Bike care/TLC

Nick said:

Hey all, just bought a new bike (Specialized hard rock
sport) and wanted to know of any recommendations for care.
The LBS i bought it from said bring it in, they'll do it,
but I want to take care of it everytime i ride. I live by
the beach, lots of sand, lots of salt in the air. What
products are good to use, is using a water hose a bad idea?
These things. Any websites maybe? Thanks all Nick

Water hose=very very VERY bad idea. you'll blast lube out of
the bearings. Not good.

If you need to clean the bike, a rag and some soapy water
will do. But never never never hose it down. Save that
for yourself.

-Luigi

These two sites have lots of good info on bike repair.

www.sheldonbrown.com
parktool.comFAQindex.shtmlOpen ↗

'Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance' -
www.amazon.com

The aluminum frame won't be as heavily affected by the
saltwater than steel, but everything that isn't stainless
will rust if not cleaned (soapy water or degreaser is good).
Wet sand will accelerate your maintenance needs radically -
quartz is much harder than steel or aluminum and grinds down
the cogs really fast. So, the biggest thing would be to
clean and oil the chain religiously, and life will be good.

It's good to do your own maintenance because you can just
fix it when it needs to be fixed, instead of hauling it down
to the shop. Then again, lots of tools are specialized, so
you have to weight the odds. I use to ride my bike down a
four-mile stretch of beach as a part of my regular weekend
ride, and it required about three times as much maintenance.

-Collin

"Luigi de Guzman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Nick said:

Hey all, just bought a new bike (Specialized hard rock
sport) and wanted to know of any recommendations for
care. The LBS i bought it from said bring it in, they'll
do it, but I want to take care of it everytime i ride. I
live by the beach, lots of sand, lots of salt in the
air. What products are good to use, is using a water
hose a bad idea? These things. Any websites maybe?
Thanks all Nick

Water hose=very very VERY bad idea. you'll blast lube out
of the bearings. Not good.

If you need to clean the bike, a rag and some soapy water
will do. But never never never hose it down. Save that for
yourself.

-Luigi