q-tip cleaning obsessive?

[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?

[Blueberry]

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

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. 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.

[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.

[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!!

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?