vermilionx

it was on hard mode.

strong winds, some rain, and a sandstorm on the beach (well, it looked like a sandstorm lol)

definitely would like to avoid these next century i do.

we barely made the 8hr time limit we gave ourselves. finished at 7.25 hrs including breaks. my total ride time was 6 hrs 55 mins. the wind made everything so much harder.

my legs, neck and shoulders hurt.

anyway, my bike is grimy from the rain. how do guys clean your bike? do you just hose it and wipe? air dry?

i don't have chain lube with me except for my motorcycle chain lube. should i wait? or can i use the motorcycle chain lube?

thanks.

PS. the baggy shorts work except for some rare times when it gets caught on my 2nd water bottle lol.

Biscayne05

Can't you not go to Youtube?

I <3 Robots

Take it to Cycle World Chatsworth and ask for Mike to personally clean it.

Mansram01

I take it you did the Tour de Palm Springs. I was able to complete it in 6 hrs. 53 mins. Got lost after Sag 3. Lost at least 10 minutes.

Still have to assess my bike but I'll clean it myself using a soft stream of water and lubing the chain (after I wipe it clean).

GP

Put it on a stand, take the wheels off and spray it with a hose. Scrub off the crud with some water/Simple Green. Clean the wheels the same way. Dry it off, put the wheels back on, lube the chain and all pivot points and you're done.

tardman91

This

vermilionx

Thanks for the tips.

And nope. I didnt do the palm springs. Me and my buddy just did our own through san gabriel-long beach-seal beach and back.

back4more

When I get home after I take care of me:

I throw the bike on a stand, take my Park Tools chain cleaner and clean the chain untill fluid is clear, clean the cassette with cleaner and a brush. Then I take the air chuck from my compressor and blow all the excess cleaner out of the cahinh, cassette, FD, RD, and crank. Then lube the chain liberally with Pro link gold, let sit for a couple minutes then use the air chuck to blow any excess lub from the parts, wipe chain with a rag dampened with PLG and then take a clean damp micro-fibre towel and wipe the entire bike down, paying particulat attention to get into all the nooks and crannies, use air chuck if necessary. Then go over entire bike again with a clean dry towel. If dirty spots develop on damp rag I rotate to a clean spot so as not to damage finish with abrassion.

works for me and if done frequently doesn't take but a few minutes and bike is always ready for the next ride.

It also serves as a great opportunity to inspect things like tires for condition and debris and adjustment of brakes, etc.

StanSeven

and the baggy shorts probably made the ride a lot harder with the wind and rain as well

g0tr00t

Hey, I never thought of using my compressor like that! Thanks...what a great/easy idea!!!

vermilionx

That is true for the rain. But i doubt it made such a huge deal with the strong winds.

Brian Ratliff

Damp rag. Don't hose unless there is bulk mud caked to the thing (unlikely unless you went off-road); you risk pushing water into the bearings. Water is almost always the best solvent for dirt.

Lube with bike lube, preferably the lube you used prior to the century. I don't recommend mixing lubes on a chain. Not that it'll necessarily harm the chain, but it might make a god-awful mess if the lubes don't mix (say one is oil and the other is wax, etc.). On the other hand, motorcycle chain lube probably works as well as anything, if that's all you have. 3-in-1 works probably better; and you should get something on the chain and not allow it to rust. Personally, I use Pro-Link; it has solvent mixed with oil and teflon (I think). The solvent makes a very light cleaning agent while leaving the oil behind to protect the metal as the solvent evaporates.

My advice is to skip cleaning the chain with heavy solvent. It's not necessary and some buildup of excess lube on the cassette, chain, and chainrings (to a point) actually makes the drivetrain work better. Too much exposure to solvents can actually weaken the chain as well, as each solvent wash strips the metal of it's protective oil coating exposing bare metal to oxidization and etching it slightly.

Awesome job on the century.

tanguy frame

I don't clean my bike.

Nachoman

Blasphemy! Burn him!

Mansram01

That's a good ride too. Guess I missed the sandstorm "on the beach" part. LOL.

weshigh

Tour de Palm Springs had a nice little sandstorm too! I would call it more of a sand-blasting, but it was not on the beach, just by the wind turbines.

PeregrineA1 

A few notes of caution. Simple Green can strip wax and mess up finishes. Use a citrus based cleaner. Use caution with water or compressed air blasting. Both can force the gunk deeper into the bike.

Take your time. Treat her nice...

renton

Any proof to that claim? Because I do use Simple Green and I'd like to know if it's true. Thanks.

Jeepnut22 

Bike Lust... Love that stuff.

PeregrineA1 

Only my experience. I used to use it to clean my RV, boat, and off-road car. It left streaks in the shine, as well as stripping the wax off of my RV. Stripped the wax off the boat in one wash. And will oxidize the finish on the aluminum head and valve covers on an engine in 3-4 washings.

Polishing the RV back up was a PITA-coated aluminum. But once polished and waxed, it is now (or at least until I sold) washed with boat soap or car wash soap with no ill effect. Same with the boat, polish and wax, now only boat soap. Off road car was a lot of polishing of aluminum and then only citrus based cleaners with good results.

My bikes get cleaned with car wash or boat soap and gentle water, bounce dry, and a soft cloth. If something is nasty on a resto bike it comes off the bike if I think Simple Green is appropriate, and then it is usually a job for solvent if I want to finish the task in a reasonable amount of time.

Take a look at the FAQ's on the Simple Green website. There are some pretty strong cautions, particularly with regard to use on aluminum. Product is a pretty strong alkaline.

rat fink

My bikes are indoor bikes. After any wet ride, I hose them down without any extra pressure then I take the bike in and set it on a dirty towel. I used a hand towel to dry all the frame/fork tubes, the bar, seat post crank arms, and the top of the saddle. Then I let it air dry for the an hour or two, and put the bike away when I get around to it.

If I'm doing a deeper clean, I use blue Dawn and elbow grease. I rebuild my bikes 1-2 times a year as well. I deep clean the frame when I do that. Never spray water directly into bearing seals. Otherwise, you should be fine.

rat fink

Oh, and I find it easier and more effective by far, to clean periodically than to do a big clean once in a great while.

abstractform20

soap. a shower, or bath.

vermilionx

Good info.

Thanks.

Ill get the shop's opinion on it later as well.

ColinL

+1

I use a clean rag. If the bike is seriously filthy, you have to hose it down. But that should be a CX/MTB thing, not a road bike. (IBpicturesofhincapieinthemud)

I would love to say I wipe my bikes down after every ride, but bi-weekly is more like it. Bike Lust keeps them looking pretty good.