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Back To Basics - Cleaning Your Bike

Posted by James on February 8, 2008 3:17 PM | Permalink

Cleaning you bike ensures it works properly and lasts longer

CLEANING you bike not only keeps it looking good, but also helps keep everything in working order.

All the different moving parts of a bike are efficient and also quite delicate - most of which are exposed to the elements.

But regular cleaning and maintenance removes grit and dirt, which can stick to the components, helping maintain their efficiency and extend their life.

All you need to do this is a bucket of warm, soapy water and a few basic bits of equipment such as stiff brushes, sponges and a few cloths.

Using a bike stand is helpful and will make things easier, as you will be able to move the pedals and other parts of the bike more freely, but it’s really not that essential.

If you’re worried about getting the top of your brake hood scuffed when you turn it over to get at hard to reach places to clean, just tie a few bits of old rags to them and the seat to make sure they’re protected.

Either that or hook it up on a bike rack that most cyclists have fitted inside their sheds or garages.

If your bike is really muddy, then the sooner you can clean it off the better. Don’t take this to mean as soon as you get back from your ride.

Take a few minutes to get into some other clothes, have a cuppa to warm up and make a quick bike to eat, but as soon as that’s out of the way, get to work cleaning your pride and joy.

Once you’ve got your bike either fitted correctly on tits stand, etc, get to work on it with a hosepipe to wash off any excess mud or dirt.

Do not use a high pressure washer at all - this can cause unwanted water to get inside the bearings and clean out and lubrication.

Best to just use a spray setting, as the more stubborn dirt will come off once you start using the sponge and soapy water.

When using the hosepipe, keep turning the cranks and hubs forward because the bearings are designed to work when the bike is moving.

While cleaning your pride and joy, check for cracks, especially under the fork crowm and around the bottom bracket.

When scrubbing the tyres, look for cuts and remove anything lodge in the tread. If you take up racing, a clean bike will boost you confience - many elite cyclist are renowned for paying close attention to their bikes.

How to clean your bike

1. Remove both wheels and either put the frame in a stand , hang it up or tie bits of old cloth to the brake hoods and saddle. For example, click here.

2. Apply degreaser to remove any old oil and grit. Spray on the chainset, front and rear mechs and the chain, covering each link.

3. Use a sponge to apply hot, soapy water over the transmission. Wrap it around the chain, turn the pedals and run the chain through the sponge. For example, click here.

4. Take another sponge and apply plenty of soapy water to the rest of the bike. Different size hard-bristled brushes will also be effective here - especially when combined with the soapy water being worked into the places that are hard to reach.

5. Once that’s done, rinse off with clean water and shake the bike a few times and spin the cranks to shake off excess water before drying the bike with a clean cloth.

6. Now it’s time to clean the wheels. Use a cassette scraper or hard-bristled brush to gouge out any debris that has accumulated between the sprockets. For example, click here.

7. Apply degreaser to the chain and spray some on the cassette. Use plenty, making sure that it gets into the spaces between the sprockets and allow a few minutes for the degreaser to work.

8. Use a bigger brush to clean the rest of the wheel, including the tyres and work the bristles in between the spokes and around the hub. For example, click here.

9. Rinse with clean water and dry everything with a cloth. Once you’ve replaced the wheels, sparingly apply a light oil to the chain and moving parts of the front and rear mechs.

WORKSHOP TIPS

Use diesel as an alternative degreasing agent. It’s cheap and effective and can be applied to transmission parts with a 2.5cm (1-inch) paintbrush. Never use petrol - it’s dangerous and will dry out the equipment. Diesel and other good degreasers leave an oily residue behind after they’ve been washed off, which is ideal condition for the bike to be left in.

Always clean from the top of the bike, working downwards so dirt does not get washed into parts that have already been cleaned.

TIPS FROM THE PELETON

After riding in bad weather, sometimes it’s difficult to clean off mud from the dirty bike. If so, spray the bike with cooking oil before going out. When the bike is cleaned the degreaser and detergent will cut through this oil and lift off the dirt with it.

Difficult to clean and hard-to-reach places on a bike can cause problems when cleaning. In these incidences use a bottle brush with a flexible wire handle.

When you get an accumulation of dirt between the spoke heads on the hubs, use an old toothbrush to scrub between them. Remove the cassette from time to time and thoroughly clean behind it.

Bikenut would once again like to express its thanks to Trek UK for the use of their Trek 1.5 2008 model featured in our pictures..

Use a sponge to apply hot, soapy water over the transmission. Wrap it around the chain, turn the pedals and run the chain through the sponge