I recently got a specialized camber expert and am loving the bike and the change to full suspension. I’m looking for advice regarding maintaining the bike especially the pivots after riding in the rain or washing the bike. I was wondering if giving a squirt of gt85 round the pivots to displace water was good practice or am I likely to flush any grease out of the bearings.

Dont pressure wash the bearings is the first thing.

After that either done both neither have worked better or worse. Your bearings should be sealed but that may mean very little.

Just keep it clean, and keep an eye on bearings/bushings.

It’ll only cost £35 ish to get some new bearings, I think that’s cheap enough to look at replacing them every couple of years.

The best thing you can do is keep it inside and don’t ever ride it.

After that as above and you can’t go too wrong. 😉

I tend to just leave mine, same as hardtail. Bearings seem to last me ages. It’s only a single pivot with pretty large bearings though, not sure if multi pivots with smaller ones need more care?

I replaced my trance bearings after about 2 years, they were a bugger to get out but I could hardly tell the difference after they were done.

I cleaned my bike about once a year.

Bottom brackets seem to last less time than frame bearings

OP – I use GT85 and wash out the bearings pivots with a hose (never pressure wash).

Seems to have worked for me – My original set lasted 4 years.

Just how bad are pressure washers ? The reason I ask is the bike goes in the back of the car so if it is a wet muddy ride I would prefer to give it a quick wash before it goes in the car. I had to do it yesterday for the first time. Kept the hose a distance away and at a right angle to the pivots to try and minimize effects on them and will then give the bike a proper clean once home.

kjrogers – Member
Just how bad are pressure washers ?

Pass – but i’d rather take the precaution than deal with any possible consequences.

I would imagine the washers you see at trail-centres are ‘bike-specific; but one never knows an’ all that.

I use a dribble of wax chain lube on the pivots of my full suss. Its designed to flake off chains and take the dirt with it as it flakes off, so I figure its a good first defence against water, doesn’t attract dirt and will eventually flake away.

Either that, or just leave it alone. My full suss squeaked like anything after a week in the Alps and using just a hose pipe at the end of every day.

@kj I just bought a duffbag, you put the dirty bike into it and it keeps the car tidy. FWIW I’m in the “no pressure washing” camp, just too many stories of damage,mits too easy to get lazy with a pressure washer and just blast the dirt off and the water into places it shouldn’t go.

I go through around 2 bottles of gt-85 a month and use it for a lot of mechanical things.

What I can tell you is this.

It will whip away grease very quickly and leave a nice clean coated surface which is prone to rust if you dont apply it after every ride.

I use it with a lint free rags to clean most things. You need to remove the residue left over before you grease otherwise it will degrade the greases performance significantly. It has a thinning effect on grease. Its still a wonder product mind. Use it on your frame and keep it away from rotors and pads n you’ll be just fine.

I have a hardtail single speed so maintenance is 10 mins after each ride. Bliss.