bergiborg

This will be my first winter riding, and so I have a few questions about cleaning your bike after wet/rainy rides. First, what kind of grease/lubricant should I use to keep the components rust-free and running smoothly, and is WD40 an acceptable one. Also, which components should i be extra careful about wiping down and keeping clean (obviously it would be best to clean everything, but if I had to choose the three most important parts). What are your cleaning routines after wet and dirty rides?

mmerner

WD40 is bad. Don't use it any where near a bike.

blueorder

I use WD40 to degrease the chain...very good at that...after washing the WD40 off I lube, of course...

just sayin'

Cerberusgl

Tri-flow or finishline work well I like White lightning. The important thing is to clean the drive-train real well. Get some cog brushes degreaser and one of those chain cleaners. Make sure to do it outside and spread out some newspaper because the stuff gets slug all over if your not careful. I usually clean the cogset first then the chainrings and deraileur followed by running the chain through the cleaning thing. Next dry off the chain. Once it is dry you can ad the lube of choice. The White lightning works best if applied the night before you are going to ride.
Other areas to keep an eye on area the deraileur cables going under the BB. I like to clean the plastic guide on the BB every so often. Keep your brakes well adjusted and keep a look out for pad wear. When riding in the rain or on wet pavement more dirt gets on the rims and wears down the braking surfaces faster. Mavic has some sort of block that is supposed to help clean the rims better but I havn't tried it.

Many people argue as to what the best lube is but give one of the store bought types a try. WD-40 works great to loosen a rusty nut and bolt or for a door hinge but it doesn't work well on chains.

bkrownd

Question: what do you wash the degreaser (WD-40, or Simple Green in my case) off with? A de-degreaser? The chain lube? Water? If water, would following with the chain lubricant displace the water well enough to prevent rust?

blueorder

Well, now everybody has me all self conscious about the WD-40. I spray the chain and let it sit for a bit before washing the bike. Then, after washing and rinsing the bike, I make sure the chain, crankset and cassette are the driest I can get them (along with the rest of the bike - this is the part that usually takes me the longest time) and then use Rock n Roll Gold lube in intervals of lubing and removing excess. After that, I try just to remove as much as I can off the chain.

Edit: oh, and as far as soap, I use Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo. I figure, it's good enough for my clear coat...