Ridin' in the rain

[tulip]

Oh wow, I spent four hours cleaning my bike on Sunday...first time in YEARS! Everything sparkles, and I put new tires on with red stripes, to match my red bike. I'm going to the LBS today to pick up some new brake pads since I noticed that mine are worn way, way down.

So I'm not one to bother much about cleaning after a slightly rainy ride!

[Catrin]

Oh wow, I spent four hours cleaning my bike on Sunday...first time in YEARS! Everything sparkles, and I put new tires on with red stripes, to match my red bike. I'm going to the LBS today to pick up some new brake pads since I noticed that mine are worn way, way down.

So I'm not one to bother much about cleaning after a slightly rainy ride!

hmmmm, where did you get your tires with the red stripes? Still looking for good 26 inch tires with blue stripes

[tulip]

They are Seca Serfas wire bead 700x23. I got them from Amazon because my LBS only had kevlar bead, which I neither need nor felt like paying for. Wire bead is like half the price of kevlar bead.

My old tires were toast. They were showing bald spots, and had cracks in the sidewall. I got them 4 years ago and just kept riding and riding. It was time for new tires, so I got the red striped ones. My old ones were the same tires, but without the red stripe. They are great tires.

[marni]

for a finishing touch, give your bike a wipe down with a rag with pledge on it to help it hold its' sparkles.

marni

[OakLeaf]

Or if you don't like aerosols, you can wax the frame with a non-abrasive car wax. I do mine once or twice a year, to protect the finish.

[Crankin]

It's amazing my bike is still "alive." Of course, I don't ride in the rain (unless a shower starts while I am out there). Every few weeks (months?) I say to DH, "When was the last time we lubed the chains?" Since my bike runs perfectly, I don't obsess on it.

[Eden]

Or if you don't like aerosols, you can wax the frame with a non-abrasive car wax. I do mine once or twice a year, to protect the finish.

Pedro's "Bike Lust" rocks - its a pump, not an aerosol and I think its silicone based.

It's amazing my bike is still "alive." Of course, I don't ride in the rain (unless a shower starts while I am out there). Every few weeks (months?) I say to DH, "When was the last time we lubed the chains?" Since my bike runs perfectly, I don't obsess on it.

If you don't ride in the wet you can get away with this.... but rain riding on a regular basis is hard on a bike. I've had the same wheels and drive train on my race bike for about 5 years and they're just starting to get to the point where I'm keeping an eye on the wear indicators. My rain bike has been through about 4 sets of rims, countless brake pads, 3 sets of pulleys and needs a new big ring in the same amount of time..... I generally rinse (gently - no high pressure water!) my bike off after a rain ride, then dry and lube it.

Oh - and all the junk on your legs... probably came off the front wheel... even if you have on fenders, without a nice generous flap attached too, you'll still get dirty.

[Catrin]

Thanks for the tips - and Eden thanks for the note about flaps on my fenders. Will look into that this week when my fenders are installed.