Your least favorite bike chore.
#26
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I'm also anti cleaning the cassette.
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Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
#27
well hello there
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I just like the change of colors. Not the act of changing the tape.
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Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
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Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
#28
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1) Any messy teardown or bike cleaning project while living in apt. with my super neat freak fiancee. Best attempted when the mrs is out of town on a job. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT SO CLOSE TO MY NEW RUG!!!"
2) Handlebar tape - really, being a creative professional, flytier, fairly handy, OCD etc. I should be a natural at this! Nope -maybe it;s the OCD thing, but it always seems to take me forever trying to get it perfect. I've ripped expensive tape more than once, just the other day as a matter of fact! Always dread this-but also love me some crisp new tape.
2) Handlebar tape - really, being a creative professional, flytier, fairly handy, OCD etc. I should be a natural at this! Nope -maybe it;s the OCD thing, but it always seems to take me forever trying to get it perfect. I've ripped expensive tape more than once, just the other day as a matter of fact! Always dread this-but also love me some crisp new tape.
#30
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#31
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With so many people voicing displeasure with cleaning the cassette, it makes me wonder about the efficacy of the cassette floss that I've seen at the LBS. Who's tried it?
#32
Senior Member
I'm wondering how people are cleaning their cassettes....
I've got a windex bottle full of simple green. A few sprays on the cassette, 30-60 seconds of scrubbing with a wire brush, hose off.
No big deal. Some of you guys must be pretty anal...
Show your hands now. Who here is removing their cassette and getting a toothbrush out??
I've got a windex bottle full of simple green. A few sprays on the cassette, 30-60 seconds of scrubbing with a wire brush, hose off.
No big deal. Some of you guys must be pretty anal...
Show your hands now. Who here is removing their cassette and getting a toothbrush out??
#33
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I'm wondering how people are cleaning their cassettes....
I've got a windex bottle full of simple green. A few sprays on the cassette, 30-60 seconds of scrubbing with a wire brush, hose off.
No big deal. Some of you guys must be pretty anal...
Show your hands now. Who here is removing their cassette and getting a toothbrush out??
I've got a windex bottle full of simple green. A few sprays on the cassette, 30-60 seconds of scrubbing with a wire brush, hose off.
No big deal. Some of you guys must be pretty anal...
Show your hands now. Who here is removing their cassette and getting a toothbrush out??
#34
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Rear cassette cleaning is the worst followed by truing a wheel. Favorite thing to do is replace outboard style BB or the chain. Something satisfying about unscrewing and threading in that BB cup and measuring, marking, cutting and pushing in the pin.
I like wrapping bars esp when you get the overlap all sexy :-p
I like wrapping bars esp when you get the overlap all sexy :-p
#35
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Weird. I use Chain-L, but my cassettes don't end up filthy.
#37
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I’m not saying that the cassette was a gunked up filthy mess, but it was definitely dirty.
Chain-L works well as a lube, but it’s not for those that like a clean drivetrain. It works well for some environments, but there are better choices for road riders in the SW.
Chain-L works well as a lube, but it’s not for those that like a clean drivetrain. It works well for some environments, but there are better choices for road riders in the SW.
#39
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Doesn't happen frequently, but lining up up handlebars with the wheel/fork and making sure shifters are lined up is supremely annoying (especially if your bike is already cabled up). It just always seems to be ever so slightly off.
Other than that, dealing with caked on brake dust after wet rides (all the time in the PNW) is the worst.
Other than that, dealing with caked on brake dust after wet rides (all the time in the PNW) is the worst.
#40
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Fortunately, I use dry lube, and that keeps cassette mess down to a minimum.
#42
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Cleaning the factory oil/grease/gunk off a new chain. Oh wait, is this going to derail the thread?
#43
Senior Member
Always used to think the CO2 thing was a bit gimmickey...until I tried it, and it actually [I]works more reliably[I] than a minipump IMO.
#44
Senior Member
For a moderate level of grime it does work ok - about the same as a twisted strip from an old T shirt. For dirtier jobs though, best to remove the cassette.
Yeah it does snag, t-shirt strip less so
#45
Should Be More Popular
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#46
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I tend to pull the wheel, soak the cassette down from my giant spray bottle of simple green (or generic orange) cleaner, then run a big plastic bristled brush (intended for use with a matching dustpan) through the cassette until I'm confident it's mostly scrubbed every bit of it. Finally, laboriously pull t-shirt through each cog-space up the cassette then down again, occasionally blowing out any residual cleaner on the spokes and so on. Once I'm done with the cassette, the rest of the wheel gets a thorough wipe-down as well.
It's an ugly chore I tend to only do once every couple of months.
It is definitely nice to have the shiny-cassette feeling again, though.
#47
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General drive train cleaning for me, especially the chainrings . I get my knuckles are chewed up.
Fav is polishing the chrome and waxing the frame. KB.
Added : I use Chain-L, not problem with being overly dirty, and what Sheldon says about not removing factory lube from a new chain. KB
Fav is polishing the chrome and waxing the frame. KB.
Added : I use Chain-L, not problem with being overly dirty, and what Sheldon says about not removing factory lube from a new chain. KB
#48
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#49
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Washing the bike. Living in an apartment means putting it in the shower-tub. The whole process is so awkward and laborious, and then there's all the post clean-up clean-up. Meanwhile, I've found that sometimes, all that's really necessary is a wipe-down, and I was happily surprised at how good a job just a soft, dry cloth did. I credit that in part to the fact that I'd applied some spray polish (like Pledge) before taking the bike out.
I don't mind cleaning the cassette too much, but the crank set and derailleurs are just so awkward....
Second least favorite: changing tires. I'm incompetent - always working up a sweat, hurting my hands. But I must say, I feel like a champ once I've done it.
My fingers are too clumsy and my eyesight is too poor to do anything dealing with tiny screws, so derailleur adjustments are out of the question. I tried it a couple of times and only succeeded in making things worse.
I don't mind cleaning the cassette too much, but the crank set and derailleurs are just so awkward....
Second least favorite: changing tires. I'm incompetent - always working up a sweat, hurting my hands. But I must say, I feel like a champ once I've done it.
My fingers are too clumsy and my eyesight is too poor to do anything dealing with tiny screws, so derailleur adjustments are out of the question. I tried it a couple of times and only succeeded in making things worse.
Last edited by kbarch; 03-06-18 at 05:39 AM.
#50
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