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My neighbour has just washed his M3 and used his petrol powered leaf blower to dry it.
I'm not sure if that's genius or excessive 🤔
There are actually a products on the market for that. Air blaster or something.
That will drive water into all those bearings, which are fine on a bike designed for California but not for northern Europe.
Fine until bits of debris get fired at his nice clean car Shirley?
Watch the pro mechanics at the TDF and they all use compressed air to dry the team bikes after washing them. (when they have the big trucks there to hook the air hoses up to anyway)
I have a little gun that attaches to my compressor and use that, great for getting water out of brake levers, linkages, from around seals, the chain etc, the pressure isn't high enough to push anything in past the seals.
Fine until bits of debris get fired at his nice clean car Shirley?
That had occurred to me too. No swearing so presumably ok!
I'll add that to my reasons to buy a compressor I don't really need.
I just discovered this use for my compressor today too. Amazing.
Also for cleaning out old grease from bearings, although I also learned at the same time that this is also a very good way to turn grease into an aerosol...
I’m. Not bothered about the compressor. I want one of those workstands
I always use my leaf blower in the winter to help dry the bike off after a wash and blow the water out of all the nooks and crannies.
I’ll add that to my reasons to buy a compressor I don’t really need.
I'm with stevextc on this - its one of those things I really want but not sure exactly why
I'd like someone to sort my bike out like that every ride!
darkroomtim
I’m with stevextc on this – its one of those things I really want but not sure exactly why
I'm flummoxed as well. I keep looking at them and thinking "oooh" and pricing them up but for the life of me can't think why? Feels really "pro"?
I used to use mine for air tools but Lipo batteries and brushless motors have superseded all that.
Now it is used for pumping up car tyres, popping on reluctant tubeless bike tyres, cleaning all sorts of stuff and drying bikes. Useful if you have the room and don't mind it kicking in to re-pressurise just when you are concentrating on something else...
The blower will be ok as it’s high volume and low pressure but, a compressor being the opposite (for a given motor power) isn’t really ideal for moving volumes of water.
In fact without proper filtration a compressor will probably throw more water into bearings and joints than it blows out.
Useful if you have the room and don’t mind it kicking in to re-pressurise just when you are concentrating on something else
There’s another reason to own one, certainly cures constipation when it does that!
It's the same thing as using compressed air. No more likely to throw debris either. (I got a cheap makita-compatible blower off aliexpress just recently and it's been super useful for stuff like this- usually use compressed air but I've no easy hose access to some places so cordless is great)
twonks
full MemberIn fact without proper filtration a compressor will probably throw more water into bearings and joints than it blows out.
Not trying to be rude, but, if you'd used one for this job you'd not have said this. You're not trying to blow water out of bearings, you're just blowing it off surfaces. Basically just speeding up the normal drying process to stop corrosion (and dripping on your nice clean floor)
A compressor is awesome for drying stuff. The only reason mine never leaves the van at when at home, is it upsets next doors dog. Bloody noisy things.
if you don't wash it there's no need to dry it ;/
Use my compressor to give my bikes a quick blast after washing, great for drying the drivetrain prior to a quick lube.
I have my compressor up on a mezzanine floor/storage area in the garage and then hard piped (well plastic) down into fixed points in the garage. Might even take another point outside at some stage.
Petrol leaf blowers should be banned
Soding pointless
that workstand is epic..... I wouldn't have space for spinning it round in my shed though
However - tighten all the bolts after each ride; why's he tightening the headset preload with the stem already clamped? In this time of marginal gains that 3s on 10 bikes every day of a 100 day race season that's nearly an hour in the bar wasted.
I have a battery leaf blower and do it, I thought it was normal!
A friend of mine used his leaf blower to get his fire to light by blowing air underneath the grate and getting it to draw .
Not trying to be rude, but, if you’d used one for this job you’d not have said this. You’re not trying to blow water out of bearings, you’re just blowing it off surfaces. Basically just speeding up the normal drying process to stop corrosion (and dripping on your nice clean floor)
No offence taken, although I have used compressors far more times than average joe as worked in the compressed air industry for more than 15 years.
What I was getting at is that most people with compressors tend to use the blow gun at far more than 30 psi, which can blow air and water past seals if directed straight at them. The blowers don't get any where near the pressure so are safer to use.
Cheap compressors are fine for what is said in this thread and blowing water off frames but to actually dry a bike quickly, a blower moving more air at a lower pressure will do it quicker.
Not entirely feasible for somebody using it in their own house or garage maybe, so I take your point and will turn my pedant mode off 😉