Ride, Wrench, Swap, Race
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Northern California
Posts: 9,193
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
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A little spray cleaner or WD40 and a suitable arsenal of brushes will accomplish what I think you're faced with.
A pressure washer might be ok if there were no cartridge "sealed" bearings AND you were going to rebuild the bearing assemblies later, before rust set in.
I've used external methods for flushing out water-contaminated bearings, but it can be an oily mess. It dissolves out the grease so will need more-frequent maintenance afterward.
Any seals may or may not let water in, but with no way for the water to get out. A gear hub or a bb cartridge would likely be ruined.
The cheapest bikes are the "best" candidate for this kind of treatment. The cheapest derailers, for example, don't have the really closed-in spring barrels that would trap water, and no bearing seals either.
Cables don't like water either, but your bikes might already have contaminated housings where some oiling to displace any water can't do any further harm.
Last edited by dddd; 04-29-12 at 09:46 PM.