WHATS THE BEST CLEANER AND LUBRICATION FOR A ROAD BIKE

[SDMichael]

Most car washing soaps have a wax type agent in them... Donyou think that washing braking surfaces with waxy stuff is wise?

"Waxy substances" would be washed off the surface of your bike if they were mixed in with auto wash soap. Soap is a surfactant; it can solubilize water as well as lipids (like wax and oil). Soap works by surrounding globules of oily substances, trapping them in micro bubbles of surfactant. The outer layer of the bubble is attracted to water, and floats away as the water washes off the surface. So it wouldn't make sense for car wash soap, or any other soap, to have wax mixed in. You might as well pour it straight into the drain.

 

[Froze]

Dishwashing soap is not good for any painted surfaces, it leaves a dull film behind even after repeatedly rinsing. This is why car washes came along was to prevent that dulling. Some car washes are made for the lazy person and comes with a wax built in, so a person can pay more money for a wash and wax in one product and neither work well! And if your like me and wax your bike (and car) dishwashing soap will strip the wax off as well, which means you have to rewax everytime you wash using dishwashing soap. I use Meguiars car wash on the car and Finish Line wash on the bike because I ride steel bikes and Finish Line Wash has a rust inhibitor built into it. Zymo and 3M car washes are also very good.

By the way, machine dish washing soap and laundry soap is the worst for paint, as is glass cleaner.

 

[Cipher]

For lubrication, I love Dumonde BCL-Lite. (Use it on my road bike). Keeps the drive train very clean, and smells pretty good as well!


Reviewed Here

 

[alienator]

Actually, for a long time I've had a bottle of Dumonde chain lube, the original formulation, and just recently I thought I'd give Pro Link a rest and try the Dumonde. I've got to say I'm pretty chuffed with the Dumonde. Dumonde says not to relube until you hear chain noise, and my chain is still quiet after 576 miles.

 

[randochap]

No, don't ever use WD-40. It's not really a lubricant.
 
Any car wash will suffice for most purposes, with a degreaser like Simple Green for stubborn spots. I use such things as Finish Line lube for rollers and chain and lower-viscosity TriFlow for pivots and cables.
 
There's a complete clean and lube video here.

 

[rich88]

for chain cleaning I highly recommend citrus.
 
 
 
Rich
http://roadbikefever.com

 

[Mak'em Lad]

Halfords do a shaped tool for cleaning the cassette with bristles long enough for all the cogs. Using sometime like this would reduce the amount of times the cassette would need to be stripped, wouldn't it?
 
Good point about the WD40 & power wasking, I'll have to get Chain L & some 'elbow grease'. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif
 
Halfords sell 'Muc Off'. Just spray it on, leave for a while then wash it off with plain water. Anyone know of this product?