Sand all over!

[pmart15]

Hey guys! I just bought a new bike (Fuel EX 8) and took it out to Wakefield last week, post Hanna obviously. If you haven't heard there is sand in a lot of places.

Anyway, being new to all this I am unsure if I cleaned my bike properly. I hand washed it (no spraying the hose on it) and used a gear/chain brush to get all the sand out that I could, then I used Rock N Roll lubricant on the chain and wiped it down. It just doesn't sound smooth and brand new anymore. :cool:

Did I clean it properly? Should I stress about it or can you never get it perfect without taking everything apart?

Thanks!

[allencb]

No, it's a mountain bike and will get dirty from time to time. You can get it perfectly clean, but it's not worth the effort considering the results will last exactly as long as it takes to get the bike on the trail again.

And I would've used a hose. After more than two decades of mountain biking, I have yet to have a water related bearing failure or rust issues.

Chris

[jvanbrecht]

using a hose is just fine, even using high pressure hose nozels (not a pressure washer, that will strip paint). Just do not point it directly at the hubs, bottom bracket, or the pivots. Using a std spray pattern will be fine for almost everything.

What Chris said stands though, dirt will get on your bike, do you best to clean it out of the drive train to minimize wear and tear, but don't bother trying to make it like new, its time consuming, and a total waste.

[atlantis]

Hmmm I usually do use the hose with a moderate spray to clean most of the bike, excluding around sealed components. For that I use a light spray. If the chain is reeally dirty I'll power wash it on a harder setting. To really get it quiet and full clean you'll need to remove the rear wheel and chain and perform a full clean. I use shop rags folded over 1 time to clean the cogset then make sure I wipe all grime, gunk and junk out of the jockey wheels in the Rear D. Then while the wheel is out I spray in some spray teflon lube in the jockeys to lube em good, and with the wheel out no worries on contaminating the rim or disc with the spray lube.

I only do this party after a REALLY bad ride or once a month or so.

For chain maintanence I clean it off with a chain brush and wipe with rags, and reapply lube. For a full PM I submerge the sucker in gatorade bottle half full of degreaser give it a good series of shakes and rinse out with water a few times. Then I wipe the chain as clean and dry as possible then I use the teflon spray lube to dry out the water and get a good base layer. let it dry then apply at least 2 coats of lube to the links with about 30 mins in between. Then mount and wipe down very carefully. Run it thought the gears for a min or two and rewipe.

[Dirt]

dirt will get on your bike
I'm a bastard about stuff like that.

But seriously folks...

He's right to be concerned with sand. Sand in your drivetrain is a bigger deal that just every day dirt. It is smart to clean it off the way he did in order to keep things working well.

What am I doing after Thrusday's ride? Uhhmmmm... I'll probably knock the big chunks of dirt off and maybe I'll unwide the vine that got tangled in my rear cog. Not having those pesky derailleur thingies makes a difference.

Love,

Dirt

[pmart15]

Thanks for the good advice guys!

[nocro]

using a hose is just fine, even using high pressure hose nozels (not a pressure washer, that will strip paint). Just do not point it directly at the hubs, bottom bracket, or the pivots. Using a std spray pattern will be fine for almost everything.

What Chris said stands though, dirt will get on your bike, do you best to clean it out of the drive train to minimize wear and tear, but don't bother trying to make it like new, its time consuming, and a total waste.

There are multiple threads on this site, and possibly one holy war :eek: regarding the use of a hose to clean your bicycle.

[jimweber1]

There are multiple threads on this site, and possibly one holy war :eek: regarding the use of a hose to clean your bicycle.

For what it's worth...I did an adventure race a couple years back where we rode on the beach for about 6 miles. We had both hard rideable sand and soft deep sand where we had to walk the bikes. Afterwards I sprayed down the bike with a hose (like I always do when my bike gets dithy enough to need a wash...even the pedals, bottom bracket, hubs, etc.), then I cleaned and lubed the chain...and that was it.

I heard about people who (after the race) took off their chain and soaked it for days...took apart their bottom brackets, soaked all the parts and re-built them, and more...I did nothing other that what mentioned above and my bike was just fine. ;-)