning chemicals. It's eco-friendly and leaves your bike spotless.
It was less than £10 for 5L delivered (UK). It's concentrated so for general cleaning I dilute it 1:10, for ...
2
You may have to do some searching to find the right sizes but you could go with stainless steel hardware. Buying them in small quantities can be expensive. I have had issues with some hardware that is countersunk. Conventional allenheads won't fit in the hole. Maybe that is why they call the brand "Specialized".
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I clean my stuff with Simple Green. Rinse. Simple Green. Rinse until clean.
I wouldn't use WD-40 if I were you though. I am not sure about the chemistry behind it but it is not a degreaser and there are plenty of other better options out there.
Don't use grease either. Use a light oil. And remove the excess. I keep an old toothbrush around to brush in ...
1
I like using marine grease in the hex "slot" itself. Just get a mini grease gun and some tubes of marine grease (both available from automotive shops), and then you can quickly apply little blobs of grease in each bolt head.
You'll end up with some grease on the ends of your hex wrenches whenever you make adjustments, but this way you know that your bolt ...
1
I love my Park Tool Chain Gang Chain Cleaning System (CG-2). It is super easy to use and does a great job.
When I travel I will hit a car wash and give my bike a quick rinse, it's another cheap and effective way to clean the bike and drive train.
just make sure that you lube it well after cleaning.
1
I recently started using Pledge Wipes and find that the bike looks shiny and clean, and cleans up very easily after my cyclocross races, simple light water and dry and is back to being shiny and clean.
Dirt does still 'stick' but comes off so easily, and with the shine, I do think it is applying a small layer of something to the surface of the frame.
As ...
1
As Gary mentions, I think there might be two questions in here, one on servicing and one on cleaning.
To clean a bike, there isn't much you need to really worry about; get it up on a stand (if you have that option; otherwise you can just turn it upside down) get the wheels off and clean it as you would anything else. Soap and water will get the mud off, ...
1
I've used white lightening and thought it was good. I never use oil based lubes now - they're just too messy and you end up paying double because you need to first buy the oil and then also buy expensive degreaser to wash them off again.
I do get through wax based lubes faster than oil - you have to reapply more often. Compared to the faff of oil based ...
1
White lightning in particular is a waxy lube, not an oil based lube. The idea is that as dirt gets embedded in the lube, the wax flakes off instead of trapping the dirt particles and leaving them in a position to work themselves in between the plates of the chain.
Most other lubes are oil based, so they don't have this property. I don't have much personal ...
1
I have cloth panniers with a piece of stiff plastic riveted to the inside back wall so turning them inside out isn't an option for cleaning.
Using a mild washing machine soap in the bath tub with warm water, I dunked each pannier in and scrubbed all surfaces with a brush. Hung outside to dry and then brought them inside for the remaining dry time using a ...
1
Since sand is "gritty", you should spend extra time making sure you have absolutely removed every bit of sand from the chain links so you get better wear from your chain and gears! You can do either a "on the bike cleaning" and lubrication or a complete removal of the chain to clean and lubricate it. If you continually ride in this type of environment, a ...
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