Garfield Cat

It was about the Michelin tires that matched my Ksyrium wheelset. Since Ksyrium wheels were a light color aluminum, I decided the light shade of grey tires would be a nice match.

Those tires get dirty a bit faster as far as appearance. So I tried to clean the Michelins with the same spray-on that I used for my car tires. This resulted in the disintegration of the grey color on the Michelins.

daviddavieboy

Kedosto

You gotta be careful; the orange scented stuff draws bees from miles around.


-Kedosto

MikeyMK

I just hammer it through huge puddles and it cleans itself.

backonblack

Biggest mistake was over washing and washing off all my paint

Seriously is there mistakes, you like a clean bike go for it. I can offer a tip or two, avoid overly aggressive soaps like dish detergents, buy a quality auto soap (I substitute it with hair shampoo in a pinch). 2 wax the non porous paint finishes, dirt washes off easier next time around and it keeps fine scratches down to a minimum. Armor all does that too. I even armor all rims then if the chain flicks any oil its easier to clean off with a wipe later.

Patriot1

WizardOfBoz

You guys are using amusing pseudo tech babble and as an engineer I like doing this to my non-engineering friends. You mention a recirculating veeblefester, and they look at you like a dog does when its confused, twisting their heads. "That's not a real thing, right". "As far as you know, it is". But the most masterful use of tech psuedobabble is from a British engineer, John Hellins Quick, in 1944. You can find the article online (I did, but can't find it now). But there's been a couple of videos made. Here's one:

The publication is pretty famous. See https://www.computerworld.com/articl...cabulator.html

backonblack

"Its not cheap but someone will buy it"

why bother to wipe your only gona' have to go again later

pickle57

You need to get the bike wet to clean properly. I use on of those rain shower wands that are used for watering fragile plants. The water almost just falls out. Less pressure than the hose pressure. Wet / bike friendly spray on bike soap / wipe around with a paper towel and then rinse again.

Big mistake - letting lubrication get on your braking surfaces. Bad times when you need to stop.

The big thing is the chain. It's one thing to clean your bike and make it pretty. Cleaning the chain is something that I see a noticeable performance improvement from. You should get one of those chain cleaning devices (about $20), run it through until the chain is shiny. Then rinse and run it through a cloth to dry. Then use chain lube per bottle instructions and wipe / wipe / wipe. The perfect chain would have no lube on the actual visible surfaces. It's only doing it's job inside the link joints. Lube on the outside of the chain only helps attract and accumulate road dust / dirt, etc. Besides making the chain less effective, it also becomes and abrasive that can age your cassette / chain rings more than normal.

livedarklions

There's a bunch of videos on YouTube of people presenting the "product" in various eras. I spent a couple hours watching as many as I could find once, it was pretty fascinating watching the different deliveries and demonstrations.

I'm a huge fan of "The Missile Knows:

prj71

To a degree this is true. But only true on more expensive components. Some of the cheap ones aren't sealed very well and the bikes that still use cup and cone bearings vs. sealed cartridge bearings don't stand up well to direct spray.

prj71

Uhhhh...you don't have a to clean your bike to notice these things.

prj71

On a more serious note...if you are going to wash your bike a few times a week...That's some serious OCD right there.

I'd post a pic of my hardtail but it's really dirty and I haven't washed it in 3 months. I don't want to be the source of a cardiac arrest for anyone here on this forum.

When I finally do wash the bike...I'll fill a pale with some hot water and dawn dish soap. Then I'll dip a big ol' rag in there and wipe all the dirt off.

Rock71

I use the air compressor to blow off debris a couple times a week, wipe it down a couple times a month. The air compressor gets the sand and stuff that collects in the hard to wipe places.

Oldbikeride

The biggest mistake I've made is not cleaning my bike on a regular basis.
I recommend waxing it right out of the box. Never use a high pressure spray on it! Wax it at least twice a year. Lightly oil after washing.

backonblack

Then again not really. I'd ride almost daily in an area that had a natural clay type of medium for miles. When it was wet it would get on the bikes and leave behind a puky greenish residue that got harder and harder to wash off the longer you allowed it to set. Even direct power washer beaming a couple inches away wouldn't remove it all, after leaving it to set about a week the first time.

Bikes get muddy, its almost like a ritual to meet and power wash them off and drink a beer after riding dirty.

delbiker1 

I like having a clean bike but I do not clean the entire bike thoroughly that often. Most of the time it is wiping the chain, chainrings and cassette, rims and the areas where dirt and grime like to hide. Then I lightly wipe down other areas when they look like they need it. Also lubricate the drive train often and other parts/areas less often. I feel more tuned in with my bike when I have done what I feel is needed. As for what to use and when and where to use it, it somewhat depends on the material used to make it. It's your bike, it's up to you. Mistakes are made by all and they are the real teachers.

SylvainG

No breakage or damage but the biggest mistake I did was using a de-greasing wipes on my rims. Sure, they got cleaned but braking for the first few kilometers were very problematic. The smallest pressure on the rim (obviously rim brakes) would make the pads squeal and jump. Couldn't modulate my braking. I had to ride with the brakes very slightly touching the rims to fix it.

prj71

Waxing your bike? !!

Doctor Morbius

Love it! I can picture the late Leslie Nielson doing something like that.

livedarklions

Don't try to give your bike a Brazilian wax. Trust me on that one.

cyccommute 

I can't tell you the number of times I've been told on this forum that sealed cartridge bearings aren't "sealed". Tons of people have tried to tell me that the seals on the bearings are just dust seals...and poor ones at that. According to them, the water should just shoot through the hub and come out the other side.

On the other hand, I did add the caveat that modern hubs are well sealed. Even cheap modern hubs. You would have to go way down into the cheapest of the HelMart bikes to find the kind of hubs you are talking about and, even then, the grease will stand up to a momentary blast of water from a handwand. Not minutes, to be sure, and the further away you hold the wand the better.

That's kind of what I thought. Cleaning a bike twice a week is just fiddling with the bike too much and wiping it down after every ride is sanitizing it for no apparent reason.

I'm not afraid.

IMG_1248 by Stuart Black, on Flickr

A dirty bike is a happy bike!

With the caveat that my drivetrains aren't oily messy drivetrains and that I do more cleaning in winter to remove salt than in summer. Salt is corrosive and does damage. Good ol' dirt doesn't.

Speedway2

I only ride on paved roads so my bikes don't really get dirty. However, at the end of the ride I almost always wipe my bike down with a micro-fiber, a beer in one hand(for drinking) and the tunes cranked (in the garage).

Biggest mistake?.....putting Amour-all on the sidewalls and seat. Looks pretty but going around corners can get a little squirely and hitting the front brake hard can get the boys jammed. As a matter of fact I still do the Amour-all....on my Cruiser

124Spider

If you're wiping down your dusty bike with a dry cloth, you're doing much more harm to the finish than good. Have at it, but you should never wipe a dry surface with a dry cloth, if your aim is other than to cause micro-abrasions.

sirkaos

+1
I couldn't agree more. I have been fortunate enough have been employed in aviation for 30+ years. I have applied the same standard to my bikes.

I have my bike work stand and my Harbor Freight work stool. I put on a proper work apron and clean my bike after every single ride. I look were I clean and I have found burrs on the chain ring, when it was getting worn, loose spokes, tell tale signs that the head tube bearings needed to be serviced, disc brake contamination, on and on, I have found numerous common issues as I use my older micro fiber towels and Maguires Final Touch detailing spray. I only spray the towel, not the bike. I get up and close to inspect and maintain my bike to highest level possible. I ride hard and average around 140 miles a week during the summer. I even use a bag of thin painters rags (small) to detail the FD and RD and pedals. Put my bike next to one that gets a once a month power wash, and the difference in appearance, reliability, integrity, and just overall functionality/safety doesn't even come close.
I see aircraft that are stored outside in the elements, never waxed and get cleaned when a rain storm passes. Those are the same airplanes that have system failures during flight, corrosion issues, dry rot, sun rot, on and on.
If you want to call that OCD, fine, I call it preventative maintenance and safety.