Staying clean & maintained

[Chichaldo]

Hey,

I've recently got a new road bike and want to try and keep it maintained to work as best as possible for as long as possible, how best is it to keep mud off the small components hard to clean, keeping the sprockets and chain from getting too much mud and stuff as well as general maintaining without spending as much as Team Sky! Aha

Appreciate any help, cheers!

[Spinners]

I've ridden two bikes through this past Autumn/Winter with about equal mileage and equally low maintenance - one with mudguards (my commuter) and one without (my road bike). The difference is quite startling and, with a 10-minute clean, my commuter bike would pass for new whilst my road bike looks wrecked.

I'm already planning my road 'winter bike' for next winter and, yes, it will have full mudguards!

[foxyrider]

Don't take it out in the wet!

If you must get it dirty there are plenty of products out there to do the job. But it takes time and effort, there aren't any short cuts so be prepared for copious amounts of elbow grease. Don't over lubricate - it attracts dirt, a new chain for example starts off with more lube than it needs!

Enjoy your bike

[gbnz]

Planning your route to take advantage of "clean" roads can make a huge difference.

At a local level I tend to to stay off the inland roads over winter, as the predominance of livestock and grazing results in the roads being covered in "c*&p" over the winter months. In contrast the coastal roads tend to be clean, the majority of the fields being overwintering arable crops I.e. mud on the road in September following cultivation, then the fields are ignored until harvest.

[RodT]

One of the best of the high-mileage riders in my local club cleans his bike once a year 'whether it needs it or not'.

[ChrisOntLancs]

decent degreaser and lube is cheap enough, you can get a chain cleaning device but i think it's easier to just use two shoe brushes from your local shoe shop, sandwiched over your chain.

you just have to stand your bike up and roll the pedals back while you do various things 1) spray degreaser (catch the stray with a rag, avoid brake pads etc) 2) sandwich your brushes until the water coming out is clear and after drying 3) add your lube, a tiny bit on the top link, it will work it's way into the chain as you turn and if it's still a bit clunky you can add a little more.

i use
https://www.evanscycles.com/finish-line ... l-00103395
(you can probably find cheaper degreaser!)

https://www.evanscycles.com/muc-off-dry-lube-EV148119

i've been flirting with the idea of wax, but i'm a small time commuter, not a seasoned tourer... we're probably just fine doing this every so often... probably

[Brucey]

..... how best is it to keep mud off the small components hard to clean, keeping the sprockets and chain from getting too much mud and stuff as well as general maintaining without spending as much as Team Sky!....

Team Sky (and every other professional team) simply wash their bikes down every day, then relube. This isn't expensive per se, but it might be time-consuming.

If all you do is ride clean roads on sunny days then your bike won't get that dirty, so it won't need cleaning often, either.

However if you ride in the winter on average roads, without mudguards, the dirt is bad enough but the winter road salt will eat your bike alive if you don't protect it and/or wash it.

cheers

[rmurphy195]

Before first of all - keep out of the mud, leaf sludge etc. as much as possible!

First of all - mudguards. They not only keep you clean, but also your brake comonpents, the underside of the saddle, front mech, bottom bracket, chainrings, etc etc

Next off - I use a bucket of water and Autoglym car shampoo to make foamy stuff(like I use on the car), a paintbrush, and a hose with a sprayer on it that gives a watering-can effect - this is really useful for washing mud, leaf sludge and the like from under the mudguards. And out of the tyre treads! but nowhere near any bearings. I use 3 or 4 times as much of the the shampoo as the pack recommends, leaves a nice deposit behind for protection but doesn't seem to affect the braking surfaces.

As muck builds up, the chain comes off into a bath of white spirit while I clean the chainwheels and sprockets. The latter are best done with the wheel off the bike, a bit of rag soaked in WD40 and pulled between the sprockets wipes the muck out. Rag as well on the brake mechanisms, changers etc.

The whole thing is easier if you have a bike stand, you can position the bike to get at mechs more easily.

At the start of Winter I spray a tiny bit of WD0 around the hubs, esp the spoke holes. This attracts dust but does limit the effect of salt. Not on the rims though, just clean them every time you go out on salty roads with copious amounts of the foamy stuff, then rinse, even if you don't do the rest of the bike. Clean the WD40 off the hubs when the weather gets better.

[UAVDave]

Another vote for mudguards - they make an enormous difference to how much dirt gets into bad places! But even with them I find the bike needs a good thorough wash and a quick light lube once a week, if I'm out 3-4 times in that week.

Dave

[rmurphy195]

Another vote for mudguards - they make an enormous difference to how much dirt gets into bad places! But even with them I find the bike needs a good thorough wash and a quick light lube once a week, if I'm out 3-4 times in that week.

Dave

And a PS from me - nice long mudflap on the front mudguard, its amazing what it collects! especially useful if your brake/gear cables arouted below the BB

[Caulkheader]

Good advice but I would add. Avoid using any sort of high pressure hose, it can drive dirt / grit into bearings. We had a relatively new bike into the shop recently, the owner had jet washed it contaminating most of the bearings.

[mr riff raff]

I use a small pressure washer on the cross bike when it's got well caked up, but avoid BB had hubs. It's not that hard to miss them.

A garden spray has enough oomph to get ride of everyday road muck, I find.

[mr riff raff]

Oh, yeah. GET MUDGUARDS!!

Even Crud Catcher's road model will make a massive difference.