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Cycling weekly advice?

(25 posts)
  • Started 9 years ago by SRD
  • Latest reply from gembo
  • This topic is not resolved

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  1. SRD
    Moderator

    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?

    "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
    Read more at http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/cycling-in-the-rain-how-to-survive-it-19050#1dQTMavY0tzWjVC8.99"

    Posted 9 years ago #

  2. Instography
    Member

    You'd think the rain water would sit on top of the oil and evaporate.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  3. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    WD40 is not a degreaser. It is a water-dispersant. Neither is Muc-off. It's a cleaner.

    Suspect this is makey-uppy. No harm in drying wet steel components mind.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  4. neddie
    Member

    I wouldn't put WD40 or GT85 anywhere near a bicycle. These are penetrating oils. They are more akin to a solvent (e.g. petrol) than an oil.

    They are designed to free off rusted bolts on cars and to penetrate into all the nooks and crannies.

    They are thin and will wick their way into your hubs and eat all the grease in there.

    Only use WD40/GT85 if the chain has been removed from the bike, unless you want early hub/BB failure.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  5. richardlmpearson
    Member

    I use GT85 to clean chain (Better than water), then re-apply chain lube. Works very well for me.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  6. Roibeard
    Member

    No idea about the chain advice, but the person advice seems peculiar to me:

    After a ride in the rain you should immediately shower and dry yourself.

    I tend to find my post rain ride routine to be:

    1) Remove waterproofs
    2) Em...

    Perhaps I'm not the correct demographic for Cycling Weekly!

    Robert

    Posted 9 years ago #

  7. twq
    Member

    @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.
    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.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  8. Dave
    Member

    After a ride in the rain you should immediately shower and dry yourself.

    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.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  9. Dave
    Member

    "ways to prepare, survive and recover from cycling in the rain"

    Wow, what a bizarre premise. Rain is only rain. Has someone been reading too many ebola advice leaflets?

    Posted 9 years ago #

  10. Min
    Member

    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!

    Posted 9 years ago #

  11. kaputnik
    Moderator

    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.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  12. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @kaputnik

    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.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  13. earthowned
    Member

    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?

    Posted 9 years ago #

  14. Cyclingmollie
    Member

    All those "metallic moving parts" being sprayed with degreaser *shudder*. It'll be good for the bike repair business though.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  15. kaputnik
    Moderator

    And GT85? The 85th formula of what exactly?

    Posted 9 years ago #

  16. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @kaputnik

    Gin and Tonic.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  17. kaputnik
    Moderator

    5% light mineral oil, 50% white spirit, 1% Juniper and 24% butane

    Posted 9 years ago #

  18. MrGrumpy
    Member

    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 !

    Posted 9 years ago #

  19. condor2378
    Member

    TRIGGER WARNING: Ex-pro cyclist creates controversy at 0:30 & 4:30.

    [+] Embed the video | Video DownloadGet the Flash Videos

    It's also a fairly good demo on a 5 minute bike wash.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  20. threefromleith
    Member

    Wet, mucky chain post-ride? Clean with Baby Wipes.

    Best cleaning product around. Ask any parent!

    Posted 9 years ago #

  21. wingpig
    Member

    @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.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  22. neddie
    Member

    I'd be interested to know a good cleaning technique that you can use inside your flat, without ruining the carpet...

    (because I can't be ****ed doing it on the shared green in the pitch black)

    Posted 9 years ago #

  23. wingpig
    Member

    @eddie_h Babywipes with a dust sheet/old bit of lino/newspaper underneath everything?

    Posted 9 years ago #

  24. DaveC
    Member

    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.

    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.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  25. gembo
    Member

    I recommend the Sheldon Brown guide to chain cleaning, involves dismantling link by link to get the lube inside.

    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.

    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.

    Posted 9 years ago #

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