De-lurking, new bike, and a question

[jamijo]

*waves hi* I was around a bit last summer, but school & student teaching kinda kept me busy for the past few months. I've been poking around a bit the last few weeks, though, and finally have a new bike and some rides under my belt :)

My husband surprised me with a new bike as a graduation present. I shopped around a bit at a few different chain and local stores and settled on a 15" Trek 7.2 WSD -- it's a good fit, but I barely make standover on it (I have no standover space). I've gotten a few good rides in on it -- been to the park on the other side of the highway twice to use their paved paths, hauled it down to Pittsburgh proper on Mother's Day and rode along the river, and ran over to the post office (about a mile away) this evening. I definitely have a lot of work to do to start making some of the longer rides I'm interested in (especially with all of the hills around Western PA), but so far... so good! :)

And my question -- what kind of cleaning/maintenance should I be doing after rides with my bike? I haven't had any mud or muck to deal with, but I don't want to run into problems down the road if I ignore maintenance / cleaning (and I forgot to ask LBS folks about it when I got the bike). How frequently should chains be lubed, and what kind of chain lube is best for short rides?

[Velocivixen]

Hi and congrats. on your new bike. I have a Trek 7.3 FX and have had it for 6 months, and I really like it.

I know after a really muddy ride they say you should use a gentle stream of water to rinse it off. Not high pressure with the hose because you don't water in sealed/greased areas. I think Sheldon Brown's website might have some good suggestions. I actually went on youtube and searched "How to was a bicycle" for some good ideas.
I have just rinsed mine off so far.
I cleaned and lubed the chain when it looked like oily "grit" on the chain. You can use Simple Green and old towels or paper towels. My husband has a chain cleaning device where you pour solution in a plastic housing, snap it to the chain & rear derailleur and turn the peddles (if your bike is on a stand). Then you remove the device, dry and lube.

I wish I could be of more help. ;) I know you shouldn't use a towel to get dry dirt off otherwise the grit in the dirt can scratch your paint. Guy at the LBS said to use spray furniture polish on the bike (like Pledge) to "wax" your bike. They use it all the time.

[Velocivixen]

Here's a web page from Park tools (they make bike tools):

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/bike-washing-and-cleaning

[westtexas]

I clean my chain anytime after I ride in wet conditions or really dusty conditions. That's what the guy at the LBS told me. Normally I'd say I clean the chain and relube it every 10 rides or so, which is about every 150 miles. I don't know if that's right or not, but it's really easy to do.

I have one of those chain cleaning devices - you put a little degreaser in the housing and add water and then snap it onto your chain and spin the pedals. You do not have to have a bike stand for this. I don't. I just prop the back wheel of the bike into a corner and spin the pedals backward (be prepared to have the chain come off until you get the hang of it). It's so much easier, and IMHO less wasteful than using a bunch of paper towels or one of those aerosol solvents. The cleaning unit definitely drips though and the black stuff that comes out will stain your concrete, so I would put a cloth towel or something like that down (or do it over your grass like I do).

As far as the rest of it goes... I just use a soft cloth dampened with water and wipe the frame clean. Then I dry with another soft cloth.

[Catrin]

I wipe my chain off with a rag after every ride, and re-lube it every time I get caught in the rain or every 7 rides or so. Please note that I use a "dry lube" (Rock and Roll Gold) which is something different from traditional lube. For me it works and I avoid over-lubing this way, dry lube doesn't "last" as long. I also generally wipe off the frame when I wipe off the chain - and this gives me a chance to quickly eye-ball everything for any problems. As I have a very light carpet in my apartment, and all my bikes live in my bedroom, I also wipe off the tires and this also allows me to look for anything I may have picked up in the ride.

All of this takes less time than it takes to type it out :)

[Sky King]

Way to go, love to hear about people thinking about maintenance right out of the gate. Another note on chains, they don't last forever, regardless of how well we take care of them. Here is a good rule of thumb posts about when to replace your chain. I put a new chain on this spring and was shocked at how much nicer my bike shifted (duh)
http://biketouringnews.com/fundamental-stuff/self-supported-bike-touring/tour-preparation-day-two-bike-maintenance/

[Cataboo]

Don't worry about your lack of standover - if you're not mountain biking, it's okay.

[Bike Writer]

What a great hubby to get you a nice bike for graduation! Enjoy your ride, many miles and many smiles!

[jamijo]

Thanks for the cleaning suggestions, everyone! I'm going to sacrifice some of my grungier towels to bike maintenance and move them out to our garage, and invest in one of those chain cleaning snap-on thingies -- saw one today when I was at REI picking up shoes & pedals (but that's another story) and almost bought it -- it can probably wait a few more rides though, so I'll shop around and see if I can find a deal on one.

[Velocivixen]

@jamijo, we have two of those devices. The first one without a handle sticking out of the side, and now a new one with a handle sticking out of the side, like on the REI website. I guess the handle somehow gives you more "control" but haven't actually used it yet.

Have fun.