bicycles

[lovinthehd]

Curious, what do you have for areas to wash/service/work on your bike?

Also, any sort of stand or way to hold your bike while you work on it?

 

[Dude#1279435]

Curious, what do you have for areas to wash/service/work on your bike?

Also, any sort of stand or way to hold your bike while you work on it?

Cassette, derailleur, chain rings etc. I think when I let it build up for too long that's the biggest problem. I used WD40 bike degreaser then Line1 or something cleaner/lubricant. It's going to be thinner than liquid wrench I'm guessing. Better? I dunno. I think the biggest thing is to spray the chain and not the cassette and see if that reduced build up.

I have one of those bike carriers that attach to the trunk that I use as a faux bike stand. Not the best but works ok at the moment.

 

[Dude#1279435]

Also getting a plastic bristle brush. The same kind of material you see in restaurant floor scrubbers that don't build up or feel greasy afterwards. The toothbrush is shot almost immediately.

 

[lovinthehd]

Cassette, derailleur, chain rings etc. I think when I let it build up for too long that's the biggest problem. I used WD40 bike degreaser then Line1 or something cleaner/lubricant. It's going to be thinner than liquid wrench I'm guessing. Better? I dunno. I think the biggest thing is to spray the chain and not the cassette and see if that reduced build up.

I have one of those bike carriers that attach to the trunk that I use as a faux bike stand. Not the best but works ok at the moment.

I never "spray" a cassette with lube. I use a brush to keep stuff off it, tho. I apply lube as a liquid, and let it drip on to the chain (between the chainrings and cassette) while rotating the cranks. When I did use an aerosol I used one of those straws that fits in the nozzle to aim it onto the chain itself. Can you do that on your stand (i.e. rotate the cranks while you apply lube)? I generally give it a good wipe after letting the lube sink in a bit. WD40 I rarely use on a bike myself, don't need water displacement particularly altho it can be handy when doing a teardown/cleaning of some items.

 

[lovinthehd]

I use a variety of bike specific brushes from Pedro's and Park myself for bike washing. This Park brush I use on my drivetrain quite a bit aside from those for bike washing

 

[Dude#1279435]

I never "spray" a cassette with lube. I use a brush to keep stuff off it, tho. I apply lube as a liquid, and let it drip on to the chain (between the chainrings and cassette) while rotating the cranks. When I did use an aerosol I used one of those straws that fits in the nozzle to aim it onto the chain itself. Can you do that on your stand (i.e. rotate the cranks while you apply lube)? I generally give it a good wipe after letting the lube sink in a bit. WD40 I rarely use on a bike myself, don't need water displacement particularly altho it can be handy when doing a teardown/cleaning of some items.

No problem doing that on my stand. I have to remember to save those straws!

 

[Joe B]

There a degreaser you can recommend that takes off a good amount of gunk without too much scrubbing? Also, what kind of chain spray do you like to use? I use liquid wrench but know there's a lot of build up over time.

Just jumping in here when I saw the above post. I haven't read the thread so I'll apologize if this has been discussed earlier.
Has anyone here used paraffin as a dry lubricant for the chain?
I don't ride any more, but when I was into riding my street bike, I'd remove the chain and place in a pan of hot paraffin. I'd move the chain around in the wax to ensure good coverage, and then let the wax cool and harden. Break the chain out of the wax and reinstall. This works really well. The drive chain is well lubricated but dry, not collecting dirt nor becoming a problem if the chain has to be handled on the road. Shifting is improved as the wax makes the chain 'stiffer' by filling in the sides of the over lapping links with wax. I would do this weekly. It was very popular with the 'goons' I rode with.

 

[lovinthehd]

No problem doing that on my stand. I have to remember to save those straws!

LOL yeah I know what you mean,, lose them all the time so I also try and save 'em when the opportunity rises. I did like that I think my WD40 came with two straws....

 

[lovinthehd]

Just jumping in here when I saw the above post. I haven't read the thread so I'll apologize if this has been discussed earlier.
Has anyone here used paraffin as a dry lubricant for the chain?
I don't ride any more, but when I was into riding my street bike, I'd remove the chain and place in a pan of hot paraffin. I'd move the chain around in the wax to ensure good coverage, and then let the wax cool and harden. Break the chain out of the wax and reinstall. This works really well. The drive chain is well lubricated but dry, not collecting dirt nor becoming a problem if the chain has to be handled on the road. Shifting is improved as the wax makes the chain 'stiffer' by filling in the sides of the over lapping links with wax. I would do this weekly. It was very popular with the 'goons' I rode with.

Heard of it from the roadie side of things, never heard of a mountain biker bothering. I never bothered as too big of a PIA. The lube I mentioned, the Boeshield T-9 is essentially a paraffin suspended in a solvent that evaporates....so similar sorta!

 

[Dude#1279435]

Did buy the Boeshield. Went with the drip since it's less cost.

Were you talking about the Pedro bike cleaning kit? What other cleaning tools do you recommend?

 

[slipperybidness]

The only time to use WD40 on a bike is immediately after a good wash, blow dry or dry in the sun, and hit the critical areas to displace the water only.

Then, come back with the proper lube. WD40 is not a lube, and it can cause more harm than good if you try to use it as a lube by displacing the actual lube, and collecting more dirt.

I have only heard of the chain waxing on the roadies. It gets too dirty and would need to be reapplied too often for offroad use.

My favorite chain lube is White Lightning Epic Ride. It is a good hydrid of dry/wet lube characteristics. BUT....the proper lube for YOU depends on your local conditions and riding habits. For me, the Epic Ride is the best general lube I have found.

I will generally just wipe down my chain. Probably do that every 2-3 rides, or 1 ride if particularly dusty or dirty that day, then re-apply the lube. I may also wipe it with white lightning chain cleaner, that stuff is a strong solvent and don't play around! I may get on my cassette a little here and there with a brush or a rag, but that's about it........until I eventually just take the cassette off and properly degrease it, probly about 1x per year. I only do that when I'm already taking the wheel off for some other maintenance, like a broken spoke etc. I use the Simple Green Degreaser for that.

When it comes to washing your bike, it's a catch-22. Damned if you do, Damned if you don't! So, I tend to stay on the side of less is more when it comes to cleaning. You can use baby wipes to keep the bike fairly clean and avoid the problems of spraying it down with water.

Whatever you do, don't get anything near your brake rotors unless the product is specifically rotor-safe! Most dedicated bike detergents will be fine after thorough rinsing, but any lube or similar and you just destroyed your pads/rotors! You can recover them, but it is a pain, I am the type that would usually just replace them. Regardless, I always come back to my rotors with a clean cloth and IPA to try my best to avoid contamination.

 

[Dude#1279435]

The only time to use WD40 on a bike is immediately after a good wash, blow dry or dry in the sun, and hit the critical areas to displace the water only.

Then, come back with the proper lube. WD40 is not a lube, and it can cause more harm than good if you try to use it as a lube by displacing the actual lube, and collecting more dirt.

I have only heard of the chain waxing on the roadies. It gets too dirty and would need to be reapplied too often for offroad use.

My favorite chain lube is White Lightning Epic Ride. It is a good hydrid of dry/wet lube characteristics. BUT....the proper lube for YOU depends on your local conditions and riding habits. For me, the Epic Ride is the best general lube I have found.

I will generally just wipe down my chain. Probably do that every 2-3 rides, or 1 ride if particularly dusty or dirty that day, then re-apply the lube. I may also wipe it with white lightning chain cleaner, that stuff is a strong solvent and don't play around! I may get on my cassette a little here and there with a brush or a rag, but that's about it........until I eventually just take the cassette off and properly degrease it, probly about 1x per year. I only do that when I'm already taking the wheel off for some other maintenance, like a broken spoke etc. I use the Simple Green Degreaser for that.

When it comes to washing your bike, it's a catch-22. Damned if you do, Damned if you don't! So, I tend to stay on the side of less is more when it comes to cleaning. You can use baby wipes to keep the bike fairly clean and avoid the problems of spraying it down with water.

Whatever you do, don't get anything near your brake rotors unless the product is specifically rotor-safe! Most dedicated bike detergents will be fine after thorough rinsing, but any lube or similar and you just destroyed your pads/rotors! You can recover them, but it is a pain, I am the type that would usually just replace them. Regardless, I always come back to my rotors with a clean cloth and IPA to try my best to avoid contamination.

Its WD40 "bike degreaser." Doesn't do much though that I can see. Its a foam.

 

[lovinthehd]

Did buy the Boeshield. Went with the drip since it's less cost.

Were you talking about the Pedro bike cleaning kit? What other cleaning tools do you recommend?

Yeah it was a bike brush kit from Pedros....other than old towels to wipe down with, just the Park otherwise.....for my titanium bikes I use Lemon Pledge....

 

[lovinthehd]

The only time to use WD40 on a bike is immediately after a good wash, blow dry or dry in the sun, and hit the critical areas to displace the water only.

Then, come back with the proper lube. WD40 is not a lube, and it can cause more harm than good if you try to use it as a lube by displacing the actual lube, and collecting more dirt.

I have only heard of the chain waxing on the roadies. It gets too dirty and would need to be reapplied too often for offroad use.

My favorite chain lube is White Lightning Epic Ride. It is a good hydrid of dry/wet lube characteristics. BUT....the proper lube for YOU depends on your local conditions and riding habits. For me, the Epic Ride is the best general lube I have found.

I will generally just wipe down my chain. Probably do that every 2-3 rides, or 1 ride if particularly dusty or dirty that day, then re-apply the lube. I may also wipe it with white lightning chain cleaner, that stuff is a strong solvent and don't play around! I may get on my cassette a little here and there with a brush or a rag, but that's about it........until I eventually just take the cassette off and properly degrease it, probly about 1x per year. I only do that when I'm already taking the wheel off for some other maintenance, like a broken spoke etc. I use the Simple Green Degreaser for that.

When it comes to washing your bike, it's a catch-22. Damned if you do, Damned if you don't! So, I tend to stay on the side of less is more when it comes to cleaning. You can use baby wipes to keep the bike fairly clean and avoid the problems of spraying it down with water.

Whatever you do, don't get anything near your brake rotors unless the product is specifically rotor-safe! Most dedicated bike detergents will be fine after thorough rinsing, but any lube or similar and you just destroyed your pads/rotors! You can recover them, but it is a pain, I am the type that would usually just replace them. Regardless, I always come back to my rotors with a clean cloth and IPA to try my best to avoid contamination.

If you do contaminate the pads you might be able to burn it off....

 

[NINaudio]

For cleaning my bike I just use the same waterless wash spray I use for my car. I just spray it on a microfiber and wipe off the bike instead of spraying on the bike and wiping it off.

 

[slipperybidness]

If you do contaminate the pads you might be able to burn it off....

Yeah, there are all kinds of fixes, etc.

I have tried some of them. I'm at the point that my time is worth more than the $10-15 to just slap in a new set of pads (I tend to have spare pads on-hand, buy them when the price is good or when I need a few more dollars to get free shipping).

Rotors are a bit more expensive. I would be more likely to slap on a new rotor and throw the problematic rotor in the parts bin until a later day when I feel like dealing with it (maybe). I would be more inclined to try to save a fancy 2-piece rotor vs. a stamped 1-piece rotor.

But----Prevention is the best approach!

 

[Dude#1279435]

The rotors on my fat bike squeal either when wet or first thing from the garage in the morning. After they get hot, no problems. I've had bike mechanics tell me to sand down the brake pads slightly but haven't needed to do that yet.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yeah, there are all kinds of fixes, etc.

I have tried some of them. I'm at the point that my time is worth more than the $10-15 to just slap in a new set of pads (I tend to have spare pads on-hand, buy them when the price is good or when I need a few more dollars to get free shipping).

Rotors are a bit more expensive. I would be more likely to slap on a new rotor and throw the problematic rotor in the parts bin until a later day when I feel like dealing with it (maybe). I would be more inclined to try to save a fancy 2-piece rotor vs. a stamped 1-piece rotor.

But----Prevention is the best approach!

Yep in the end why mess with rotors and pads unless ya have to? As to washing with a hose, don't aim pressurized water at bearings is another general rule....generally I just use a shower type spray head....

The rotors on my fat bike squeal either when wet or first thing from the garage in the morning. After they get hot, no problems. I've had bike mechanics tell me to sand down the brake pads slightly but haven't needed to do that yet.

Yeah disc brakes squeal at times in the wet/cold, snow is another good cause. I have gone thru some mucky puddles out on the trail that have made brakes squeal far longer than you'd think but generally with use will go away....but figure those puddles have a soup of ingredients, hard to know of what....

 

[Dude#1279435]

Doing the pre-state fair gig at the fairgrounds. 10 miles one way. I'm thinking WTF was I thinking hahaha! Ma's driving me today.

 

[Dude#1279435]

I think after using the 28 uphill I'll need the small gear. Besides chain rings, cassette, and rear derailleur, any other parts I'd need before replacing?