drlogik 

Biggest waste of time in bike maintenance? That varies by rider.

Some riders like to keep their bike impeccably clean, others don't. Some riders meticulously torque every fastener at every maintenance routine, others don't. Some riders clean and lube their chain regularly, others don't. I know of one rider long ago that re-wrapped his handlebar tape at least once a month whether it needed it or not. Whatever rolls yer socks. Live and let live.

What's the biggest waste of time in bike maintenance? There isn't one. People do what they enjoy. Go ride.

drlogik 

It's amazing, that. Same for me but it's saddle adjustment. Once I get it where I love it, I mark the seat post and the seat rails with Blue Sharpie. Last summer I noticed that my bike started to not feel the same, it was sluggish, slower, couldn't corner right, etc. I didn't know what it was but it was a gradual thing. Finally I decided to get to the bottom of it.

When I loosened the seat my blue Sharpie mark was about 1/4" below the top of the seat tube. I thought the line had just rubbed off. Got the seat post where it was supposed to be tightened the bolt and PRESTO!! My old bike was back!

asgelle

Vinyl tape on one side of seat post flush with top of seat tube to mark position, tape ~1/8” above the top to see if post has slipped.

b88

Ya buying more new tires so that you can purposely puncture the current ones to see how big of a hole the sealant can plug. Then of course Cos of the supply shortage before, hoarding more new tires when you find some.

drlogik 

​​​​​​​Or keeping the old ones, you know, just in case...(who, me?)

pdlamb

Bright (red or yellow) tape. Early warning system. Visually sticks out a little, but when you see a wrinkle, it's really noticeable.

Hiro11

I ran waxed three chain rotations on three bikes for about two years a few years ago. I agree that waxing is not more time-consuming than wet lubes, but every single waxed chain I've used ended up rusting quickly. That's a total deal-killer for me as rusting basically kills a chain and once it starts to rust you'll never be able to stop it from rusting further. This was especially irritating for me as I take very good care of my bikes. I don't ride in rain ever. I don't ride in mud ever. I store my bikes indoors in a dedicated bike storage room with a dehumidifier. I do sweat heavily, I suspect that's the culprit. Still, I was careful to wipe down my chain after every ride. I have never had rusting issues with wet lubes (forget about dry lubes) in 35 years of riding.

I went back to using carefully-applied Silca Synergetic (one drip per roller). I degrease every couple hundred miles with WD40 (which has the added benefit of displacing any moisture) and then re-lube with the Silca stuff. This routine takes maybe ten minutes every 200-250 miles and results in a very quiet, clean running drivetrain that will never rust.

elcruxio

Eventually. But just using a chain also kills it eventually. I consider rust as a cosmetic these days. With a good wax rust doesn't really migrate inside the chain where it matters.

Our rusting issues are much improved after turning to waxing. Wet lubes just couldn't cut it in winter time.

Polaris OBark

I've never had rust. We have had over 70" of rain in the last few months, and I keep the bikes in a cold, probably damp, garage. (I don't ride in the rain.)

What kind of wax did you use the first time around?

Lombard

Rust can stiffen links. If a stiff link can't be worked loose, you have to replace the chain or it will cause skipping.

terrymorse 

WD-40 doesn't displace moisture from surfaces. If you think it removes water from metal surfaces, congratulations. You've been taken in by marketing hype.

On a dry surface, WD-40 leaves a thin layer of very light oil, which will make it slightly harder for water to reach the surface. On a wet surface, it just lies there.

elcruxio

That's true if you leave a chain untreated for too long and leave it to rust for too long. However a good wax (paraffin or better) shields the inside portions of a chain as long as the treatment lasts. The durability of the wax treatment varies but we've gotten around 200km or two weeks worth in wet salty winter conditions. The bikes are kept in an unheated garage and are not dried or cleaned between uses.

the end result is that the chains look pretty gnarly on the outside but are pristine on the inside. I've taken chains apart to verify this.

Hiro11

This uniquely irritating combination of smugness, bizarrely misplaced aggression, patronizing arrogance, assumption that everyone else is a moron, dismissiveness, seeing any declarative statement as a challenge and neckbeard-style "acktuwally" is very on-brand for this forum. It's bike chains people, relax.

cyccommute 

He is not wrong. WD-40 is a mixture of chemicals that are hydrophobic. It does not, nor cannot, displace water. If you are going to degrease, you should just use the solvent that is in the WD-40 without the oil. Mineral spirits are readily available at hardware stores and cost less.

I agree but people want some complicated cleaning procedure so that is seems like they are “doing something”. Bikes shouldn’t need to be degreased and cleaned every 200 miles. After all, “it’s bike chains”.

terrymorse 

It appears that I may have hurt your feelings. Did I hurt your feelings?

Lombard

WD actually stands for Water Displacement. But most people misunderstand what that means. That means if there is WD-40 already on a surface, it will repel water. That does not mean you can spray WD-40 on a wet surface and water will magically go away or "be displaced". Rather the water that is already there will actually repel the WD-40. Not sure what type of proprietary chemicals are in the substance, but I wouldn't be surprised if WD-40 is mostly a mixture of oil and mineral spirits with a few other chemicals.

See how marketing works?

rsbob 

You forgot, wiped down after every ride. Unless every ride is through mud and rain.

terrymorse 

You guessed it. WD-40 is mostly mineral spirits, with just a dash of 10W oil (if my memory hasn't failed).

It was originally formulated to spray over ICBMs to prevent corrosion.

tomato coupe

Any serious nuclear power waxes their missiles.

cyccommute 

I would seriously question if WD-40 actually stays on the metal when water is present. Water is nonpolar and heavier than oil. Metals have more of an affinity of water than it does for the nonpolar oil in the WD-40. That’s partly why we have to keep adding oil to chains and why we really shouldn’t say that oil stands up to water while riding. The action of riding is going to mix the oil and water into an emulsion which will break when pedaling stops and the oil will float on the water with most of the water clinging to the metal.

Other than the chemical used for scent, there isn’t much that is proprietary in in WD-40. It’s mineral spirits and a light oil in a 75/25% split.

cyccommute 

I probably won’t even wipe down after mud and rain. I think I still have cow crap on my dual suspension bike from a ride I did in 2018.

rsbob 

I use WD-40 to remove tree sap from my hands or whatever, clean up grease on car parts. Sounds like plain mineral spirits might work better, but isn’t as convenient as a quick spray.

rsbob 

I sure don’t do it. Only when things look pretty grimy- the pulleys usually indicate when things need to be cleaned.

Eric F 

Safety tip: Missile waxing may damage visual acuity.

Eric F 

I prefer to start rides on a clean bike. This was my bike on Sunday afternoon after a 78 mile gravel event. When I got home yesterday, I hosed off the dirt and wiped it down before I put it away in my garage. Before I ride it again, it will get a fresh coat of drip wax on the chain.

My gravel bike and MTBs generally get a hose and wipe after every ride. Maybe not the same day, but at some point before I ride that bike again. My road bike doesn't always get wiped down after every ride because it generally sees much less harsh conditions. I would guess it averages about every 3-4 rides (approx. 120-150mi).