CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Questions/Support/Help

Winter Bike Cleaning

(34 posts)
  • Started 8 years ago by ReeBee
  • Latest reply from wee folding bike
  • This topic is not resolved

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  1. ReeBee
    Member

    Hi all,

    First post here. Sorry to make it a request for some pretty basic advice. Having been a pretty fairweather sort of cyclist for the last few years, I've recently committed to commuting full-time, and to braving the winter conditions for the first time. Mudguards and a look of grim determination are now fully secured, but i'm a bit uncertain about how to best go about cleaning my bike.

    It's a pretty old steel road bike, so i'd like to at least try and keep it in reasonable nick. Having previously lived indoors in my old flat, it's now stored under cover but outside, and i'm a bit worried that it'll be in a poor state by the end of winter without some regular TLC.

    Any tips/advice most welcome. Cheers!

    Posted 8 years ago #

  2. Morningsider
    Member

    Don't worry too much about cleaning - my commuter could be mistaken for a mobile molehill. If you are feeling keen then baby wipes are a great way to quickly remove most road gack.

    Do keep half an eye on your chain and cogs - the odd rub down won't hurt - keeping leaf mulch at bay and helping to get rid of salt.

    Winter bike cleaning is one of my least favourite tasks - so I generally don't bother. It might shorten the life of some parts by a few weeks, but I can live with that.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  3. CycleCommute.CC
    Member

    Hmm, don't think I agree with Morningsider on this one. Over winter I like to get the bike cleaned at least every 2 weeks and possibly more if time permits. It generally takes me up to an hour to do properly. Even with that I still find bolts getting seized, parts showing rust and my seatpost is currently stuck tight.

    This is with me keeping it in a garage overnight so will probably be even worse kept outside. After a wet ride I try and give it a quick wipe down with a cloth to get worst of the rain and muck off.

    For cleaning I use warm water with some bike cleaning spray all over, and degreaser for the chainset components. Usually use an old cloth mainly although I have various brushes which can sometimes be handy.

    Give it a dry when complete and don't forget to lube the chain. Will be all worth while, although 5 minutes into your next ride you may think it was a waste of time.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  4. wingpig
    Member

    If you regularly glag up your downtube (or the insides of your mudguards) with journeys along leafmulchy paths like the NEPN then the occasional feet-up splatter through a deep puddle (if you know it's safe and contains no potholes) will help remove caked-on organic debris. I do very little cleaning except for occasionally baby-wiping off particularly large accretions of chain-muck from the front mech or jockey wheels, but only if I happen to notice such accretions when I'm in the mood to do something about it. I'll usually only baby-wipe things like brakes or other mechanisms immediately prior to other maintenance like changing cables or pads.

    If I've been caught in the rain without a pre-emptive oil application I'll chuck some more oil on if it starts squeaking a bit.

    Not cleaning anything does mean that you can expect your hands to end up completely covered in Swarfega-resistant dark grey grime if you need to do anything like change a tyre without a pair of latex gloves.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  5. Ed1
    Member

    I never clean my bike, but did use 5 chains in a year 2 new rear cog sets( plus one the bike came with ) 2 new derailleur , 2 inner tubes, 1 spoke broken. On my new 7 month old bike I got 2 months ago had a bent tyre, worn out bottom bracket replaced.

    May be my excessive wear is caused by my lack of cleaning, although think may also be the amount of weight I carry on my bike also I ride mainly out of town where the road is much more gritty and dirty. In town or even main roads, the road always seems much cleaner.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  6. Arellcat
    Moderator

    I used to clean my bike only irregularly, with paper towels and perhaps a dash of white spirit, and got through loads of components. I've also had chains go rusty almost overnight.

    Now (e.g. yesterday) I use:
    - a bucket of warm water with some car shampoo
    - big soft bristle brush (the one made by Finish Line is pretty good)
    - 6pt carton of warm water

    I slop the bike down with the brush and soapy water to loosen the crud, then go over it again to clean it all. The only bit I don't scrub is the chain (I use my chain cleaner beforehand if it needs it). Then gradually pour the clean warm water over the bike to rinse the soap out. Then indoors on some newspaper I blast the water out of the chain and brakes and gears using my hairdryer on cold (or warm) and maximum speed. It's surprising just how much water collects in the chain and in the nooks and crannies around the headset.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  7. Morningsider
    Member

    ReeBee - I think we have cleared that up nicely for you! Welcome to CCE.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  8. dougal
    Member

    @Arellcat: hairdryer genius! I knew those things must have value to people with short hair.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  9. Edinburgh Cycle Training
    Member

    I've already had much gyp for cleaning my bike in the bath using the shower spray. I don't know if I'm brave enough to use her hairdryer on the bike too! I am tempted though.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  10. Greenroofer
    Member

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    Or just use baby wipes. They are the business for cleaning bikes and hands (even black chain gunk). They are so good I'm surprised they are allowed to be used on children: there must be something quite corrosive in them...

    The only bit of my daily-use commuter I clean regularly is the chain.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  11. gembo
    Member

    If cycling in wet weather good to dry your bike and lubricate the working bits. You can spray wd40 or gt85 onto a cloth and use it to give the bike a quick once over of the moving parts. You don't want that stuff anywhere near bearings on the wheels or bottom bracket. The bike service are doing a very runny oil that has a very small aperture in the bottle this directs a fine, thin and fast spray of oil which is good for the moving bits too. Wipe off excess with rag.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  12. Dave
    Member

    I add oil to my chain periodically.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  13. ReeBee
    Member

    Thanks heaps for all of this, it's much appreciated. I knew I was in the right place :)

    Will no doubt opt for some combination of the above and hopefully make it through to summer still operational!

    Cheers,

    Posted 8 years ago #

  14. paddyirish
    Member

    I try the baby wipes trick and a weekly/fortnightly proper degrease/oiling of the chain.

    One thing I do is book my bnike in for an annual service in March. Pay £70+ for it, but get the bike fully stripped down, regreased and everything inspected. Means that I exit winter with a fully working bike and I don't have to think about the parts of the bike that I don't understand or could do more harm than good.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  15. chdot
    Admin

    Welcome RB

    "I knew I was in the right place"

    Well yes!

    Good, timely, topic to start with - I suspect more people will be trying to 'cycle through the winter'.

    You might like to look at

    https://cyclefridays.wordpress.com/weather and https://cyclefridays.wordpress.com/clothes

    You will have noticed that CCE is full of people of all experiences and different opinions!

    And many useful threads, eg -

    http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1230

    Posted 8 years ago #

  16. Nelly
    Member

    ReeBee - all useful info above.

    Also, cleaning and maintenance regime does depend on the type of bike you are using as well.

    If you are using a bike without gears (like me), or something with hub gears to commute, your washing / lubing regime may be less regular than if you have a 'normal' geared bike.

    You will find that there are many and varied bike styles / riders represented on here.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  17. Darkerside
    Member

    On the upright I do absolutely nothing apart from adding oil whenever the chain starts squeaking enough to confuse the local mice. Seems to work out OK...

    The recumbent gets more love.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  18. Schemieradge
    Member

    I like to build up a protective layer of dried mud, keep it all winter, then clean it off in spring, change the chain and cassette, and off I go.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  19. wingpig
    Member

    Obviously depends where you live, work or go. If I had to use the upper WoL with any frequency I'd probably clean a bit more often. I went up it today so spent ten minutes knocking off the results with an old Muc-Off skoosher-pump bottle filled with warm water when I got home.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  20. amir
    Member

    With the chain, I try to wipe down fairly frequently especially if it's wet. It stops build up of gunk. If there's salt on the roads and it's damp this becomes really important to avoid a rusty chain.

    I also now wipe down rims quite often due to too frequent experience of rim wear. I also find that regular wiping down of the rest of the bike reduces the need for more serious cleaning. But my mileage is quite high

    Posted 8 years ago #

  21. ReeBee
    Member

    Managed to get out this morning and give the bike a good going over. Took forever, but hopefully it'll just be a quick going over on the regular now that the worst of it is sorted.

    Anyways, thanks again for all the advice and links folks, really super helpful :)

    Posted 8 years ago #

  22. lorlane
    Member

    @paddyirish do you recommend anyone for the service? I think that sounds like a good idea.

    I might* be able to change the cassette/chain myself.

    *I will certainly give it a go, having recently learned how to do this.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  23. Neil
    Member

    I'll be taking mine to the Cycle Service for a service in spring

    Posted 8 years ago #

  24. lorlane
    Member

    Thanks @smash.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  25. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @lorlane

    Bike Station does a 'bells and whistles' for £80. Be good for a bike ridden through winter.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  26. wingpig
    Member

    I finally got a couple of hours on Saturday morning to replace the properbike's knackered drivetrain. After removing the used-up bits I then gave the bike its first proper wash, a year and a month after it first went on the road. I'd given the odd bit the odd wipe here and there when fixing brakes or changing tyres but I think the bottle of Muc-Off I used had been sitting in a cupboard since the Christmas before last. As well as the chunk which had broken off the largest sprocket (which tumbled out from somewhere when I was trying to get the chainwhip to bite) and the glagged-up chain (so glaggy I had to scrape it clean a link at a time until I found the clippy-link to remove it) there were a few strands of the longitudinal wires from the sheath of the gear cable poking a couple of inches up through the in-line barrel-adjuster and a number of strands of snapped gear cable where it left the shifter, though the dodgy shifting of the past couple of months indicated something like that but I didn't want to stick a new cable on when I knew everything would be coming off shortly once the road-grime period was past its worst. The rear mech has been replaced with one which still swivels but the old one is having a bath in washing-up liquid prior to stripping it down to see if it can be rescued for use as a spare.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  27. Murun Buchstansangur
    Member

    Probably it's a old wives' tale, but I've heard it said that salts in washing-up liquid can speed up corrosion.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  28. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @Murun

    It's true in principle but of little consequence in the grand scheme of Scottish winter hack corrosion.

    The year they tried making the road salt sticky with molases (oh yes they did) alloy vanished like snow off a dyke.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  29. wingpig
    Member

    Chains tend not to like being forgotten in concentrated dishwater but 24 hours' immersion with a shoogle and toothbrushing every now and then takes the edge of scraping/babywiping off all the glag later. What I'd really like is a bottle of the soap with which Lidl babywipes are impregnated as that can clean almost anything.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  30. Ed1
    Member

    The chain stay part of the frame on my winter bike Pinnacle is getting rusty, did not realize aluminium rusted

    Posted 8 years ago #

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