Commuter Maintenance

getonyourbike

Ok, my first thing is, is it normal that i can never do a ride, wash the bike down and then put it back in the garage again without the chain rusting on the sideplates. I put a generous drop on lube on each roller and then wipe it off again straight away. I heard in another thread that you're meant to leave it at least an hour before wiping it off again. Will that help. Because it seems at the moment that i have to clean and relube it every ride and I won't have the time to do that when i arrive at school in the morning as I need a shower and to get changed anyway.

My other thing is, my bike will be left outside while i'm in school in all weathers, is there any maintenance I can do to stop the dreaded rust and generally keep it running nice?

The Rookie

All we do on both commuters at home is drizzle some shain oil on once a week (Friday evening) and wipe off excess on the Sunday!

Sheldon Brown recoomends drizzling it on the 'inside' (so on the slack side) as that is cleaner and will help 'wash' grime out not into the chain.

Simon

bails87

A bit of surface rust isn't a problem. Use a lube that sticks quite well, I've found White Lightning Epic Ride to be good.

There may be some slight rust on the side plates, but it really doesn't matter. Leaving it to 'soak' in might be a good idea, and as Simon says, apply it to the 'inside', so on the bits of chain that actually touch the chain rings, because this is where you need the lube to be, not on the outside where it will just attract dirt.

getonyourbike

that's where i apply it anyway, any other ideas?

Mr OCD

This might be useful for you and is something I've started doing recently ... on my motorbikes to protect them I use Scotoiler FS365 which is a very good oil based protector against rust / water / etc

I've been using it on my new MTB after a ride out ... rinse the bike down with hosepipe, dry off the frame quickly then spray the FS365 over the exposed metal components...

This will protect the bike until the next time you wash it... you can be lazy washing it as the FS365 is protecting the bike. If it rains heavily then when you get home rinse and re-apply and your good to go ...

Takes a few mins at most.

HTH

getonyourbike

I'll have to try leaving it to soak in then before wiping off the excess lightly.
Anything for on bolts so they don't get completely rusted? Is there anything that needs some specific care to keep it running nicely? I'll try to get a routine going,so every week I'll give the frame a wipe down with some silicon spray, some Fork Juice on the forks, the chain a clean with some wd40 on a cloth and then a relube. It'll suffer if it isn't cared for properly though as I'm racking up well over 100 miles a week with the commute and then the mtbing at the weekend.

*AJ*

just make sure you wash it every week, then clean with WD40 and relube.

Thats all i have done with my commute/4x/play bike for the last 2 years and its still going strong.

getonyourbike

ok, so just apply the lube better and leave it to soak in then. I'll try that. If bolts rust, then i could just put a bit of wd40 on?

simonaspinall

Can you not keep a motorbike rain cover at work to stick on it?

getonyourbike

simonaspinall wrote:

Can you not keep a motorbike rain cover at work to stick on it?

ermmm... that could be an option when I've got some more cash

simonaspinall

getonyourbike wrote:

simonaspinall wrote:

Can you not keep a motorbike rain cover at work to stick on it?

ermmm... that could be an option when I've got some more cash

I'm fortunate enough to have a shed at work in which I can stick my bike during the day, however if i moved jobs to an employer without one it'd be the only thing I can think of bar becoming a right bikeshed demanding vigilante

rhext

You need to dry the chain if you want to stop it from rusting. This can be easier said than done, especially in winter. I tend to wash the bike, bounce it up and down a few times to get rid of as much as I can, wipe it down with an old towel and then if a nice day stand it outside for as long as I can to dry off. Then relube.

Options if it's raining are rather limited. Have been known to use a hairdryer on the drive-train when all else has failed, but that's a real pain. Wipe down with a cloth and give a blast of WD-40 or GT-85, wipe again and relube might work.

TBH a bit of rust on the side-plates isn't a problem anyway though as long as the rollers are lubed and moving freely. I wash and relube once a week: sometimes this means a bit of an orange chain given I commute daily in all weathers, but it still works OK.

If you need to leave it outside, the only thing I can suggest is to wash, dry, relube and perhaps spray bits prone to rust with GT-85 (which you spray on and leave to dry). You'll never keep a commuter bike pristine though. Make sure you don't get it on brake pads or wheel rims. It's also worth doing a bit of research on the internet to find out how to service your hubs and headset. They're generally packed with grease, which keeps them rust-free and moving smoothly, but it's worth checking every six months or so, as heavy rain or overzealous washing can leave them exposed.

getonyourbike

Thanks, I think a rain cover is the best option when I can afford one. But till then, just a good lubing should do. I can service hubs anyway but for the headset there is always bicycletutor and parktools

bigmat

Not sure what I'm doing right, but I never wash my bikes down after use, just stick 'em back in the shed until next time. They might get a bot of oil on the chain every month or so if they are lucky. Have no issues with rust and chains seem to last a decent length of time. People do seem to get hung up on maintenance, a commuter drivetrain should need minimal attention really.

If leaving bike outide I used to tie a carrier bag over the saddle to avoid a wet arse on the way home. You can get nylon bike covers from pound shops sometimes, i think they cost about..... £1?

getonyourbike

If it was just used as a commuter i wouldn't be so hung up about it, but its also my mtb, so want it to perform at its best. Though, when i get a new frame I might switch the components onto the new one and get a cheap set up for this frame as a commuter. It could work

rhext

BigMat wrote:

Not sure what I'm doing right, but I never wash my bikes down after use, just stick 'em back in the shed until next time. They might get a bot of oil on the chain every month or so if they are lucky. Have no issues with rust and chains seem to last a decent length of time. People do seem to get hung up on maintenance, a commuter drivetrain should need minimal attention really.

If leaving bike outide I used to tie a carrier bag over the saddle to avoid a wet ars* on the way home. You can get nylon bike covers from pound shops sometimes, i think they cost about..... £1?

I used to run my commuter the same. I think the thick black layer of road grime mixed with oil stops the chain from going rusty. Folk wisdom is that it'll wear out a lot faster as a result. Difficult to tell. Certainly I managed to wear out the drivetrain big-time on my old commuter, but I have no idea how many miles it covered first: it could easily be several thousand. I did have to throw the bike away afterwards, though, as zero maintenance left me with so much of it seized up or completely worn out it wasn't worth repairing.

Dave_P1

Have you tried drying the chain after cleaning it?

I used my old GT for School / College and all that was done was lubing the chain. It was left outside in all conditions and I never had any problems. Bear in mind this was years ago when components weren't was well sealed as what they are now.

gingerdog

I cycle around the city for my job so my bike gets used quite a lot and I have to leave it outside. Has anyone tried chainsaw oil? Went into B&Q today and they had some really cheap citris degreaser so might use that next time or would it be harsher than finish line stuff?

I want to keep my bike going for as long as poss but was told by my LBS recently that my drive chain is wearing out. Its expensive to replace the lot and then it will probably be my hubs.

tsenior

for a commuter i reckon treat em mean keep em keen!

cheap drivetrain, clean (cheap citrus degreaser sounds ideal) and relube (not tried chainsaw oil but have a load of stihl stuff so will) once a week. then run it into the ground!

for the OP if your using it for leisure as well you probably have decent componants and want them to last: sheet of plastic to cover it? chain checker for a few quid saves a few new cassettes over the year, service your hubs once over the winter.

best solution is to get a cheap hack bike off ebay,or 2nd hand lbs: i got a perfectly good old giant HT for £60; you dont have to worry about your pride and joy geting robbed then either 8)

getonyourbike

tsenior wrote:

best solution is to get a cheap hack bike off ebay,or 2nd hand lbs: i got a perfectly good old giant HT for £60; you dont have to worry about your pride and joy geting robbed then either 8)

that's sounds like a good idea and just take teh mtb when I want to pop off your a bit of mtbing on teh way home.