Novice trying to keep his bike clean..

[potsy]

..am I doing anything wrong?

 

[snorri]

Pic 1. Nothing wrong with providing us with amusement

Pic 2.Wrong. Don't buy small cans of WD40, the bigger can is better value.

Pic 3. Right/Wrong. Right if you live alone, could be fatally wrong if you are a married person.

 

[400bhp]

..am I doing anything wrong?

You got the "novice" bit right.

:awaitsfossyant:

 

[I like Skol]

He just sooooooo shouldn't be wearing a bright yellow shirt for cleaning a bike. Any splashes might leave permanent marks......

 

[Shut Up Legs]

No, pic 3 is OK, because your spouse can't give you the cold shoulder, since all the available ice is in the bath.

 

[sidevalve]

Well it stands out a mile really - WD 40 is not the best lube for chains.

 

[Pale Rider]

Take the coal out of the bath first and the bike will come out even cleaner.

 

[RiflemanSmith]

LOL I cleaned my bike in the bath one time as we live in a flat.
Our bathroom is canary yellow, it took me longer to clean the bathroom up after then it did to clean the bike.
I still do all my mechanics and fettling in the front room though.

 

[kedab]

LOL I cleaned my bike in the bath one time as we live in a flat.
Our bathroom is canary yellow, it took me longer to clean the bathroom up after then it did to clean the bike.
I still do all my mechanics and fettling in the front room though.

my now wife used to go radio rental if she came home to find me fettling in the living room. personally, i couldn't see the problem but she was never pleased. now i have a garage. my very own garage where i am free to tend to my bikes in space and comfort with all tools at hand and with no fear of dripping lube all over the carpet

 

[RiflemanSmith]

my now wife used to go radio rental if she came home to find me fettling in the living room. personally, i couldn't see the problem but she was never pleased. now i have a garage. my very own garage where i am free to tend to my bikes in space and comfort with all tools at hand and with no fear of dripping lube all over the carpet

Lucky git, I would love a garage and she wouldn't be putting our car in there either.

 

[kedab]

Lucky git, I would love a garage and she wouldn't be putting our car in there either.

my car sits outside the garage, the wife's car sits outside the house - my car understands that my bikes need the shelter, my wife couldn't get her car in the garage if she tried, so i win

 

[Haz]

Last weekend I decided my bike needed a deep-clean. Took some things off/apart. Then cleaned the lot thoroughly with water, muc-off, old toothbrushes, a sponge and the world's leakiest hosepipe. Then dried it all with a towel, to stop things getting rusty. Then lubed, greased and generally smoothed things where smoothing was needed in bike lubricant form. Put proper chain lube on the chain, not WD40 (incidentally, used WD40 to help remove some of the grime in the mechanism). Then spent some frustrating time aligning everything so that gear changes are wonderful and the brakes only touch the rims when I need them to be braking.

Result: non-indexed gears are shifting as though they've indexed themselves; super-quiet, smoooooooth smooth chain; the thing is now actually white rather than grubby-white; it's not rusting; an afternoon well spent getting numb fingers lots of fresh air.

Disclaimer: this may all be a rubbish way of cleaning your bike. Please take the advice of more knowledgeable people on here!

 

[ScottyB]

I try and keep my bike fairly clean - just to get the mud and dirt off every few weeks as opposed to regularly degreasing the chain etc. (I do give it a full clean from time to time though)

However, on my 7 month old Allez I have just had the bottom bracket replaced due to it appearing water damaged. After a chat with the guys in the LBS they think the hosepipe cleaning method may be to blame...

Normally I would spray the whole bike with Muc-Off, leave for 5 mins then hose it down and wipe the stubborn bits of muck away. Followed by a bit of an all over GT57. Is this OK, should I ditch the hose or maybe I just didn't get enough GT into the bottom bracket area?

Just wondering what others do and if I am alone with this problem?

 

[uclown2002]

I use the hosepipe with a spray nozzle so as to avoid direct pressure on headset and bb areas.

 

[Kies]

Spray setting and keep it away from the BB/headset.
Also i only use a hose if the bike is very dirty