[scattered73]

I did about 90 miles in a rains on my bike yesterday pretty nice since it's normally hot down here. Anyway, I was wondering what cleaning I should do other than the normal. It's a cyclocross, but 6 hours in a rain seems a bit much. I degreased my chain and relubed it, cleaned the cassette and chain ring, sprayed the derailers and brifters with triflow, and wiped down the rims and brake pads. Do I need to do any more?

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[Riv-Lantis]

Do I need to do any more?
Not really. I ride in the rain all the time, and all I ever do is give the drivetrain a good quick cleaning to get the road grit off. Usually, I just spray it with the hose to get rid of the road drime and then re-lube every pivot point and the chain. Rain is really not that bad for a bike, even a steel one. Sweat is the real frame killer.

It's not a bad idea to pull the seat post and hand the bike by the front wheel to let all the water drain from the frame.

[acroy]

I did about 90 miles in a rains on my bike yesterday pretty nice since it's normally hot down here. Anyway, I was wondering what cleaning I should do other than the normal. It's a cyclocross, but 6 hours in a rain seems a bit much. I degreased my chain and relubed it, cleaned the cassette and chain ring, sprayed the derailers and brifters with triflow, and wiped down the rims and brake pads. Do I need to do any more?

I hear ya fellow Texan - i slogged through Houston for 8 years and currently get a near-daily drenching this wet spring in Dallas.

I leave the bike alone except for lubing the chain. everything else is sealed. The deraillers & brifters are on pivots and rely on bushings for smoothness... no lube needed. This has worked out very well for me.

using discs now, but even when using rim brakes, i just left it alone. if anything, the rain seems to clean it.
I am not a fan of hosing off the bike or spraying it with any lube - just forces water where it shouldn't and attracts dirt.

cheers

[Roody]

I almost never clean my bikes. :o

Last week I was enjoying a post-thunderstorm ride. A guy yelled out, "There's some water on the trail ahead, but it isn't very high. You'll make it through--no prob." I saw his tires were wet but his shoes were dry, so naively I believed him. I rode into the muddy water even though I couldn't see the bottom. Before I knew what happened, the water was up to my top tube and I was forced to wade in hip-deep water the rest of the way across. I looked back and saw the guy there laughing his ass off.

And that's probably the only time I'll be washing my bike this year!

[scattered73]

Thanks for the advice
:)

[Roody]

Thanks for the advice
:)
Once in a great while I clean the tubes, bars and wheels with dish soap and rinse with clear water. At the end of winter I turn the bike over and clean the bottom nasty parts with wd40, a rag and a toothbrush. Also the derrailleurs, jockey wheels and other moving parts. Yecchh!

The main washing is when I ride through a river, or it rains while I'm at work.

Of course I lube the chain religiously and squirt a little lube on the moving things.

[bragi]

In addition to cleaning the bike occasionally, it's a good idea to take it to the LBS once a year or so for a tune up. Yes, it costs a bit ($50 where I live), but in the long run it's well worth it. The bike will run better and be more maintenance free for the year, and, if you think about it in car-owner terms, that's a lot less than auto insurance for a month. If you're car-free, you're still way ahead financially, and you'll have a bike that's working the way it should, with fewer unexpected break-downs.

[gosmsgo]

In addition to cleaning the bike occasionally, it's a good idea to take it to the LBS once a year or so for a tune up. Yes, it costs a bit ($50 where I live), but in the long run it's well worth it. The bike will run better and be more maintenance free for the year, and, if you think about it in car-owner terms, that's a lot less than auto insurance for a month. If you're car-free, you're still way ahead financially, and you'll have a bike that's working the way it should, with fewer unexpected break-downs.

Our LBS here offers free labor for as long as you own your bike. I get my tuned up every couple months for free.

Its awesome! There seems to be no limit and since they know I am a full time commuter they always do it right there while I wait.

AWESOME!!

[BIG-E]

It'd be a good idea to lube the cables too.

Unless you ride a singlespeed with hydraulic discs ;-)

[Slow Train]

It's not a bad idea to pull the seat post and hand the bike by the front wheel to let all the water drain from the frame.

+1. It depends on how fastidious you are. I know many roadies with $5K bikes will do the above after riding in the rain. I'll add that they also sometimes pull the bottom bracket to get out any water trapped there.

[Six jours]

Every week or two I wash my bike like the mechanics for pro road teams used to. (Now they mostly use pressure washers.) Essentially it involves a good rinse with a hose, a light brushing with soapy water, degreasing and then oiling the chain, and done. When it's raining, the only difference is that when I get home the bike gets hosed off and then in the morning, after it's dried, I lube the chain. I've never felt the need to pull the seatpost or remove the BB and have never suffered for it. And there are some folks who claim that all that water will prematurely damage a frame or componentry, but I've been doing this for twenty years with no apparent harm -- and bearings are sealed much more thoroughly now than they were in the Super Record era.

HTH!