cleaning bikes in the winter

Doug Purdy said:

Washing options I've thought of:
1) do nothing
2) take the bikes to the self car wash on the bike rack 3) run a hose from the hot water beyond
the patio and bed (my summer cleaning site)
4) take the indor-outdor out of the laundry room and try washing there
5) make the bike room watertight and buy a shop vac.

Washing is, IMO, not the best way to clean a bike. In particular, a high-pressure spray of water,
especially from a car-wash hose, is not beneficial to bearings.

Unless the bike is very muddy, wipe it down with a (old) towel. Maybe you can put a bit of light oil
on the rag, if you avoid the rims and tires. If your bike has paint, you could wax the frame. The
rest is really lubrication and maintenance, not washing like a car.

If it is muddy, let it dry and the mud will come off pretty easily.

Quoted message said:

1) forget cleaning and learn how to do the spring maintenance-replacement myself
2) change all chains to the easy disconnect type and remove & clean them in a pop bottle.

This gets my vote.

Quoted message said:

3) clean on the bike & use a mat or plastic sheet to avoid degreaser damage to floor walls &
furniture

Iick

--

David L. Johnson

__o | As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not _`\(,_ | certain, and as
far as they are certain, they do not refer to (_)/ (_) | reality. -- Albert Einstein

"Doug Purdy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Looking for your ideas, experience for cleaning bikes in the winter.

I agree with David Johnson. If you can let the bike dry, then a lot of the dirt can be simply
brushed off, then the bike can be wiped down with a (deliberately) greasy rag. Shaking the chain in
a bottle of solvent is pretty effective.

"Doug Purdy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

4) take the indor-outdor out of the laundry room and try washing there

I dk what "indor-outdor" is. However, since we replaced cheap crappy vinyl in the kitchen with
bamboo, I now clean (not wash) my bike in the laundry room. I also tried it in the bathroom, but it
was just too cramped in there.

Quoted message said:

3) clean on the bike & use a mat or plastic sheet to avoid degreaser damage to floor walls &
furniture

I do this, only with newspapers.

The bike doesn't need to be "washed". Wait for all the [censored] on it to dry, then rub it off. Mud, fir
needles (fir needles! Millions of them! I think they're all gone, and there's still more!) all just
come off with your rag.

Stripping and lubing the drive train can be done with a bucket, a bunch of rags, degreaser, and a
toothbrush. This newsgroup converted me to weekly bike cleaning. In fact, I was supposed to do it
this weekend, and plan not to ride this morning because I didn't get around to it (my punishment for
procrastination). My drivetrain on Friday sounded like it is running through sandpaper. Yeah, I
could dab some lube on it right now and go, but then I'd just be working the grit more effectively
and deeper into the parts of the bike. If you don't clean it regularly when it sounds like that,
you'll have to replace your cassette, cogs, and chain much more frequently.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com

Home of the meditative cyclist:
home.earthlink.netWelcome.htmOpen ↗

Books just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at:
bookcrossing.comCpeterskyOpen ↗

"Doug Purdy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Looking for your ideas, experience for cleaning bikes in the winter.

I'm trying to get better organized to clean bikes in the winter. So far my procedure is to intend
to clean but never actually do it and have major maintenance-replacement in the spring. Bike shops
are kind of busy then though so service is sporadically effective.

I don't have a garage for washing. I have a finished basement room (walkout) for bikes. My
backyard is patio and flower beds. The laundry room has a drain but indoor-outdoor carpeting.

Washing options I've thought of:
1) do nothing
2) take the bikes to the self car wash on the bike rack
3) run a hose from the hot water beyond the patio and bed (my summer cleaning site)
4) take the indor-outdor out of the laundry room and try washing there
5) make the bike room watertight and buy a shop vac.

I usually just wipe down with a rag, unless I've just come back from a muddy MTB ride, and the bike
is wet and muddy anyway. In that case washing is the best solution. You can wipe down when the bike
is wet, or after everything dries. How well either one works depends on the kind of dirt you have.
Clay-type dirt sticks like concrete, but most road-type dirt practically falls off. Be careful about
scratching the paint with heavy grit though.

Some people use furniture polish (like Pledge) to clean their bike. It works, and the layer of wax
it leaves behind helps keep more dirt from sticking. However, this is probably more suitable for
light road dirt than heavy winter mud and grit.

Quoted message said:

Chain cleaning options:
1) forget cleaning and learn how to do the spring maintenance-replacement myself
2) change all chains to the easy disconnect type and remove & clean them in a pop bottle.
3) clean on the bike & use a mat or plastic sheet to avoid degreaser damage to floor walls &
furniture

My latest solution is my favorite so far. I bought one of those big cans (like a paint can) of
parts cleaner from an auto parts store. It has a little platform of wire mesh inside, for the parts
to sit on, just like a full sized parts cleaner at an auto repair shop. Just remove the chain and
let it soak in there while cleaning the rest of the bike. You'll want to agitate the chain a few
times while it's soaking. When done, pull it out, rinse it out in the sink, let it dry, and relube.
The cleaning solution remains in the can with the dirt settling to the bottom, as a self-contained
system, to be reused for years. So there's nothing to dispose of until you move cross-country or
something. Someone else mentioned having two chains and rotating them. That could be a good
solution too.

For cleaning the rest of the drivetrain, I use a rag dampened with solvent or WD40. If it's really
bad, those parts will fit in the parts cleaner can too.

Matt O.

Wipe bike frame with Pledge or Bike Lust before getting it dirty; it'll be easier to clean later.

Like Dave says, wipe it with a wet towel -- or squirt the clods off with a water bottle. A garden
hose has enough water pressure that it can cause problems by moving grit into areas that were clean,
getting water into hubs and bottom bracket, etc. A plant sprayer works really well, however. (I
don't use soap on the bike until spring. When I do, use Dawn detergent diluted in warm water; I
apply with sponge or brush, then gently rinse with the plant sprayer, taking care not to shoot water
directly on bearings, seals, derailleur pivots, etc.)

If roads are salted in your area, it's important to clean/wash your rims as well as the bike frame.
Salt corrodes aluminum, nipple eyelets, alloy nipples, etc.

Mike Yankee

(Address is munged to thwart spammers. To reply, delete everything after "com".)

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Looking for your ideas, experience for cleaning bikes in the winter.

I'm trying to get better organized to clean bikes in the winter. So far my procedure is to intend
to clean but never actually do it and have major maintenance-replacement in the spring. Bike shops
are kind of busy then though so service is sporadically effective.

I don't have a garage for washing. I have a finished basement room (walkout) for bikes. My backyard
is patio and flower beds. The laundry room has a drain but indoor-outdoor carpeting.

Washing options I've thought of:
1) do nothing

Not a good idea.

Quoted message said:

2) take the bikes to the self car wash on the bike rack

Not a bad idea. Just don't blast water into any of the bearings.

Quoted message said:

3) run a hose from the hot water beyond the patio and bed (my summer cleaning site)

Not a bad idea either. I would just get a bucket with warm water and wash the bike down outside.

Quoted message said:

4) take the indor-outdor out of the laundry room and try washing there

I would not do this in my house because it can get messy and you might spray dirty water around
the house.

Quoted message said:

5) make the bike room watertight and buy a shop vac.

Interesting idea. I wonder how this would work?

Quoted message said:

Chain cleaning options:
1) forget cleaning and learn how to do the spring maintenance-replacement myself

Bad idea. If your chain gets dirty and wears quickly, you will have to change your cassette and
chainrings at the same time as your chain. That can add up to quite a bit of cash.

Quoted message said:

2) change all chains to the easy disconnect type and remove & clean them in a pop bottle.

You don't need to change the chain, just get the easy disconnect links and put them on your current
chain. This assumes your current chain is not worn out.

Quoted message said:

3) clean on the bike & use a mat or plastic sheet to avoid degreaser damage to floor walls &
furniture

Not as good an idea as removing and soaking. This type of cleaning on gets the outside clean and
leave the inside dirty. All your chain wear occurs on the inside, so you have a clean looking chain
that will wear quickly.

--------------
Alex

David L. Johnson <[email hidden]> wrote:

: If it is muddy, let it dry and the mud will come off pretty easily.

Hm. You can tell you don't live in the UK!

Round here, I can leave the mud on. Next ride, I'll add a new, thicker and deeper layer of mud and
cow-[censored] over the old mud.

My solution is a good wash (with a rag and a bucket of warm water and washing up liquid) once a
week. Clean chain with de-greaser, re-lube and move on.

Just leaving the mud to dry out isn't an option round here.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune clune.orgclune.orgOpen ↗ "Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article said:

Doug Purdy said:

Washing options I've thought of:
1) do nothing
2) take the bikes to the self car wash on the bike rack 3) run a hose from the hot water beyond
the patio and bed (my summer cleaning site)
4) take the indor-outdor out of the laundry room and try washing there
5) make the bike room watertight and buy a shop vac.

Washing is, IMO, not the best way to clean a bike. In particular, a high-pressure spray of water,
especially from a car-wash hose, is not beneficial to bearings.

Unless the bike is very muddy, wipe it down with a (old) towel. Maybe you can put a bit of light
oil on the rag, if you avoid the rims and tires. If your bike has paint, you could wax the frame.
The rest is really lubrication and maintenance, not washing like a car.

If it is muddy, let it dry and the mud will come off pretty easily.

_ Depends where you ride. Around here the mud turns to a concrete like substance when it dries and
is very hard to get off. If you really ride in mud you want make sure and clean the brakes before it
dries. Dry mud leave behind a thin layer of grit that makes a fine abrasive on your rims.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

2) change all chains to the easy disconnect type and remove & clean them in a pop bottle.

This gets my vote.

_ Me too. I think you can just get away with buying power links for your current chains, but you can
get a decent chain for $18. Buy two and switch them every couple of weeks.

_ Booker C. Bense

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"MikeYankee" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

If roads are salted in your area, it's important to clean/wash your rims as well as the bike
frame. Salt corrodes aluminum, nipple eyelets, alloy

nipples,

Quoted message said:

etc.

I agree. If salt is present, I'd be washing frequently.

Matt O.

In article <[email hidden]>,

David L. Johnson said:

On Mon, 15 Dec 2003 05:17:04 +0000, Doug Purdy wrote:

Quoted message said:

Unless the bike is very muddy, wipe it down with a (old) towel. Maybe you can put a bit of light
oil on the rag, if you avoid the rims and tires. If your bike has paint, you could wax the frame.
The rest is really lubrication and maintenance, not washing like a car.

Mud? What about sand, grit and salt... lots of salt... That's what my bike sees in the winter.
Wiping with a towel doesn't get it off.

I have a brush on a handle... oh, maybe 3 feet long. I fill a bucket with warm water, and with
the brush, get the junk off. Wait for a warm day.... at least 20F.. so that most of the water
won't freeze.

--
--
"It's a sad day for american capitalism when a man
can't fly a midget on a kite over Central Park."
J. Moran

Quoted message said:

The bike doesn't need to be "washed". Wait for all the [censored] on it to dry, then rub it off. Mud, fir
needles (fir needles! Millions of them! I think they're all gone, and there's still more!) all just
come off with your rag.

Sounds like a good way to scratch or dull the paint, if one cares about such things.

I vote for low-pressure washing (really more like water dribbling on the bike), followed by a wipe
with a damp cloth.

Chris Neary [email hidden]

"Science, freedom, beauty, adventure: what more could you ask of life? Bicycling combined all the
elements I loved" - Adapted from a quotation by Charles Lindbergh

"Peter Cole" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:paiDb.398741$ao4.1312603@attbi_s51...

Quoted message said:

I agree with David Johnson. If you can let the bike dry, then a lot of the dirt can be simply
brushed off, then the bike can be wiped down with a (deliberately) greasy rag.

I think this is going to depend on the local soil composition. I'm on old lake bottom, and once this
dries on the bike it's pretty much on for the duration.

Quoted message said:

Washing options I've thought of:
1) do nothing
2) take the bikes to the self car wash on the bike rack
3) run a hose from the hot water beyond the patio and bed (my summer cleaning site)
4) take the indor-outdor out of the laundry room and try washing there
5) make the bike room watertight and buy a shop vac.

Rinse off the mud and road grit with a low pressure water hose. Make sure to point the hose down and
not sideways where water can penetrate into the bearings. Once the hosing is done, use a throw-away
dry towel and soak a little lemon cleaner (light degreaser) and wipe the whole bike clean. Use
another dry towel to wipe it dry. You don't want water to sit idle of your bike, if it's steel or
rust may form quicker that you want! 🙂

Quoted message said:

Chain cleaning options:
1) forget cleaning and learn how to do the spring maintenance-replacement myself
2) change all chains to the easy disconnect type and remove & clean them in a pop bottle.
3) clean on the bike & use a mat or plastic sheet to avoid degreaser damage to floor walls &
furniture

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

No need to remove the chain. The quickest way to clean it is to buy one of those chain cleaner
gadget and skip the chain cleaner solution. With the gadget, fill it up with WD-40. Yes, this stuff
is a water dispersion chemical that strips all muck and grease off better than any other expensive
and lousy biodegradable degreaser. Besides, WD-40 is so cheap if bought in cases of 3 or 12. Once
cleaned by WD-40, rinse off excess WD-40 on the chain with a garden hose. You will see old grease
peeling off the chain like old paint, making it look almost brand new. To remove all WD-40 from the
chain itself, put warm soap water into the chain cleaner gadget again and run the chain through a
couple of spins. Rinse it again with a garden hose and the chain should look like a million dollar.
Wipe the chain dry with a towel. Air dry it for a day and then apply chain lube. While cleaning the
chain, you should scrub the chain rings and cassette with WD-40 as well. Then use soap water and
then water to rinse off.

Hope this helps.

David said:

Quoted message said:

Washing options I've thought of:
1) do nothing
2) take the bikes to the self car wash on the bike rack
3) run a hose from the hot water beyond the patio and bed (my summer cleaning site)
4) take the indor-outdor out of the laundry room and try washing there
5) make the bike room watertight and buy a shop vac.

Rinse off the mud and road grit with a low pressure water hose. Make sure to point the hose down
and not sideways where water can penetrate into the bearings. Once the hosing is done, use a throw-
away dry towel and soak a little lemon cleaner (light degreaser) and wipe the whole bike clean.
Use another dry towel to wipe it dry. You don't want water to sit idle of your bike, if it's steel
or rust may form quicker that you want! 🙂

Quoted message said:

Chain cleaning options:
1) forget cleaning and learn how to do the spring maintenance-replacement myself
2) change all chains to the easy disconnect type and remove & clean them in a pop bottle.
3) clean on the bike & use a mat or plastic sheet to avoid degreaser damage to floor walls &
furniture

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

No need to remove the chain. The quickest way to clean it is to buy one of those chain cleaner
gadget and skip the chain cleaner solution. With the gadget, fill it up with WD-40.

WD40 will work fine for this. However, with newer chains that come apart with a master link, the
quickest, easiest way to clean them is just to pop them off and throw them in a can of solvent while
cleaning the rest of the bike.

Quoted message said:

Yes, this stuff is a water dispersion chemical that strips all muck and grease off better than any
other expensive and lousy biodegradable degreaser.

BS. It's physically impossible. Spray some WD40 in a pail of water, and you'll see that it floats
like any other petroleum distillate. It's just oil. It can't displace water. Don't believe the label
or the hype.

Quoted message said:

Besides, WD-40 is so cheap if bought in cases of 3 or 12. Once cleaned by WD-40, rinse off excess
WD-40 on the chain with a garden hose. You will see old grease peeling off the chain like old
paint, making it look almost brand new. To remove all WD-40 from the chain itself, put warm soap
water into the chain cleaner gadget again and run the chain through a couple of spins. Rinse it
again with a garden hose and the chain should look like a million dollar. Wipe the chain dry with
a towel. Air dry it for a day and then apply chain lube. While cleaning the chain, you should
scrub the chain rings and cassette with WD-40 as well. Then use soap water and then water to
rinse off.

Sounds like a lot of trouble to me, for a half-assed result.

If you want to do a half-assed job of cleaning your chain, spray it with some WD40 or soak it with
soap and water, then blast it with a high presssure stream from a garden hose while turning the
crank. You can hold the nozzle against the rear derailer cage, pointing toward the rear of the bike.
This will do about as good a job as what you're talking about, with a fraction of the effort. Relube
the chain when dry.

Matt O.

I think the best way to clean bike is using central vacuum cleaner. Works
perfectly for me.
Jurek
"Doug Purdy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Looking for your ideas, experience for cleaning bikes in the winter.

I'm trying to get better organized to clean bikes in the winter. So far my procedure is to intend
to clean but never actually do it and have major maintenance-replacement in the spring. Bike shops
are kind of busy then though so service is sporadically effective.

I don't have a garage for washing. I have a finished basement room (walkout) for bikes. My
backyard is patio and flower beds. The laundry room has a drain but indoor-outdoor carpeting.

Washing options I've thought of:
1) do nothing
2) take the bikes to the self car wash on the bike rack
3) run a hose from the hot water beyond the patio and bed (my summer cleaning site)
4) take the indor-outdor out of the laundry room and try washing there
5) make the bike room watertight and buy a shop vac.

Chain cleaning options:
1) forget cleaning and learn how to do the spring maintenance-replacement myself
2) change all chains to the easy disconnect type and remove & clean them in a pop bottle.
3) clean on the bike & use a mat or plastic sheet to avoid degreaser damage to floor walls &
furniture

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Doug For email, a sense of wonder.

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Yes, this stuff is a water dispersion chemical that strips all muck and grease off better than
any other expensive and lousy biodegradable degreaser.

BS. It's physically impossible. Spray some WD40 in a pail of water, and you'll see that it floats
like any other petroleum distillate. It's just oil. It can't displace water. Don't believe the
label or the hype.

Ahh, you have just illustrated the water displacement right there. Let's experiment with the same
pail of water, we can fill it with half water and half oil. They won't mix. Now, puncture a hole at
the bottom of the pail and guess what comes out first? Water or oil or a mixture of both?

Simply, it's water first because the oil portion floats on top of water. As gravity pulls both down,
water gets displaced first because it is closest to the bottom of the pail. As soon as the water
runs out, oil will start eek out of that same hole too!

What WD-40 does is similar to the above experiment. What you want is a solution that displaces water
under pressure or agitation from any metal links and joints. It is water that can cause rust to form
and just that the chemical concoction of the WD-40 displaces water and desolve grease that it makes
a great chain cleaner. It's cheap too.

David said:

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Yes, this stuff is a water dispersion chemical that strips all muck and grease off better than
any other expensive and lousy biodegradable degreaser.

BS. It's physically impossible. Spray some WD40 in a pail of water, and you'll see that it floats
like any other petroleum distillate. It's just oil. It can't displace water. Don't believe the
label or the hype.

Ahh, you have just illustrated the water displacement right there. Let's experiment with the same
pail of water, we can fill it with half water and half oil. They won't mix. Now, puncture a hole
at the bottom of the pail and guess what comes out first? Water or oil or a mixture of both?

Simply, it's water first because the oil portion floats on top of water. As gravity pulls both
down, water gets displaced first because it is closest to the bottom of the pail. As soon as the
water runs out, oil will start eek out of that same hole too!

Nothing is being displaced there, it's just running out. The displacement happened when the water
sank to the bottom of the bucket, pushing the oil to the top.

Quoted message said:

What WD-40 does is similar to the above experiment.

Surface tension will keep water stuck to a chain. All WD40 will do is float on the water. It can't
displace the water because its specific gravity is lower, and it has less surface tension (than
water). Water will hold on to itself and the metal stronger than WD40 will. Did you sleep through
your college chemistry classes?

Quoted message said:

What you want is a solution that displaces water under pressure or agitation from any metal links
and joints.

Oil and water don't mix, so there's no solution.

Quoted message said:

It is water that can cause rust to form and just that the chemical concoction

What chemical concoction is that? It's just a bunch of lightweight petroleum distillates, with scent
added to make it smell good. Some would say there's snake juice in it too, but it's actually a lot
simpler than that.

Quoted message said:

of the WD-40 displaces water and desolve grease that it makes a great chain cleaner. It's
cheap too.

It's a pretty good solvent, but displace water it does not. Cannot.

Matt O.

Quoted message said:

It's a pretty good solvent, but displace water it does not. Cannot.

Matt, it says it displaces moisture on engines, spark plugs and power tools.

Right there on the can.

Along with the first aid instructions if you get any of it onya.

Now I grant you that "moisture" isn't "water" per se if you want to get technical.

And I know it is a lousy lubricant, it evaporates fast.

Nothing I'd use on a bicycle. Much better to clean the chain by immersion and agitation in a "green"
citrus cleaner, the rest of the bike is easily taken care of with a mild detergent solution and some
old rags. If you want to get medieval on a frame Fantastik or similar won't eat plastic or rubber.

Gently rinse and finish with a fresh coat of Carnauba wax on the frame and perhaps some Armor-All on
the plastic only.

By now the chain has finished soaking. Rinse in clear water and then dry. Lube with your poison
of choice, I use 10W-40, a lifetime supply can be had for a couple of bucks. Wipe that chain.
Never overlube.

While you're at it, check everything for wear. If you're obsessive you can strip the headset and BB
and repack them, climate and conditions might make this a semi-annual or bi-annual event.

Definitely regrease the seatpost and stem, if you don't you could be a very unhappy camper in
the future.

Of course all of the consumables need at least inspection, that would include cables, pads, tires,
tape, etc.

Check wheel true and tension, inspect and/or replace rim strips, repack and adust hubs.

Verify that your accessories such as fenders, racks, cages and clips are right and tight.

Buy stock in Locktite Corporation. Eschew zip-ties.

Repeat as needed.

This should get you through at least a few rides.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________ ------------------"Buddy Holly,
the Texas Elvis"------------------
__________306.350.357.38>>[email hidden]__________

In article <[email hidden]>, Matt O'Toole

Quoted message said:

Surface tension will keep water stuck to a chain. All WD40 will do is float on the water. It can't
displace the water because its specific gravity is lower, and it has less surface tension (than
water). Water will hold on to itself and the metal stronger than WD40 will. Did you sleep through
your college chemistry classes?

I can't argue with you Matt. You are simply applying a technique called "data mining" whereby you
pick and choose my statements that strengthen your case.

If you read my last post in its entirety, it works only by pressure or agitation. Running through a
chain cleaner with WD-40 will displace water or moisture by agitation. WD-40 byitself won't. It
needs help, but then you took this statement out and then added something else.

And no, you don't have to indicate that I slept through college. What's the purpose of demeaning
some one else?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What you want is a solution that displaces water under pressure or agitation from any metal
links and joints.

Oil and water don't mix, so there's no solution.

Quoted message said:

It is water that can cause rust to form and just that the chemical concoction

What chemical concoction is that? It's just a bunch of lightweight petroleum distillates, with
scent added to make it smell good. Some would say there's snake juice in it too, but it's actually
a lot simpler than that.

Obviously it sells a lot and it works. Let's put this to rest shall we. I mean, what does dissecting
WD-40 has to do with proper chain cleaning? Unless ofcourse, you have some vested interest in
putting down the company that makes WD-40?