q-tip cleaning obsessive?

[silver]

I've been cleaning my bikes for the last couple of days. I've been cleaning every last nook and cranny using q-tips when necessary. Mr. surveyed my work in progress and asked, "So, how clean does it really need to be?"

Am I being obsessive to clean everything to this degree?

What do you do?

[RoadRaven]

Ummmmm..... nope....
Good idea... but do the q-tips come apart and leave bits of "cottony" stuff in the crooks and nannies?

We use old toothbrushes.... but q-tips might be the way to go...

Road- I'm-obsessed-too -Raven

[KnottedYet]

little bamboo sticks and old t-shirts. :rolleyes:

if ya can't ride em, clean em, eh? :p

[Kalidurga]

After reading that suggestion here at TE, I used q-tips to clean the factory gunk from between the links of the new chain I had installed last year. Worked very nicely. Now I always have a supply of rags, q-tips, and cotton balls (to wipe down my rims with rubbing alcohol) handy when I clean my bike, just in case.

Kali - You-can't-be-too-obsessed - Durga ;)

[RoadRaven]

little bamboo sticks and old t-shirts. :rolleyes:

if ya can't ride em, clean em, eh? :p

Excellent idea - thanks Knot

Raod- obession-is-good - Raven

[KnottedYet]

I find the packets of bamboo shish-kabob skewers (about $1) to be optimal. And you can mash/fray the end of one to make a little tiny "brush" to reach into difficult spots.

Knot "cleanliness-is-next-to-godliness"

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Silver-
Your cleaning method will not get your bike nearly clean enough. I can only imagine all the nasty germs and filth left in one's chain if using only Q-tips, BBQ skewers, and brushes.
Here is the method you should use, if not after every ride, then certainly after every other ride:
http://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

[Mr. SR500]

I see nothing wrong here - clean away!

P.S. I just finished my cassette... removed from bike, soak, spray and hand dry each sprocket...

[Bluetree]

I wipe down my bike thoroughly after every ride.

Around every 200 miles (7-10 days) I'll take off her wheels, clean and inspect the tires for cuts and embedded material, wash down her chain and clean as much gunk off her drivetrain as possible, using Speed Degreaser if necessary, then relube with Boeshield. I'll get her bar tape nice and white again, and wipe down every spoke carefully.

About once a month, I take apart her entire drivetrain and soak or scrub her derailleurs, cassette and chain rings until she's showroom spotless. Then she gets a light carbon polish and a cable adjustment.

If I take care of my bike, my bike takes care of me! ;)

[alpinerabbit]

You guys are obsessed.

I only ride my roadie in nice weather which means one cleaning a year courtesy of the LBS.

My boyfriend got blood oozing out of his ears from obsessive cleaning with Q-tips. Message!

[DirtDiva]

I'm on alpinerabbit's side here. :D

[alpinerabbit]

Says DirtDiva (nomen est omen...):D

[Zen]

I looked at Sheldon's cleaning system and just had to click 'add to cart' to make sure :p

I only ride my roadie in nice weather too but it still gets pretty funky. I do a good cleaning about every third ride and yes I use q-tips

[froglegs]

I manage to clean my bike about once every 3 months. When Saturday morning comes, I tend to sit around and drink coffee for way too long, then I ride, and then by the time I get back it's time to do other things. Then on Sunday I do my long run, and after that laziness sets in. So yeah.... my bike doesn't get cleaned very often. I too only ride in nice weather. Maybe I should ride this weekend when it's raining, then it will get clean... sorta works for my car, anyway. :D

[RoadRaven]

I'm on alpinerabbit's side here. :D

Oh, well that stands to reason Ms Diva... just look at your name, you duuurrrty girl! :p :rolleyes: ;)

[SouthernBelle]

I can't imagine going to that extreme every time, but once or twice a year sounds OK.

How do you clean your cassette? I had problems shifting last summer and it turned out to be road grime on the cassette, rather like the stuff that gets on you car wheels like brake dust. It doesn't just wash off. The mechanic had to scrape it off. Somebody suggested I use car wheel spray cleaner every once in a while. Probably need to do that now.

How do you clean your bike when it's cold? Can't rinse it off with the hose???

[Bluetree]

The way I see it, every time I bomb down mountain roads at 45-50mph I'm putting my life in the hands of 15 lbs of carbon, steel, titanium and rubber. Cleaning, maintenance, and knowing that every centimeter of my bike is in tip-top condition gives me comfort.

Plus removal of salt, dust and grime prolongs the life and performance of your bike. High end components/wheelsets are not cheap and I'd rather not have to replace them too soon.

For a quick fix, I suggest getting a bottle of Finish Line Speed Degreaser ($10-15). It's not a replacement for taking apart your drivetrain and getting a thorough cleaning, but it will get rid of the crud build-up in your cassette.

[Blueberry]

We have a cleaning problem now - we've been banned from using any water outdoors (watering, washing, etc) - this makes it a little difficult to clean a bike. Though I admire those who can clean the bike in the shower, I'm not that adventurous yet:)

CA

[Mr. SR500]

I can't imagine going to that extreme every time, but once or twice a year sounds OK.

How do you clean your cassette? I had problems shifting last summer and it turned out to be road grime on the cassette, rather like the stuff that gets on you car wheels like brake dust. It doesn't just wash off. The mechanic had to scrape it off. Somebody suggested I use car wheel spray cleaner every once in a while. Probably need to do that now.

How do you clean your bike when it's cold? Can't rinse it off with the hose???

That is why you clean every week or so. Keeps everything clean and operating smoothly. Also as you clean you inspect components for damage or other problems. It seems the guys with dirty bikes always have more pre-ride/ride problems.

[KnottedYet]

We have a cleaning problem now - we've been banned from using any water outdoors (watering, washing, etc) - this makes it a little difficult to clean a bike. Though I admire those who can clean the bike in the shower, I'm not that adventurous yet:)


I wonder if my bike would struggle against me in the shower like my dog does? :p

[Blueberry]

I wonder if my bike would struggle against me in the shower like my dog does? :p

I've decided that one of the luxuries in life I'm willing to pay for is NOT washing a 104 lb golden retriever in my home tub. :D:D Egads - more water comes off the dog than came out of the tap. Amazing...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

How do you clean your bike when it's cold? Can't rinse it off with the hose???

I don't usually clean my bike at all during the dead of winter. I'll go into the winter with a clean bike and wait til a warm day in Spring. But for the brave, you can always take your bike (and a bunch of quarters) to one of those do-it-yourself outdoor car washes where they have hot water spray hoses with brush attachments and soapy water. :cool:

[KnottedYet]

I'm a big enough clutz that if I tried to do that I'd end up spraying water into the hubs and bb and headset. Even if I carefully tried NOT to!

My poor commuter is filthy. I need to give her a bath. (at least it's warm enough here I can do that on my patio.)

[smilingcat]

I'm not sure what effect the degreasing agent has on carbon frame. :confused: :confused:

And braking down a drive train hopefully doesn't mean breaking the chain. The narrow chains used today are really finicky. Hyperglides used on DA and Ultegra have a special pin that YOU HAVE TO USE TO RECONNECT THE CHAIN. SRAM chains use a special link for this and you can't keep popping them and reconnecting them. So I hope none of you do this.

I wouldn't recommend using degreaser on chain either. best use a bamboo skewer and toothbrush. Physically remove the gunk. If you use a degreaser on a chain, you lose all the special waxy grease on the pin. Aftermarket grease and oil for the chain just isn't good enough for hyperglide or SRAM chains. Same goes for Campy chains. Without the waxy grease, your chain may only last 3,000 mile maybe less.

Do take out the jockey wheel and the tensioner wheel on the rear deraillure and clean. Do take apart your cluster and wash and clean. Do use a rag to remove the gunk off the chain ring. (physical removal rather than chemical with degreaser.) You can use a rag with some degreaser on it but not dripping. You don't want the degreaser to get in the newer BB where the bearing cup is on the outside. When you use degreaser, ALWAYS USE RUBBER GLOVE AND KEEP IT OFF YOUR HAND. This applies even to the citrus based degreaser. They are really harsh. EPA may have finally rated the citrus based degreaser. It is really bad baadddd stuff.

I clean the brake surface of my wheel and remove gunk off the spokes and do take time cleaning the spoke nipple. Different kind of metal and under lots of tension. use degreaser here if you want. but not on the hub.

Brake caliper, I just use a rag and wipe off the gunk. I may have to see on the newer dual pivot brakes...

I clean whenever it looks durrrty and I can't stand to look at it. Two to five maybe six times a year.

smilingcat

[Zen]

Do you mean factory grase?
I thought that was "bad''.
I use Simple Green then Rock N' Roll.

[OakLeaf]

Do take apart your cluster and wash and clean.

No, you're joking, right???? :confused::confused::confused: Those pawls and springs and ball bearings are nearly impossible for the home mechanic to get back in place. I did it once when I was a teenager and too young to know better :rolleyes: My understanding is the pros don't even disassemble them, they just use a grease gun to force the old dirty grease out and new clean grease in.

One could clean better than I normally do, certainly, but I can't recommend anyone take their freewheel apart! Please!

[DirtDiva]

I think smilingcat means just the cassette, not the entire freehub. :)

[Mr. SR500]

ProLink chain lube. Cleans and lubes all in one without any other chemicals. Awesome stuff.

[smilingcat]

I think smilingcat means just the cassette, not the entire freehub. :)

YES. THANK YOU. Never occured that someone might think I meant the hub. OH MY!! OH NO, NOT THE HUB!! :eek::eek:

smilingcat

[silver]

Oh, great! I'm not alone! Q-tips users unite!

OK, more about MY methods. I never hose down my bikes. I use a spray bottle of bike cleaner (it's pink), spray it on a soft cloth and wipe the bike clean. I do not clean it for every ride, but once a month or so, with the q-tip cleans 3 or 4 times a year. I don't take much of the bike apart, I do take off the wheels. Every thing else I clean on the bike, reaching into little spaces with q-tips and I do also use Mr.'s toothbrush ;) . But I do clean until squeaky clean. I even clean the tires. I did all of this cleaning in my kitchen.

I actually don't like using that chain cleaner contraption. I do a better job myself.

I only use degreaser when the bike cleaner won't get a spot clean.

Then I re-lube the chain (with prolink, I think) and lube the derailers and shifters with triflow. A couple of times a year I will touch up any nicks with clear nail polish and finally I polish the bike with pledge.

Oh, for cleaning the cassette, the best way is to remove and clean each piece, which I've done occasionally when I've changed cassettes, but without taking the cassette off.....I hold the wheel in my lap and take a cloth with bike cleaner on it and fold it. I hold it straight and tight threaded between the cogs and pull in the direction that the cassette doesn't turn (I think to the right) then pull the cloth to the other direction so that the cassette rotates and pull again in the other direction so that eventually I get all the way around the cassette, then repeat between the next pieces. That made perfect sense....right?

[SouthernBelle]

I do clean my bike regularly, but don't do the every nook and cranny every time. The stuff I had on my cassette simply didn't come off with your usual cleaners. I think it's partly because we had no rain to wash off the streets this year.

But since I wanted to put my old tire on this evening to go on the trainer, it seemed a good time to do it while watching the Titans. This required lots of newspaper in the floor. My cassette is now beautemous. But the big black tire on the back looks funny compared to the skinny orange tire on the front.


BUT... I find the chainrings a pain to clean. I have a triple in front and it's a PITA.

Still have to lube it. I used halftime to make white chili. :)

[divingbiker]

OK, every time I see the title of this thread I think "well, yeah, of course it's obsessive." This comes from someone who wipes down the chain and lubes it regularly, and wipes off the frame, but seldom does any thorough cleaning of the bike. Yes, I'm bad.

But this morning I decided to clean up my "new" Bridgestone (http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=20845) before I take it to the LBS to turn it into an Xtracycle, and I used toothbruses, q-tips, rags, nail polish, etc. And the bike looks and works great!

So I have to say I'm a convert, and am on my way downstairs to work on the other four bikes.

I apologize to Silver, Kalidurga, and others for doubting your sanity when it comes to obsessively cleaning your bikes.:)

[coyote]

All this talk about cleaning finally got me motivated, although there were no q-tips involved ;).

I solved the problem of my squeeky drivetrain. It must have been the rear derailler. I finally took the back wheel off and found that one of the little wheels in the derailler (I'm not too good with the technical terms) was completely caked on the back side. I seriously do not know how it was turning at all. The funny thing is that its been making that noise since I bought it :o

Oh, well and now they are forcasting rain! I guess the bike washing works like the car washing.

[Zen]

Yes, I'm bad.


I've seen your bike.
Yes, you are bad ;)

[Brandy]

I clean my bikes when George comments on how dirty they are. :p No really, I've gotten better lately!

[Starfish]

I use baby wipes for quick wipe downs, and since they don't disintegrate like Qtips can, I use baby wipe in little strips to thread through tight places and floss clean, sort of.

I do use a citrus degreaser...I apply it with a small paint brush to get it just where I want it, and not where I don't.

I also use mild bike wash in a spray bottle, and use a spray bottle of plain water for rinsing, when I'm not outside.

I have a variety of brushes, from large to small, and use different ones for the rims than I do for the drivetrain.

I find that a really nubby towel is great for the cassette.

I also keep alcohol and face pads handy for the rims.

I will use a hose outside when it is warm enough, but only with a nozzle that can produce a very broad, fine mist that has virtually NO pressure to it.

In the better weather when I'm riding all the time, I do a quick wipe down every time I ride (less than 5 minutes...basic frame, chain, rims, brake pads). Then, I do a regular wash every couple weeks. Then, every month or so I do a nit-picky clean. I realized I was doing OK with the cleaning when I apologized to my LBS for bringing the bike in dirty and they gave me really weird looks.

I have yet to take too much apart by myself, because I'm nervous about getting it back together. I need to get throught this barrier.

I enjoy detailing my bike the way I used to detail my horses. My brothers cannot understand why this does not carry over into detailing my car? :p

[short cut sally]

I also use q-tips to clean my chain. i use carb cleaner--i know, shudders abound here---to get the initial grime loosened. then i use the hand held chain cleaner thingamabob that one puts degreaser inside and spins the chain thru the plastic bristles inside. then out comes the q-tips to get between the links, yes more carb cleaner is used. then a rag damped by more chemicals is used to clean my cassettes, along with more q-tips if needed. of course i do reapply lubricant to the chain after it is thorougly cleaned. i usually wash and wax my bike at the same time my chain is getting cleaned. touch-ups were done last year at a local paint shop..free of charge- they were more interested in asking questions about biking and how much I had invested in this obsession.