http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Cycling weekly advice? en Wed, 13 May 2026 02:03:45 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-178344 Tue, 20 Jan 2015 21:02:32 +0000 gembo 178344@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I recommend the Sheldon Brown guide to chain cleaning, involves dismantling link by link to get the lube inside.</p> <p>Though confess I did leave A new chain in a bath of engine oil for several months as somehow due to an oversight on my part it had become seized up. Still needed matt at just bike repairs to get it back to working properly.</p> <p>Someone once suggested you should have three chains on the go at the same time. One on the bike, one in a bath of oil and another one. I can't remember what the other one was about, maybe formerly in the oil? Anyway this handy if oily routine extends the chain life by weeks. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-178334 Tue, 20 Jan 2015 17:15:10 +0000 DaveC 178334@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I have quick links these days and remove my chain, hang it up and then clean with GT85 and a rag dragging the cloth down the chain with GT85 applied to the rag to remove excess dirt which has stuck to the chain. I have a nail in my garage rafter to hang the chain on.</p> <p>Prevention is better than cure (as the saying goes) so I tend to very lightly oil my chains these days and then wipe off the excess. I have found the chains stay looking shiney for longer. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-178327 Tue, 20 Jan 2015 16:17:31 +0000 wingpig 178327@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@eddie_h Babywipes with a dust sheet/old bit of lino/newspaper underneath everything? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-178316 Tue, 20 Jan 2015 14:52:03 +0000 neddie 178316@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I'd be interested to know a good cleaning technique that you can use inside your flat, without ruining the carpet...</p> <p>(because I can't be ****ed doing it on the shared green in the pitch black) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-178312 Tue, 20 Jan 2015 14:39:07 +0000 wingpig 178312@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@threefromleith It sometimes results in most of the gack from the outside of the chain being pushed into the inter-link nooks, but poking it out with a cocktail stick and then wiping that off on a baby-wipe works. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-178309 Tue, 20 Jan 2015 14:17:31 +0000 threefromleith 178309@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Wet, mucky chain post-ride? Clean with Baby Wipes.</p> <p>Best cleaning product around. Ask any parent! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-178297 Tue, 20 Jan 2015 12:55:28 +0000 condor2378 178297@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>TRIGGER WARNING: Ex-pro cyclist creates controversy at 0:30 &amp; 4:30.</p> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvzVRxlIUL0" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvzVRxlIUL0</a></p> <p>It's also a fairly good demo on a 5 minute bike wash. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-178050 Sat, 17 Jan 2015 12:51:07 +0000 MrGrumpy 178050@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Think the use of "spray" is the offender wiping with a cloth soaked in gt 85 is not too bad. Cleans up bikes great and leaves a protective coat. There are however some degreasers from the cheap pound shops which I would put nowhere near my bike ! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172285 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:21:06 +0000 kaputnik 172285@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>5% light mineral oil, 50% white spirit, 1% Juniper and 24% butane </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172283 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:13:32 +0000 I were right about that saddle 172283@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@kaputnik</p> <p>Gin and Tonic. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172281 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:11:01 +0000 kaputnik 172281@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>And GT85? The 85th formula of what exactly? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172279 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:10:51 +0000 Cyclingmollie 172279@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>All those "metallic moving parts" being sprayed with degreaser *shudder*. It'll be good for the bike repair business though. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172276 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:02:51 +0000 earthowned 172276@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>At the risk of side-tracking the post - did you know that WD-40 (a.k.a. Water Displacement: 40th formula) was a spin-off development from nuclear weapons to protect them from corrosion? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172272 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 13:58:03 +0000 I were right about that saddle 172272@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@kaputnik</p> <p>WD40 is 25% light mineral oil, 50% white spirit and 25% butane. None of these are suitable lubricants for a bicycle chain, though I like the idea of applying the lightest hydrocarbon whose boiling point is below the ambient temperature. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172268 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 13:48:00 +0000 kaputnik 172268@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I was told by a mechanic to keep the penetrants well away from the chain, as they just get inside the innards of the links and disperse the factory-installed lubricants, never to return, and GT85/WD40 etc. don't have the correct sort of consistency and formulation to hang around inside the links, providing lubrication. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172259 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 13:26:17 +0000 Min 172259@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I should think if you have a bazillion pound racer it would be a good idea to clean the chain/mech after a rainy ride as there will be all sorts of gunk other than water in there. Different demographic really, we already know how to "survive" a wee bit of rain! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172253 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 13:13:58 +0000 Dave 172253@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>"ways to prepare, survive and recover from cycling in the rain"</em></p> <p>Wow, what a bizarre premise. Rain is only rain. Has someone been reading too many ebola advice leaflets? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172251 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 13:12:19 +0000 Dave 172251@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>After a ride in the rain you should immediately shower and dry yourself.</em></p> <p>Now I know where I've been going wrong! I only followed the first of these two steps, and wondered why our carpets have always been wet. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172249 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 13:10:06 +0000 twq 172249@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@edd1e_h I use GT85 on my bike but not on any of the drive-chain (apart from screws etc. on derailleur). Good for keeping cables shiny.<br /> I either wipe the chain dry when it's been raining, or clean it (degreaser, lube etc.) so don't think it's particular bad advice. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172245 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 12:47:01 +0000 Roibeard 172245@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>No idea about the chain advice, but the person advice seems peculiar to me:</p> <p><em>After a ride in the rain you should immediately shower and dry yourself.</em></p> <p>I tend to find my post rain ride routine to be:</p> <p>1) Remove waterproofs<br /> 2) Em...</p> <p>Perhaps I'm not the correct demographic for Cycling Weekly!</p> <p>Robert </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172240 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 12:35:24 +0000 richardlmpearson 172240@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I use GT85 to clean chain (Better than water), then re-apply chain lube. Works very well for me. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172237 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 12:18:15 +0000 neddie 172237@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I wouldn't put WD40 or GT85 anywhere near a bicycle. These are <strong>penetrating </strong>oils. They are more akin to a solvent (e.g. petrol) than an oil.</p> <p>They are designed to free off rusted bolts on cars and to <em>penetrate </em> into all the nooks and crannies.</p> <p>They are thin and will wick their way into your hubs and eat all the grease in there.</p> <p>Only use WD40/GT85 if the chain has been removed from the bike, unless you want early hub/BB failure. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172233 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 12:07:37 +0000 I were right about that saddle 172233@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>WD40 is not a degreaser. It is a water-dispersant. Neither is Muc-off. It's a cleaner.</p> <p>Suspect this is makey-uppy. No harm in drying wet steel components mind. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172229 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 12:05:07 +0000 Instography 172229@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>You'd think the rain water would sit on top of the oil and evaporate. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13934#post-172226 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 12:02:04 +0000 SRD 172226@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I'm slightly baffled by this. I'm sure it's a good idea to dry your bike/chain, and wash it, but why 'degrease' after it gets wet? </p> <p>"4. Chain degreaser: After a ride in the rain you should immediately shower and dry yourself. The same goes for your chain. Cover it in degreaser (WD40 or GT85 are both widely available although there are bike specific degreasers like Muc Off) then vigorously wipe it down with a rag until it’s dry. A few drops of lube will then protect it for the next ride. Do this and it can double the chain’s lifespan. It’s a good idea to spray the other metallic moving parts too; front and rear gear mechanisms and brake callipers. Try to keep the degreaser away from the hubs, bottom bracket, wheel rims and brake blocks. Ideally your whole bike would get washed down after a wet ride, but we know that’s not very realistic<br /> Read more at <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/cycling-in-the-rain-how-to-survive-it-19050#1dQTMavY0tzWjVC8.99" rel="nofollow">http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/cycling-in-the-rain-how-to-survive-it-19050#1dQTMavY0tzWjVC8.99</a>" </p>