UKC

After a days ride on my entry level bike, I get out a hose rinse away and wipe off any mud left behind, a quick spray of WD40 on the major moving bits and I'm done. I also use a bit of (WD40) degreaser to clean of my disk breaks if I get WD40 on them.

Is this enough? Am I being lazy? There's a few rust spots underneath the headset where to forks are attached but I'm sure most of the bike is aluminum.

In reply to SteveoS:
Your regime sounds about the same as most mountain bikers I know. The one change I would make to wipe off excess water after the clean and oil the bike with something not wd40. wd40 is a degreaser and it will evaporate pretty quickly, use one of the finish line lubes.

I'd also spray some finish line lube into the gear / brake outers if they are cable ones.

And yes, rust on the steerer tube is pretty normal.
EDIT: steerers are often steel.

In reply to SteveoS:

Sounds Ok. As others say a better lube would probably be useful. Also I would try to avoid putting anything on the disks.

In reply to ti_pin_man:

Thanks.

I let it drip dry for a bit before I spray it but I'll have to visit a bike shop soon.

Brakes are hydraulic so they should be alright.

Anything special needed for the disks? Or just water? I only clean/degrease them when clay/mud or WD40 is on them.

In reply to SteveoS:

the disks rotors are usually fairly free of mud - thats one of their advantages over rim brakes.

a bit of lightly soapy water wont do any harm on the rotors but keep clear of the brake pad housing with the detergents if you can, as brake pads can be contaminated pretty easily. plain old water should suffice and let the housing drip dry. It sounds like a lot of care and attention is needed but on the whole a dry clean rag should do the job on the brake units.

In reply to SteveoS:

More than I do to my bike if it ever gets ridden these days.
I normally try to keep the wd40 on the chain by using a rag behind bits being sprayed. Wd40 is only really a water dispersant but it works well to loosen up old crud on the chain. Wipe off the WD40 then add a bit of whatever light oil you fancy. Give it a few turns to work it in to the links and then wipe it all again. Otherwise just keep the hose jet away from bearings and seals and add a small dribble of oil on shock seals and wipe it off.

In reply to SteveoS:


As long as they are working, discs don't need any cleaning other than water. Keep WD40 and every other lubricant as far away from them as possible - in the worst case the lubricant will get into the pads and then you're stuffed. If your discs do get contaminated then the best thing to clean them in my experience in alcohol (you can buy pure alcohol from the pharmacy usually). If the pads get contaminated then they will contaminate the disks pretty much immediately. You can sometimes 'save' pads by burning off the top layer (by holding them over a stovetop with pliers), but many times I've had to replace pads which have been contaminated. Before putting on new pads I always clean the discs with alcohol just in case. Somewhat ironically, hydraulic brake fluid is the absolute worse contaminant for your pads/discs, so keep it as far as away from them as possible!

In reply to Alun:

there's another trick for burning off brake pads Alun…
You ride around for a few mins with the brakes almost fully engaged so that you can hardly move. This will cause the pads to heat up a lot…you then douse them with some water and with a hiss, the contaminants will burn off!

Nice little trick a friend showed me on my bike….stopped that bloody annoying squeak soon after

In reply to SteveoS:

For an entry level bike that's OK, if you upgrade you may want to be more loving...

My bikes get washed after each outing. Process requires 2 chains and a quick link...

First, use chain pliers to remove dirty chain. Be sure to put the link some where safe for now. Take 200mls of kerosene in a bottle with a wide neck (a small neck bottle can make it hard to get a tangled chain out of later)
Use a piece of fishing line or string and tie it around the end of the chain , drop it into the bottle and put the lid on tight. Shake bottle to clean chain, remove from bottle, place on paper towel or hang it over something you don’t mind getting dirty. (Take your first chain now clean, re-lube it and keep it in a zip lock bag - I've recently moved to using 3-in-1 oil for chain lube rather than the expensive stuff. Works + less gummy). Put second chain on bike using quick link.

Spray bike frame etc. with water, squirt dirt with diluted truck wash (mild detergent - no wax) rinse, quick wipe down. Takes about 3 minutes.

Cheers
LD

In reply to SteveoS:

I think that is a good regime. You'll want to add proper lubricant as well but I tend to do that before I use the back because I want to leave the WD40 to disperse water and dry the bike first. I also store my bike in a warm part of the house so it is always bone dry.

In reply to SteveoS:

Thank y'all.

What a faff! Never had to do this as a kid!

In reply to SteveoS:

My bike comes out of the garage,I use and abused for the four weeks,
After each ride I spray GT85 on all the metal bits,chain,gears, bolts, pedals ect,next morning oil the chain and away I go.
When its time to return to work I strip it fully down,re lube and grease everything ready for next time i come home.
If its totally caked in mud will give it a quick spray down.I find the bikes these days can take so much more punishment and can cope with the extra bits of trail and mud stuck in the rear cassette!

I do change my wheels for summer and winter,and ensure i use Stantion lube weekly on the shocks to keep them running smooth.

I completed a twelve day race in the Himalaya with a friend of mine,the only thing he did with his was check his breaks in the morning and oil the chain.His theory if it isn't broke don't try to fix it!

Just my to pence worth.

In reply to SteveoS:

I use GT85 instead of WD40. Squirt of that into the derailleurs. Chain - wipe all the muck off with a chepa 'J cloth' (from the superc=market £1 for a roll of 30), with a bit of degreaser if it's really icky. Then wet lube onto the chain and a good spray of GT85 on top of that. Works well, and easy to keep clean if you clean it every ride - it only takes a couple of minutes - as advised by a pro team mechanic.

A knife or a paintscraper wrapped in J cloth cleans the cassette out nicely too.