general post ride maintenence question

Cymru-dave
Cymru-dave Posts: 10
edited August 2012 in MTB general
Hi guys, new to this mountain biking lark but just wanted to ask some advice on what you guys do after a ride to your suspension, ive just bought a specialized camber expert with rockshox reba on the front and fox traid shock on the back, after getting all the crap and grime off the bike with mucoff whats the best course of action to lube/look after these forks and shocks until the next use? or can they just be left alone after a clean? my fear was the washing process may over time hamper the shock and fork performance.

So what do you guys an gals do after a ride with a heavily soiled bike?

thanks in advance!

Comments

  • warpcow
    warpcow Posts: 1,448
    Leave mud to dry, brush off the worst, lube chain, couple of drops of Brunox on the stanchions, cycle forks up and down, wipe off oily dirt, done. Couple of times a year drop the lower legs off the forks and clean out/change oil. Send rear shock for service as needed.
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    Give it a hose, lube as required.
    Have a look at Parktools.
    I don't do smileys.

    There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda

    London Calling on Facebook

    Parktools
  • Roostoids
    Roostoids Posts: 128
    Wipe excess crud off the chain with a bit of tissue then apply a drop of lube (wet in wet weather, dry in dry conditions) on each link. Only lube the inner side of the chain, then cycle it through the gears to get a bit on each sprocket.

    I just make sure the fork and shock working parts are dry as Ive heard water seeping into the suspension parts is bad news. Although with all the rain we get im sure thats not much help.

    Basic rule; if its silver or shiny. clean and dry it.
    Specialised Camber Comp 2011
    Boardman Comp Road 2011
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    I wipe stanchions and around the seals with a relatively clean rag if I can, polishing them up. Even if I leave the rest of the bike dusty.

    Bit of oil squirt on stanchions then and pump a couple of times, but not before it's all cleaned up.

    Rear shock service once in a blue moon or just really when it needs it. Air shock so just a seal and oil change which is dead easy usually. Front shocks I've never serviced. One is a year or two old the other three-ish and that one perhaps may feel better if I did. One of the few bike servicing bits I haven't done yet.
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    Cymru-dave wrote:
    Hi guys, new to this mountain biking lark but just wanted to ask some advice on what you guys do after a ride to your suspension,
    Nothing.
    Well, I tell a lie, I usually kind of bounce the forks by pushing the handlebar with the front brake on, but that's because I'm essentially a child, rather than any maintenance.

    If the bike has been making unusual funny noises, I may check out what was causing them.
  • paul.skibum
    paul.skibum Posts: 4,068
    I do next to nothign to my bike after a ride - they keep working so I must be doing something right! I followed this proceedure in the UK too so its not just that its not wet and muddy here.
    Closet jockey wheel pimp whore.
  • I actually prefer my bike to be a bit dirty and muddy, shows Im riding it and using it.

    After every ride though I wipe clean the fork stanchions and rear shock tube with baby wipes. Cheap, use as many as you like and throw away.

    Every 2 or 3 rides I wipe the chain clean with old boxer shorts and GT85 and then put some finish line dry lube on.
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    Every 2 or 3 rides I wipe the chain clean with old boxer shorts and GT85 and then put some finish line dry lube on.
    I keep my boxxer shorts on, and just dry hump my transmission.
  • .blitz
    .blitz Posts: 6,197
    Cymru-dave wrote:
    what you guys do after a ride
    Unless conditions have been absolutely dire or something has gone wrong during the ride, nothing.

    Every now and then I clean the fork stanchions & shock and polish the chain but that's all
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    .blitz wrote:
    shock and polish the chain but that's all
    How do you shock a chain? Do you read it Daily Mail articles?
  • after getting all the crap and grime off the bike with mucoff whats the best course of action
    This stuff creeps into your bearings and dissolves the grease, your bearing will only last a few months and you will start to wonder why :roll:

    Bucket of water and a soft brush, no pressure washer, just a low pressure domestic tap hose if you must.

    My regime is like some of those above, leave to dry and wipe/brush off, oiling gets done either after or before a ride, all depends on what I am doing next!!

    If you really want to pamper your forks/rear shock then this stuff would appear to be good; http://www.juicelubes.co.uk/fork-juice/
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    This stuff creeps into your bearings and dissolves the grease, your bearing will only last a few months and you will start to wonder why :roll:
    Lots of people say that. I wonder if they've tried MucOff.

    To be honest I used to think much the same before I tried it. Only tried because I got given a bottle of the stuff. Now I'm totally sold on it. More so on carbon where the mud is a right git to get off raw finish carbon once stuck on.

    Never had a problem with MucOff, though probably because my bearings are all well sealed. After all water will degrease your bearings anyway. So long as you aren't pressure washing the bearings and injecting MucOff into the seals, you shouldn't be getting either MucOff or water into the bearings. My bearings typically last years and have never replaced sealed ones. Strip and regrease once a year perhaps.

    Basics with MucOff is spray over the surface mainly where the mud is, wait 5 mins, rinse.
  • Thanks guys, obviously you can tell I'm new to this as when I get back I get it back to showroom condition, I don't use pressure washers or anything that will lead to water ingress, I'm just used to polishing my carbon road bike, but I guess they are made to get grimy, perhaps I'll wash it every other ride from now on. A mate of mine said to clean the forks and shock then dry before putting a bit of light oil on and exercising the forks an shocks a couple of times before storing.
  • ilovedirt
    ilovedirt Posts: 5,798
    Erm, I don't do anything to my suspension. Just clean the bike with a hose and bucket/sponge. Relube drivetrain. Job done.
    Production Privee Shan

    B'Twin Triban 5
  • sofaboy73
    sofaboy73 Posts: 574
    lean bike against kitchen radiator. carefully select beer from fridge. poor into engine. repeat as necessary until engine needs to have a little nap on the sofa
  • andhr
    andhr Posts: 88
    Never had full sus before my current bike - advice from the shop was to keep it clean, but I think that's mainly because they charge £40 to clean it pre-service if you don't.

    If you're planning on having the bike serviced regularly, I would just clean it, no pressure washers, and make sure you wipe dirt away from the seals of bearings, forks and rear shock.

    A bit of lube on the chain and cogs can't be a bad thing, but not so much you cake the back wheel in it on your next ride!
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    First mistake - keep a bike maintained as bits need doing - it doesn't need servicing, it's not a car. £40 to clean it - seriously?
    And lube on cogs does nothing except pick up gunk. Lube needs to be inside the rollers of the chain.
    I don't do smileys.

    There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda

    London Calling on Facebook

    Parktools
  • mintedox
    mintedox Posts: 273
    I don't clean my bike much, just lube the chain, forks and shock, and occasionally clean the rings and cassette.
    It seems maxles get dirty and become a nightmare to undo.
    Papa? Nicole
  • lastwords
    lastwords Posts: 304
    If its a dry-ish ride nothing if its a wet ride I just give the forks stantions a wipe, some lube and cycle then oil the chain.

    I used to go all out and clean it thouroughly but whats the point it only gets dirty again and TBH i have had no maintenance issues by not cleaning it.
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    lastwords wrote:
    I used to go all out and clean it thouroughly but whats the point it only gets dirty again and TBH i have had no maintenance issues by not cleaning it.
    After spending an unhealthy amount of time on these forums, I get the impression that the people having the most issues are the ones who religiously clean their bikes. I'm guessign they're flushing all kinds of lubricants from their happy homes.
  • lastwords
    lastwords Posts: 304
    After spending an unhealthy amount of time on these forums, I get the impression that the people having the most issues are the ones who religiously clean their bikes. I'm guessign they're flushing all kinds of lubricants from their happy homes.

    I think youre right, i was at sherwood pines on sunday covered in mud after riding the red route, i saw the new bike wash for the first time, looked like a jet wash to me and i thought no wonder these shops install these things with all them pivots on modern bikes.
  • andhr
    andhr Posts: 88
    cooldad wrote:
    First mistake - keep a bike maintained as bits need doing - it doesn't need servicing, it's not a car. £40 to clean it - seriously?
    And lube on cogs does nothing except pick up gunk. Lube needs to be inside the rollers of the chain.

    Hey you're telling me, I would rather take it to the local hand car wash and give them a fiver!

    The 'important' bits on the bike seem to all have care/maintenance instructions with them, so I guess the trick is to follow them; but I've no confidence in taking forks and shocks to perform a fluid service annually, so I'd rather shell out a bit of cash and avoid the embarrassment of taking a pile of bits to the shop.

    And yes, correction, lube the chain inside, it will however end up on the gears.. such is the order of things.
  • fat_homer
    fat_homer Posts: 470
    I've always given mine a proper wash after every ride. Recently I've started giving it a quick hose down, quick scrub for drivetrain, wipe down the stanchions and seal and then lube chain/stanchions.