Mountain Biking - High pressure compressed air... yay or nay?

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Chone
05-15-06, 06:09 PM
Would dusting my bike off with compressed air cause any damage to any parts or whatever? I´m asking cause whenever I clean my bike I use extremely low pressure water (mist water lol) then dry the bike and dust off the remaining dust with an air compressor (60 to 100psi I think).

Should I not do that or is it fine?

free_pizza
05-15-06, 06:12 PM
Would dusting my bike off with compressed air cause any damage to any parts or whatever? I´m asking cause whenever I clean my bike I use extremely low pressure water (mist water lol) then dry the bike and dust off the remaining dust with an air compressor (60 to 100psi I think).

Should I not do that or is it fine?

it should be fine.. the only problem would be around seals (hubs), you might blow them hard enough to become unseated, exposing bearings to water...
mx_599
05-15-06, 06:33 PM
good stuff

MattP.
05-15-06, 07:19 PM
good stuff

fo shizzle.
cryptid01
05-15-06, 07:28 PM
Air compressors are great for drying bikes.

Leaf blowers work in a pinch.
Jason222
05-15-06, 08:00 PM
Try not to mist around the stanchions or seals of your fork. Don't let water get in there, it ruins forks. Cover them with a paper towel or something. Remember to lube your fork up with some grease or oil once in a while, it takes the deep dirt out of the seals.
leonardotmnt
05-15-06, 08:14 PM
Try not to mist around the stanchions or seals of your fork. Don't let water get in there, it ruins forks. Cover them with a paper towel or something. Remember to lube your fork up with some grease or oil once in a while, it takes the deep dirt out of the seals.

Will just misting be bad enough to ruin it? It seems hard to believe that it'd be any worse than riding in rain or even getting the bike dirty in general for that matter. Maybe it is bad, just isn't very intuitive.
Jason222
05-15-06, 08:18 PM
All forms of water are bad for forks. Most people don't understand how much of a huge difference on the life expectancy of a fork is altered when they don't clean their seals. The seals can only keep so much crap out.
Jason222
05-15-06, 08:19 PM
Not to say getting water on the seals once will ruin the fork, just try to keep it from happening.
mx_599
05-16-06, 12:07 AM
these are even better than a leaf blower!

http://www.customdynamics.com/Images/metro.jpg
F the seals!!
[bEn]
05-16-06, 02:05 AM
I've recently bought an air compressor. They are very handy and so good to have. I cranked it up the other day and i blew off all the chunky bits of dry mud. Also pumped up my tires... took like 3 seconds :p
古強者死神
05-16-06, 04:29 AM
Yep a air compresser is a corner stone in any "handy mans" garage.

I probably wouldnt really use it for drying a bike so much as a multitude of diffrent air tools like an air ratchet, or a air saw.

Great for inflating tires too of course, but bike tires are not as bad as car tires with a manual pump (and I have had to do that before...)

Might as well also recomend a dremel if your a craftsman or a handyman I use mine for computer moding, arts and crafts, and little house hold stuff, and a generator if its about to be hurricane season where you live like it is here... no power = no fun.