Hi every just joined the site and just got a decent bike after trying to keep fit by riding 16 mile every day for the last 3 years on a rusty old , gear slipping teenagers reject bike …..I’ve now progressed up to 2010 Specialized RockHopper SL Pro second hand but immaculate and like its just been walked out the bike shop (the guy brought it and never ride it) …..Now I love this bike and would like to look after it I have looked at so many wash and clean, maintain your bike Vids write ups.

At the moment only when it gets really muddy I’m jet washing it on a very gentle setting then drying it as much as poss with towels. Once it has dried completely I’m polishing it with Auto Glym car polish and spraying the chain, sprockets, forks, crank with GT85 being very carefully to avoid my brakes and discs……Will GT85 lubricate every thing well enough ? Is there anything else I need to do to look after my bike and keep it in good order ????

Your doing everything right apart from the jet washing, polishing and GT85 applying.

Jamie – Member
Your doing everything right apart from the jet washing, polishing and GT85 applying.

You’re ffs 😉

GT85 isn’t much of a lube, proper chain line does a much better job

Well good to see I’ve mad a great start in looking after it lol so fire away what should I do ?????

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/workshop-how-to-clean-and-lube-your-bike-18259/

You need to oil the chain, GT85 will last about 3 seconds in winter. Simplest answer is finish line xc lube but there are other products that may be better or cheaper.

Most important bit is the drivechain and fixing things before they become a real problem. Keep an eye on your forks too. They’ll need a service eventually.

For general maintenance try

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help

FWIW the cleaning regine on my Singlespeed involves brushing the worst of the mud off from the last ride and applying some oil to the chain.

What lube is a bit of a holy war. I personally use a light weight oil, pn a clean chain, one drip on each pin, spin the cranks then wipe off excess. sounds very fiddle but its not. Other general maintenance is keeping an eye on gear / brake cable / hose. If there is damage or the cable are not running smoothly replacing them.

P.S. buy a chain wear indicator tool and replace your chain at when needed then your cassette when needed.

Don’t jet wash it
Don’t polish it
Don’t use GT85 🙂

Cleaning – bucket of water, sponge/brushes, use something like muc off if need help getting the dirt off. Don’t use washing up liquid, it contains salt which won’t do your bike any good
Worth getting a decent chain de-greaser to clean your chain properly and a set of proper bike brushes can help getting into all the nooks and crannies

Lubrication – use a specialist bike lube, either wet or dry depending on time of year, personally I would avoid aerosols and go for something that can be applied with a bit more precision. The choice is almost infinite and everybody will suggest their own personal favourite, best bet is to ask your local bike shop what is popular, where you ride can also influence what you use

Polishing – I don’t normally bother but I did pick up some (muc off again) stuff cheap in tesco that seems to work a treat, the only advantage I see to applying it though is that it helps repel light grime and dust for about the first 20 minutes of a ride

I’m a firm believer that the minimum amount of cleaning possible is best – clean any moving parts properly, degrease and lube chain and drivetrain parts and brush dry mud off frame etc, bike sees enough nasty water during a ride, why subject it to more than is absolutely necessary

People freak out about jetwashes but on low pressure they’re not neccesarily bad news- my garden hose sprays harder than my power washer on low, and nobody worries about that.

Personally I use the “**** it” approach. Bike gets ridden, thrown in garage. Once it’s dry, I might or might not brush the mud off. Chain and suspension gets cleaned and lubricated if it needs it. Seems like the less you mess with bikes the less they go wrong.

Trouble with jet washers is they tend to knacker the bearings. Bucket and brush is better. Having said that, most people I know hose most of their bikes, just taking care to avoid the bearings. Chain cleaning tools are very useful. Degrease (using a degreaser), flush through with water, apply your choice of chain lube (all weather lube maybe), leave for 5 mins, remove excess lube with a rag while you rotate the cranks backwards. Make sure you keep the forks clean. Wipe them down after each ride. Put a little fine teflon lube around the seal and pump the fork – this will lift the dirt out of the seal and you can wipe off with a rag. I wouldn’t put anything else, like GT85, on the fork.
Once in a while clean and lube cables with a fine lube, and lube the pivots on the mechs. Avoid leaving a wet bike outside – steel will rust pretty quickly. Other than re-indexing the gears once in a while and aligning the disc brakes, there’s not much to it. Eventually you may need to bleed brakes etc but that’s another story. Don’t store the bike upside-down.
EDIT – most of the time I don’t even bother with bike cleaner for the frame, just water and a sponge down. When I do use it, Muc Off is fine, or even the stuff from Halfords you can buy by the gallon. One thing I will stand by for drivetrain when it’s very dirty – that’s Fenwick’s foaming degreaser. Awesome stuff, used with a washing up brush or old toothbrush.

Ok looks like I made a few mistakes but thank goodness I’ve onley jet washed it the once then and it was very light setting ……Oh I dont leave it out side it lives in the kitchen lol. I did buy a set of bike brushes So is something like Gunk degreaser what you use for cars ok ? so di I need to coat the back cog set with anything or will the chain lube coat them as its used ? From the link some one was kind enough to put up on bike cleaning there useing Purple extreame on all parts do people recomend this one is it a good one ?? Or are there so many on the market its just personal taste

GT85 is good to displace water on chain and mechs but you need to follow up with decent lube as above. It’s also good on bolts to stop surface rust, stem, bottle cages, posts – just beware overspay where you don’t want it

You’re ffs

I’ve reported my post, and requested a 3 day ban to think about what I have done.

You’re diligence shall be rewarded 8)

If the bike’s already wet I’ll jet wash it, spray with Muc Off and rinse. Quick spray of WD40/GT85 over the mechs, levers, etc, dry off the chain with a rag and lube it. If I do it as soon as I get back from a ride everything washes off with the minimum of persuasion. In the winter I might bring it into the kitchen and put it next to a radiator for a couple of hours to dry out properly.
If it’s already dried out I’ll just knock off the worst of the mud and oil the drive train.

Lob it in the garage, brush off mud when dry, spray everything I can find except the brakes with gt85, wipe off excess then lube with proper chain lube which I use on everything. Seems to do OK for me for the last 7 years. Does occasionally get a wash but only when I am changing cables,BB,Headset etc. I know I am a lazy idiot, Cue flaming…

jet washing is fine just dont point it at bearings stand behind or in front of the bike to jetwash and you are not directing water into the bearings

I can see this bike is going to be a big leaning thing (maintaining disc brakes etc) Just on the cleaning side every one has diffrent ideas but I can see I need to add an extra good qulity lube on my chain ….No one has said yet if Gunk de greeser is ok to use ? or if I need a special bike one and I presume Auto Glym is ok on me paintwork…..

Gunk is fine, as is any bike specific degreaser, just make sure you only use it on metal bits and keep it off rubber, seals, bearings etc – be particularly careful around bottom bracket, headset and hubs.

Good chain lube – everyone has their own favourites, but a dry waxy lube in summer conditions and a wet lube in wet conditions is good general guidance. Personally I use Muc Off Ceramic Wet this time of year and Squirt in dry conditions.

I’ve never polished paintwrok on a bike 🙂

Must say every one is very helpfull and frindly on this site. I’m big on Land Rovers as well and every one is friendly and helpfull on Landy forums but Mrs has a BMW tottaly diffrent story in one there forums LOL.

As susspected theres a bit of diffrance on it all some saying Jet washing mild is ok some saying never jet wash. Some saying hose spray others bucket and sponge….and diffrances on lubes etc but at least every one is giving me lots of good ideas then I guess its make your own mind which way to go..

For me becouse my riding is part of a fitness thing (weights, run, bike) every day most of my riding is on road and some times the old railway line (but that tends to be dryish) The bike isnt geting any real abuse mud wise or even wet thanks to being Norfolk and one the countrys lowest rain falls …..But like yesterday there will be days where it gets muddy,wet ……I just want to look after it the best I can like all me big boy toys….

I climb mountains for a hobby been all over and I’ve seen the lads mountain biking down Snowden So this is the evntual plan to have a go at that. I did go and look at the mountain bike centre/course just out side Fort William but that dose look way beyound me at 50 years old lol