"Andrew Price" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:I'd be interested in hearing from any inner city residents who've
managed to find a solution to the problem. Now that the roads are
starting to get muddy, my bicycle is no longer fit to be seen!
For me, if it's cold, wet, and dark, when I come home from work, my first
thought is a hot shower and making dinner. Wiping down the bike upon arrival
is pretty low on the list. So, the frame gets pretty dirty. I suppose I
should worry about rust, but even my 20 year old mountain bike is doing fine
in this department, even after lots of rainy-day use.
So, my practice in the winter is taking the bike inside for a shower once a
week. I would really love to have a mud room like some fancy houses have,
but I don't, so the basement bathroom is where this happens. This may sound
crazy, but it is warm, well-lit, and dry in the bathroom, with a ready
supply of water. I have one of those flexible hose showerheads, and I spray
the bike down to get off the first layer of grime. I try to get under the
fenders if possible -- there can be fir needles and muck held together with
pulverized and petrified slug carcasses in there. Ew.
What happens next:
I clean the rims and brake pads. In general, you should take care during
your bike cleaning not to get grease or lube on the rims -- a potentially
fatal mistake. If I am feeling particularly thorough, I wipe down the hubs.
I then perform a tire inspection, looking for tears longer than a quarter
inch, anything wide enough to get grit in it. I HATE flats, especially
dealing with them in the dark and the rain, which is basically the commute
from now until March. If I see potential problems, I call up the bike shop
and find out if they have my favorite tire in stock. If not, I have them
order one; if so, I make a mental note to go to the shop in the near future
to pick it up.
Then the drivetrain: I don't take off the chain, I leave it on. I can clean
it fairly well with a heavy citrus degreaser, a rag, and an old toothbrush.
(No need to buy a fancy $10 chain-cleaning tool, which is just a glorified
toothbrush anyway.) I get the schmutz off of the pulleys and the cogs. After
it all appears clean, I lube up the whole thing, and wipe off the excess
lube.
I then use a light degreaser (simple green, full strength, is fine) and a
rag to clean off any remaining dirt on the frame, and wipe the whole thing
down. The bike gets carried back up to the garage.
Next, an important step to keep in good graces with the rest of the
household -- I clean the bathroom I cleaned the bike in. This means wiping
down the tub, mopping the floor, and while I'm at it, scrubbing out the
toilet and wiping down the sink, because even if I didn't use these fixtures
for bike cleaning, they should be cleaned weekly anyway, right? Who can
object to you cleaning your bike in the bathroom if the bathroom is cleaner
when you're done than when you started?
If your spouse is also a bike commuter, you can clean his/her bike on top of
doing your own. It's much easier to do two at a time than to do each one
separately, so it is relatively little skin off of one's nose, but earns
mega brownie points with your partner.
--
Warm Regards,
Claire Petersky
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky
