Autumn bath

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Well I buckled down today and spent a couple of hours thoroughly cleaning my two bikes.
Neither has had a cleaning since the Spring, and in fact this was the very first major bath for my beautiful Luna. (hey Margo- welcome to TE!)

My Rivendell Rambouillet is going into the bike shop next week to get switched from bar end shifters to Ultegra short reach brifters, so I wanted it to look well cared for and beautiful. After that improvement it'll get it's new rack and panniers and become my trusty grocery/errand bike so I can use my car even less than I do already.

I don't love the chore of cleaning my bikes, but bright shiny bike machines are definitely things of great beauty.

[jobob]

My Rivendell Rambouillet is going into the bike shop next week to get switched from bar end shifters to Ultegra short reach brifters, so I wanted it to look well cared for and beautiful.

Blasphemy!

[kermit]

I wish I lived in a place where I could go shopping on my bike! I see so many potential cool shopping bikes. Do you use simple green? I love it on my road bike.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Blasphemy!

I know, it is blasphemy! But hey, it's nice to be able to reach my fingers around the brakes, for one thing. What a concept when barreling down a steep hill that ends in a T right on a highway! Besides, my brain is getting too feeble to keep remembering how to switch back and forth between the two different shifting systems on my two bikes. Takes too much brain power.

I wish I lived in a place where I could go shopping on my bike! I see so many potential cool shopping bikes. Do you use simple green? I love it on my road bike.

We purposely sought out and bought our small house 5 years ago specifically because it was close enough to bike or walk to the village to buy food, etc. We suspected way back then that there would be big trouble ahead concerning the economy and gasoline/oil prices, etc.

I did use SimpleGreen today, a goodly dose in hot water. I've used it on my bikes for a couple of years now (after citrus oil to remove the black gear gunk first). But to tell you the truth I have never really been that pleased with how well it works, and will be trying other stuff out next time I think.

[uforgot]

Besides, my brain is getting too feeble to keep remembering how to switch back and forth between the two different shifting systems on my two bikes. Takes too much brain power.

Hey, are you really forgetting stuff? I'm starting to get worried, and I know we are about the same age. Sometimes I have trouble coming up with a word. I never could remember where my keys and glasses were, so that's not bothering me. Tell me it's just normal pretty please???

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hey, are you really forgetting stuff? I'm starting to get worried, and I know we are about the same age. Sometimes I have trouble coming up with a word. I never could remember where my keys and glasses were, so that's not bothering me. Tell me it's just normal pretty please???

Sometimes when i'm riding along and not paying much attention and then suddenly have to shift for a hill, I temporarily forget which of the 4 levers I need to hit on my brifters. That's ok, because after a second or two I remember, no disaster occurs.
However, then if I have not ridden my OTHER bike in a couple of weeks, I tend to start forgetting which direction the bar end shifters need to go for bigger or smaller gears, and it takes a few shifts to get the hang of it again.
It's just kind of annoying to have to keep going back and forth between the two systems and keep remembering which lever goes for which gear, and in which direction (up or down, and for uphill or downhill?).
I used to love the bar end shifters, but I have grown to like my brifters even better. So I decided I'd like both bikes to be the same. It also will substantially improve my hands' ability to reach around the brakes.

I think we all tend to forget little things as we get older. But I console myself with the thought that I truly believe I have at least twice as much stored information in my head now at 54 than I did when i was 25.

[Zen]

It's just kind of annoying to have to keep going back and forth between the two systems and keep remembering which lever goes for which gear, and in which direction (up or down, and for uphill or downhill?).

I know this feeling all too well.
For the trigger shifters I have to repeat "top is easy bottom is hard,bottom is easy top is hard"
For the Pilot which has STI for the rear and bar-con for the front I have no way of remembering. I just have to ride for a while until I figure it out.
Then there's the Mariposa, which will have bar-cons on both sides....

[pardes]

I did use SimpleGreen today, a goodly dose in hot water. I've used it on my bikes for a couple of years now (after citrus oil to remove the black gear gunk first). But to tell you the truth I have never really been that pleased with how well it works, and will be trying other stuff out next time I think.

My Trek, after several days in the rain has gotten a little caked with crud. I don't have a CLUE about how to clean a bike. How does one go about this....other than the obvious painted parts that need soap and water? I need a BleeckerST_Girl bike cleaning primer.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

My Trek, after several days in the rain has gotten a little caked with crud. I don't have a CLUE about how to clean a bike. How does one go about this....other than the obvious painted parts that need soap and water? I need a BleeckerST_Girl bike cleaning primer.

I'm no expert. Here's another thread with more info:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=27696

But I can say that you should get some citrus degreaser from a bike supply place to clean the stubborn black gunk off your chain and gears. Don't leave the citrus on your bike paint for more than 5 minutes (bad for the finish). Do front gear, then rinse, then do back gears for instance.
Buy a bunch of various cheap brushes at some bargain store. Get long bristles soft, long bristles stiff, even a dust pan brush and dish washing brush are good. You'll find uses for all of them and they'll all get ruined in time.
A hot sudsy bucket of soapy water with a big soft sponge and a handi-wipe sponge are good too.
DON'T AIM ANY HOSE SPRAY INTO YOUR HUBS. Spray/rinse the hubs from above on gentle hose setting.

After washing, let chain dry and lube it. Be sure to wipe the chain thoroughly after lubing with paper towels. The lube should be INSIDE the links, not all over the outside of the chain where it would just cause dust and road grit to stick to the chain.

Hope this helps?

[emily_in_nc]

I know this feeling all too well.
For the trigger shifters I have to repeat "top is easy bottom is hard,bottom is easy top is hard"
For the Pilot which has STI for the rear and bar-con for the front I have no way of remembering. I just have to ride for a while until I figure it out.
Then there's the Mariposa, which will have bar-cons on both sides....

I feel your pain! At one point a few years ago, I had five bikes with four different shifting systems (Shimano Brifters, Campy Ergopower, Shimano mtb rapid-fire shifters, and barcons). Definitely confusing! Now I'm down to just two as the first two bikes have since been sold since I don't ride as much as I used to.

[pardes]

DON'T AIM ANY HOSE SPRAY INTO YOUR HUBS. Spray/rinse the hubs from above on gentle hose setting.

Oh darn! I really had visions of hosing it down at high pressure. Actually, I really was.

After washing, let chain dry and lube it. Be sure to wipe the chain thoroughly after lubing with paper towels. The lube should be INSIDE the links, not all over the outside of the chain where it would just cause dust and road grit to stick to the chain. Hope this helps?

I suppose this means I have to BUY some chain lube. Maybe I'll wash it down, throw it on the bus, and let Howard at the LBS lube it. It makes him feel needed.

Last week I managed to pedal for two miles with a very strange sound coming from the back gears. I kept looking down and didn't see anything. When I finally pulled over I realized I had left a bungee cord dangling from the seat which had wound itself round and round through all of the gears and it sheared off the hook. However, the hook on the other end was still fastened to the bottom of the seat and under such tension that I didn't think I was ever going to get it off. (Now I carry scissors!).

I'm still cleaning bits of bungee parts from the nether regions of the gears. That 's when I had the first fantasy of the high pressure hose like the firemen use to blast out the last bits.

[Aggie_Ama]

My roadie has brifters (Shimano 105) but my commuter has Tiagra which has brifters with thumb levers. We went out to do a long ride one day after I had been riding my commuter a lot and I panicked and told DH "OH NO!!! My shifter is broken, the lever broke off!!" I was looking for the non-existent thumb lever. And I often have to remind myself which one I am on to remember. I am 27.

[DebW]

I put bar ends on my older bike this year (replacing the downtube shifters) so it's the same as my new bike.

[Zen]

I panicked and told DH "OH NO!!! My shifter is broken, the lever broke off!!" I was looking for the non-existent thumb lever. And I often have to remind myself which one I am on to remember.

After i got the FX, the Pilot didn't get much attention. When I finally did ride the Pilot I cursed the front shifter for not working,

I had completely forgotten about the barcon on that side

[Crankin]

Well, I'm not putting Ultegra on my Jamis. I always take a little look at the arrows on the shifters on this bike, because I only ride it maybe once a week. Sometimes, I'll be riding up a slight hill and think, gee this feels hard and I realize I'm in my big ring. This never happens on my road bike. The mountain gearing on the Jamis throws me off a bit, too, but I just deal with it.
I don't think it's my age, I never have been able to remember any sequence of things when it is in the physical/mechanical domain. Using a computer is not fun for me, although the Internet always seemed just like the library, so that's not been a problem. I had a lot of trouble with remembering how to shift when I switched to the road bike from the mountain bike with slicks, but I eventually got it.