Road Cycling - Cleaning Issues

Just picked up the new ride tonight. Got it home, put my pedels on and took it for a very brief spin around the neighborhood. Couldn't be out for more than 20min. Got back to the house to inspect and admire and found grit and some sand had already de-flowered my baby....:mad:

What do you all use to clean with... And better yet how... and how often...

I've seen chain cleaners and all sorts of cleaning products - anything worthwhile out there or better yet - anything I should steer clear of?

AL frame - Carbon Fork...Otherwise a typical setup.


Thanks for the info


Cheers

:beer:

Simple green seems to be a pretty common product, or any of the citrus cleaners. I use one made by Castrol that's supposed to be environmentally friendly and works quite well. If you get it in quantity, 4 liters (1 gal) or so, from a department store rather than the LBS, it's a lot cheaper. Just don't leave it on the aluminum parts too long.

Once a week i clean my chain with Pedro's bio-degreaser in a Park Tool chain scrubber. I also wipe down the frame with Pedro's bike lust. In the warmer months, I'll tear down the bike and do a full clean job. (http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/BCB4.shtml).

If the bike is brand new to you, you may want to pull off the chain, and soak it in bio-degreaser over night. The grease that comes on the chain is horrible; and will leave marks on your calf for years if not soaked over night.

I'm assuming when you say "new to you" you also mean new period. This is fresh out of a box, right off of the fed ex truck. Still want to soak it?
If so - what do you recomend on the re-lube?

Yes. Any new bike, have you noticed that your chain is black in color? It should be silver and shiny!

I lube my chain the same way every time after cleaning it. I apply one coat if Ice Wax (Pedro's), spin the cranks backwards for two or three minutes, then wipe the excess lube off. I then repeat the process, lube, run, wipe.

I live in a filthy area of the country. So, I just bought a couple of HUGE bottles of Finish Line Bike Wash. Don't quote me, but, I think this is the stuff the pro mechanics use during races and what-not. I read a review of this stuff in a British bike magazine recently and they said, "use it, it really works." I also bought a bottle of EcoTech degreaser FWIW.

Steve;)

Ius dawn to wash the bike,it works fine but i do use the chain cleaner from park tool and its great and easy.Think about waxing your chain instead.

Simple Green (available at your local Walmart) is a cyclists best friend. Save a couple empty spray botles and follow the directions to mix up some diluted cleaner in the spare bottles. Use the medium dilution for general bike cleaning, the heavy for tougher grime and for chain cleaning. I like to use the stuff full strength to clean the cogs and chainrings.

Put some heavy dilution in a suitable container (I use an old gatorade powder jar) and soak your chain in it about 10 minutes with periodic agitation. Rinse and dry, reattach and lube. Skip the chain cleaning machine unless your too lazy to remove the chain. Put an SRAM powerlink on the chain to encourage you to clean it. They work fine on Shimano chains if that's what you have.

We use Simple Green already on the bathroom - great to hear it works on the bike.
Will look into the SRAM - sounds like a great idea.
Taking her out tomorrow for a good ride - will probably want to clean her up at the end of the day -

thanks for all the help.
R

If you use pro lube for your chain, it says on the instructions to clean a new chain before using the pro lube.

i take an old oversized shoelace and tie it to the bottom of my stand. i put my bike on the stand and pull the lace (lubed with degreaser) up and floss my cassette. i also got a Park 'ttothbrush' looking thing and work the chain.

applying lube is an art. you just can't apply it like a thin ribon of toothpaste because it doesn't get to the inside where the chain and teeth of the cogs meet. i dip some pedro's extra dry (depends on the season) in q-tips and work it between the links.

boy am i anal, but my drivetrain is like new after 14,000 miles.

I hate to beat a dead horse, but, don't use Simple Green on your bearings or your chain! Cogs, frame, etc, it's great stuff, but when you get to moving parts, SG really is not meant for cleaning them.

How careful to I need to be about getting water into the bearing areas regarding cleaning and riding in the rain? I think my wheels are bearing and I'm not sure about the BB or HS. Is there anything on this setup that I'll probably have to grease? I believe the LBS guy said that I'll never have to grease the hubs. It's a stock Trek 2300(Alu/CFF and ultegra with bontrager race lites). Thanks in advance, I'm fairly new to this and want to take good care of this bike.

Sorry, I meant that I think my hubs are cartridge.

OK, I've got a dumb question:

When lubing your chain, how do you know which link you started at? I either hit some links twice or not at all because I can't tell where I started.

I twist a few inches of paper towel and thread it though one of the chain links. It travels right over the chain ring and cogs. It works great as a marker for lubing.

I haven't found a decent lube for my road bike..Tried raceday, didn't like it..I've got some Dumonde tech or something, don't like it..I picked up some dry lube today by Finish Line, I'll give it a shot. Next tries will be Motorex and Prolink.

Does anyone use Tri Flow anymore? I thought that was the stuff of choice.

Also, how is a SRAM masterlink different from any other? Don't shimano chains have their own master links?

--Chris

I'm about to give tri-flow a test run.
See post in Hot deals about free sample of
their latest greatest lube.

Marty

Am i the only one that uses wax?