Wet Bike Maintenance

carl_p

Have been out on my nice shiny new bike tonight and got absolutely drenched in a downpour. Great fun but my poor bike may as well been thrown in a swimming pool.

I've towelled the worst of the water off the bike, but how far do I need to go with the drying? Do I need to remove the seat stem and dry out the inside of the tube? Will the chain need a lubricant (the bike is still within the 6-8 week first service period).

Sorry if this sounds a silly question but I'm new to the bike scene.

LeighB

I give my bike a light spray over with WD40 (or same type stuff) and wipe off. I dry the chain with kitchen paper/toilet roll and lubricate. You will get a lot of debate as to what is the best chain lube; at the moment I am using motor oil as my aerosol chain grease has run out. I did a 125 mile Sportive (ride to the event put total distance at 138 miles) in the wet with the motor oil and the chain did not run dry.

carl_p

Have checked my bike this morning and the chain has a light coating of rust, similar I guess to what you get on car brake disks after it has been washed. What's the best way of cleaning it?

ride_whenever

WD-40 on a rag should polish it off, generally you want to use a dry lube in the dry and a wet lube in the wet. Apply one drop to each roller on the top side of the lower run of the chain.

I have for my mtbs finish line dry lube and white lightning epic wet lube.

Avoid spray lubricants as they are hard to apply precisely.

turbo_hamster

I frequently ride in the rain and my lovely race bike often gets drenched.

I keep a supply of old rags (souvenir T-shirts are good, also old sheets, towels, worn out cotton "underwear") and use these to dry the bike. A wet frame doesn't much matter. It is wet moving parts that need to be dried.

I hold the chain gently with a rag and spin the cranks to get as much water off as I can. If I don't have time for the full bike-cleaning routine, I then use WD-40 or GT-85 (use the straw to direct the stuff) to drive any remaining water out of the chain, derailleurs, brake pivot points and pedals. It is best to protect the brake pads and wheel rim with more rags!

Then next day, I re-lubricate with whatever product I am using at the time.

I have to admit, I am very anally-retentive with my bike maintenance.

jjojjas

I'm the oposite.
I let it dry in the garage and spray wd40 on the chain.
Once a month it gets a full overhaul/clean/re-lube (used every day) and thats it. It still looks a good as it did 2 years ago.

fossyant

Stay away from WD40. - it's not a lube.

For my commuter - wet rides (same applies to the road bikes)..

Wash with car shampoo, re-lube chain with dry lube - use the straw attachment and spray the links. Dry the chain with a rag. Re0lube next day if needed !

Let the bike drip dry ! Bingo.

Road bikes get a desk fan on them as they won't be used for the rest of the week (usually) - so it's fully dried before hanging/bolting down.....

CheeseyJoe

If you use WD40 on the chain you then need to put some proper lube on it.

carl_p

WD40 has cleaned the chain up a treat but probably took off most of the lubricant that was there already. Re-lubed with White Lightning Wax Lubricant which has a nice dry finish similar to the factory lube I think.

Thanks for the advice.