Tips on Maintaining Your Bike
Now that you are riding with the club, you find you’re putting more miles on your bike so you’ll want to keep it in tip, top shape.
A regular cleaning of your bike will keep it looking nice and running smoothly.
Steps As Described in Video
Supplies:
- Bucket Soap – You can find “bike soap” (or car soap), but household dish soap is OK 2x sponges (“clean” & “dirty”) — a “car sponge” works
- Rag (for cleaning between cassette sprockets / removing excess lubricant from chain)
- Stiff-bristled brushes:
x1 for coating bike with degreaser
x1 for getting into derailleur & chain rings (thin & narrow) - Flat head screwdriver
- Degreaser
- Chain lubricant (wet or dry)
- WD-4
Preparation:
- Put chain on big ring
- Put bike on work stand, if available. (If not: when front wheel comes off, rest the bike on the fork blades & brakes, and lean it against a wall. This keeps it cleaner).
- Fill a bucket with soap & HOT water (hot gets rid of grease & oil better.)
- Put some degreaser into, e.g., a half-water bottle (put into bike bottle holder)
Degrease:
- Brush degreaser “liberally” onto chain. (Some say take chain off — but Simon doesn’t think this gets it cleaner, & doesn’t like breaking the chain too many times.)
- With flathead screwdriver, get gunk off jockey wheels; add more degreaser to jockey wheels & chain rings.
Clean Bike w/Generous Soap & Water:
- Using clean sponge: Starting from handlebars, go “backwards & downwards” (i.e. while degreaser is working on the drive train)
- Using dirty, then clean sponge: Drive train (adding degreaser if necessary)
- Using narrow brush: Derailleur & chain rings
- BE SURE ALL DEGREASER IS OFF — it will defeat any lubricant put on later!
- Remove front wheel, then rear wheel.
- Using clean sponge: clean hidden parts of fork & brake calipers.
- Tires: outside to in. (Note: dirty side walls make a bike look very dirty.)
- CASSETTE: Brush on more degreaser. Slip edge of a rag between sprockets; wash w/ dirty sponge.
- Put wheels back on Rinse bike w/ hose (or w/ fresh bucket & clean sponge).
- For dirty white bar tape, use WD-40 & rag.
Tune Up:
- Lubricate chain; wipe off excess w/ rag.
- Spray WD-40 onto derailleurs & brake calipers.
- Check brake pads.
- Check tire for anything sharp wedged in carcass; lever it out w/ flathead; glue big holes shut.
Check Your Chain For Wear
Check Your Bottom Bracket Bearings
Perform a Spin Test
- July 3, 2020