Bike cleaner and maintenance

Scott_0001

What cleaner do you use to clean the bike and keeping the gears etc in good condition?

drlodge

I bought the Purple Harry stuff, and use car shampoo to wash the bike over.

Chain is currently applied with Finish Line Dry Lube but am moving to proLink proGold. First though I clean the chain using a rag with some WD40 applied (it helps takes the muck off).

Scott_0001

How often do you use the dry lube?

macleod113

muck off spray (came free from leisure lakes) for the frame/wheels etc, halfords (spit) citrus degreaser for the chain, cassette and deraileurs and finish line wet lube afterwards.

thegreatdivide

Depends on the state of the bike and the type of bike but...

Frames and wheels:
Best bikes don’t get taken out in bad weather so they only require an occasional wipe down with warm water and a soft cloth then a buffing with some Mr Sheen* (apart from wheels).
The wet weather bike and training bike get washed with Muc Off bike wash then a buff with Mr Sheen.

Drive trains:
All bikes get cleaned with Park Tool ChainBrite**, but a heavily soiled winter bike will get sprayed with Muc Off degreaser then washed off.
Best bikes get Progold Prolink (amazing lube), winter bike gets Finish Line Green. Training bike gets either lube depending on the time of year.
All bikes get GT85 where required.
Grease for cables.

Detailing:
Purple Harry soft pipe cleaners and bog standard cotton buds.
Plenty of rags from old tshirts and polo shirts - old socks and pants are great too!
Paint brush for dislodging grime.
Small nail brush or tooth brush for cleaning tyre tread.

A box of disposable gloves come in handy too.

*Mr Sheen or any other furniture polish is a cheap way of applying a protective barrier to the frame so it’s easier to shift dirt. It also makes your bike shiny ;-)
** ChainBrite is incredibly handy. Apart from making your drive train clean as a whistle a small dab on a cloth gets rid of stubborn oil marks on white frame sections, dirt on white bar tape, dirt on white saddles, cleans up wheel decals, gets thick glue off tub wheels, the cr4p off your hands and if you dab some on an oil stain on your white cycling clothes before hand washing it’ll sort them out too!

drlodge

Scott_0001 wrote:

How often do you use the dry lube?

About every other ride, or up to 100 miles. It doesn't last long, so I regularly wipe clean and re-lube. Keeps the chain in good condition that way (little and often is better than an infrequent big clean)