q-tip cleaning obsessive?

[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.

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???? 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 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.

[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!!

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.