No way hose!

Triban Man

Thought I was being very good cleaning my new road bike meticulously after every other ride.
However, it turns out I have gubbed my freehub using a garden hose to wash it down.
Mechanic in my lbs has serviced it as best he can.
But he says I will need to get a replacement - or get an entirely new back wheel at considerable cost.
Bike is little over two months old.
Recommends not using a hose to clean a bike. Certainly not for any moving part.
Sounds logical enough now. You live and learn. Just thought I would pass this tip on so you could avoid the same problems as me.

upperoilcan

The only thing i use to clean my bike are baby wipes.

I wouldnt dream of spraying water over it.

blueneedles

i think you just had abit of bad luck to be honest!? ive been washing all of my bike either with hose and jet wash and never really had a problem. depending on either mud/salt or just general road dirt i wash my bikes roughly every 2-3 weeks and checking lubeing as i go.

Raffles

packet of baby wipes from Tesco 0.49p ....................all I use

my only gripe with cleaning is cleaning a 10 speed cassette, my cassette is 105 12-25 and the cog cleaning kit from Halfords is too thick to get between the gaps, anybody able to suggest another way to get the cassette gleaming bright ?

giant_man

i wouldn't go near my bikes with a hose or water of any kind personally, lesson learned, eh?

Eskimo427

Raffles wrote:

my only gripe with cleaning is cleaning a 10 speed cassette, my cassette is 105 12-25 and the cog cleaning kit from Halfords is too thick to get between the gaps, anybody able to suggest another way to get the cassette gleaming bright ?

Get a chain whip and socket, remove it. Then use good old fashioned engine de-greaser, brings them up like new!

You can also do this on the crankset and chain. Some people wouldn't on the chain however I've been doing this for years and not had any problems yet.

ct8282

I'd say you're unlucky too. I've been cleaning my bikes for years by giving them a good squirt with muc off or other bike cleaner and then using a hose or pressure washer to rinse them off. Never had a problem.

supermurph09

Raffles wrote:

packet of baby wipes from Tesco 0.49p ....................all I use

my only gripe with cleaning is cleaning a 10 speed cassette, my cassette is 105 12-25 and the cog cleaning kit from Halfords is too thick to get between the gaps, anybody able to suggest another way to get the cassette gleaming bright ?

The Muc-off degreaser and chain cleaner stuff works great, I always tried scrubbing and brushing but it just looked dull, squirt this stuff on, bit of agitating with a brush, a quick rub with a cloth and BLING!

jgsi

So it never gets drenched in downpours or that rain which starts as soon as you clip in and lasts the 2 or 3 hours until you clip out again?
I think you have only been guilty of washing down and then thinking thats the end of it.
The other 7/8ths of the job is thoroughly drying off the bike with best white towels, using GT85.. your favourite chain restorer and polishing shiny frame with Autoglym etc etc etc etc etc until the bike is showroom pristine again with not a speck of dirt even between the brake calipers.

If you are allowed to keep your bike on the turbo in the kitchen and not some forgotten corner of your shed then this is the price you have to pay.

elderone

Cant see how it would fail after 2 months.These are bikes,built to go out side and get wet.How much water gets in when it,s raining and your travelling at cruising speed.If it cant take a hosing down it,s not fit for purpose.Jet wash is different but surely a bit of water shouldn,t hurt it.
Get it sorted under warrentee.

lotus49

I have to say that this doesn't seem logical to me in the slightest. A jet wash is one thing but a normal garden hose is another.

How is a bike that cannot cope with being hosed down supposed to cope with British weather? If this were my bike, I would be asking for this to be fixed under warranty.

Bozman

Bucket of hot soapy water and a soft brush, then a light spray with the hose, then I'll dry it and lube it up. No issues in 20 years.

roger_merriman

lotus49 wrote:

I have to say that this doesn't seem logical to me in the slightest. A jet wash is one thing but a normal garden hose is another.

How is a bike that cannot cope with being hosed down supposed to cope with British weather? If this were my bike, I would be asking for this to be fixed under warranty.

quite, since I suspect the freehub is unlikely to differ much between road/mtb the idea that one could kill it using a garden hose, would suggest the freehub wasn't fit for purpose.

i've been using garden hoses to wash off packed on mud for close on 30 years...

Barteos

Get Hope hubs 8)

MiddleRinger

Better let these guys know:



http://www.teamsky.com/gallery/0,27401,17545_7649869,00.html#photo=12

I've been washing all my bikes (from bmx's to mtb's to road bikes) with a garden hose for over two decades. As long as you're not hammering it with a high pressure jet washer I don't see it being a problem. Bikes are built to be ridden hard in all weather and cleaned well afterwards!

fish156

Eskimo427 wrote:

Raffles wrote:

my only gripe with cleaning is cleaning a 10 speed cassette, my cassette is 105 12-25 and the cog cleaning kit from Halfords is too thick to get between the gaps, anybody able to suggest another way to get the cassette gleaming bright ?

Get a chain whip and socket, remove it. Then use good old fashioned engine de-greaser, brings them up like new!
...

I used to do this, but realised it's waaaay too much faff. Cut a bit of j-cloth and use it like floss. Do it regularly and don't need to remove cassette & degrease.

♠ChumBucket♠

Triban Man wrote:

Thought I was being very good cleaning my new road bike meticulously after every other ride.
However, it turns out I have gubbed my freehub using a garden hose to wash it down.
Mechanic in my lbs has serviced it as best he can.
But he says I will need to get a replacement - or get an entirely new back wheel at considerable cost.
Bike is little over two months old.
Recommends not using a hose to clean a bike. Certainly not for any moving part.
Sounds logical enough now. You live and learn. Just thought I would pass this tip on so you could avoid the same problems as me.

I'm assuming it's a Triban? If so Decathlon will sort it out under warranty, just take it back.

robbo2011

Same thing happened to my Easton EA90 SLX wheels on my BMC. I cleaned it for the first time with no more than a dribble from the garden hose and the freehub was locked up the next time I tried to use the bike a few days later.

I had to buy a new freehub. I have come to the conclusion that modern cartridge bearings are crap and when the wheels are due for replacement I will go for good old fashioned cup and cone bearings.

Triban Man

Many thanks for all of your responses.
JGSI, I have to say that I have endeavoured to dry my bike after cleaning.
Not with compressed air, just with towels and cloths.
Also clean the chain pretty regularly with a chain bath. Once a fortnight at least. Sometimes once a week.
What would you recommend doing with GT85? Is chairn restorer different.
I just have a normal garden hose, not a jet wash. But it has an attachment at the end that adds power to the jet.
Chap in my lbs advised not putting it anywhere near by bike. Certainly keeping it clear of the moving parts.

slowbike

Triban Man wrote:

I just have a normal garden hose, not a jet wash. But it has an attachment at the end that adds power to the jet.
Chap in my lbs advised not putting it anywhere near by bike. Certainly keeping it clear of the moving parts.

I wouldn't aim it directly into any bearings - but I'd have no problems in washing the bike down with a hose - I tend to do this after a damp or wet ride anyway, just to get rid of the road grime.

I had a knackered front wheel bearing a few months ago - on a brand new bike - cup&cone bearing was running in brown sludge - it had been fitted dry (or with only minimal grease) - on advice from the LBS - the wheel was replaced under warranty.

CiB

How can a freehub be farked beyond repair after a couple of months?

Have you ever taken one apart? There's not much in one to go wrong - it's a ratchet comprising a set of forward facing teeth on the one face and two or maybe three pawls on a fine spring clip on the other, which engage when it runs forwards. I'd take it back and ask what he's actually done to establish its farkedness, or much better strip it down yourself and find out a) how easy it is and b) how little stuff there is to go wrong. Once you've got it in bits give a full clean to get rid of all the stuff that shouldn't be there, apply a little grease to the areas where grease should obviously go and then put it back together. As long as you pay attention when taking it apart and putting it back together there's little to go wrong.

I did this with my Ultegra g/s when I got hacked off with having The Loudest Freewheel In The World. Solved it with a clean & regrease. It's a half-hour job.

slowbike

"farked beyond repair" in the freehub - where it's got rusty due to lack of grease and presence of moisture.

causes? 3 I can think of....
1) application of a strong jet of water that gets behind the seals and washes most of the grease out.
2) riding through deep water and not stripping and re-greasing afterwards (I did that - oops! fortunately just had to replacing the cartridge bearings)
3) component provided "dry" with minimal lubrication and a moderate application of water and/or light submersion did the rest.

Depending on the wheel/hub you wouldn't have to replace the whole wheel - you may be able to just replace the freehub. Or, if it's an entry level wheel then it might be cheaper to buy a new hub and rebuild the wheel.

(edit - just checking the make/type of bike) - I bought a tiagra rear hub for ~£20 when the hub on the standard wheel went out of alignment. I'm using it to trial build a back wheel that in worst case I can use as a Turbo wheel and best case I can use as a spare/winter wheel on the road. But I do have the slight advantage of having a spare wheelset so I can cock this one up without loss of use of the bike.

laurentian

CiB wrote:

How can a freehub be farked beyond repair after a couple of months?

Have you ever taken one apart? There's not much in one to go wrong - it's a ratchet comprising a set of forward facing teeth on the one face and two or maybe three pawls on a fine spring clip on the other, which engage when it runs forwards. I'd take it back and ask what he's actually done to establish its farkedness, or much better strip it down yourself and find out a) how easy it is and b) how little stuff there is to go wrong. Once you've got it in bits give a full clean to get rid of all the stuff that shouldn't be there, apply a little grease to the areas where grease should obviously go and then put it back together. As long as you pay attention when taking it apart and putting it back together there's little to go wrong.

I did this with my Ultegra g/s when I got hacked off with having The Loudest Freewheel In The World. Solved it with a clean & regrease. It's a half-hour job.

(Apologies to the OP for the thread hijack)

CiB - would doing the above involve removing spokes? or is everything accessible from the cassette side once its removed?

CiB

No spoke removal needed.

This is for an Ultegra cassette on Fulcrum 5s, which have cartridge bearings. You'll have to cope with different wheel / cassette combinations.

Remove the skewer & put it to one side.
Take off the cassette with the chainwhip etc and put it into a bucket of warm soapy water
Remove the axle noting the order of cones nuts & spacers etc - a photo on your phone or tablet helps here.
Slide off the freehub being v careful not to drop anything. Note where everything is - take more photos if necessary.
Clean it all up with degreaser etc, and dob bits of grease where they're necessary.
Clean the cassette (Ultegra falls apart as separate gears & spacers so it's easy to clean it), then refit everything.

Job done. Bikes are pretty simple bits of engineering, nothing is rocket science. The worst that can happen is that you have to make the walk of shame to your LBS asking him to put it back together for you, but the learning curve is almost vertical on virtually all bike-related maintenance tasks.

keef66

Or for a Shimano hub, after removing the axle, use a 10mm hex key from the drive side to remove (anticlockwise) the tubular nut which holds the freehub on. You can then carefully pick out the seal from the rear of the freehub and drizzle copious quantities of oil in there. This should flush out anything nasty, and lubricate the internals. (Disassembly may be possible, but you can't buy spares and it looks a bit fiddly with dozens of tiny ball bearings in there) Replace the seal carefully and you should be good to go. Done mine twice in 5 years and it still sounds peachy. Proper mudguards may have helped.

laurentian

CiB wrote:

No spoke removal needed.

This is for an Ultegra cassette on Fulcrum 5s, which have cartridge bearings. You'll have to cope with different wheel / cassette combinations.

Remove the skewer & put it to one side.
Take off the cassette with the chainwhip etc and put it into a bucket of warm soapy water
Remove the axle noting the order of cones nuts & spacers etc - a photo on your phone or tablet helps here.
Slide off the freehub being v careful not to drop anything. Note where everything is - take more photos if necessary.
Clean it all up with degreaser etc, and dob bits of grease where they're necessary.
Clean the cassette (Ultegra falls apart as separate gears & spacers so it's easy to clean it), then refit everything.

Job done. Bikes are pretty simple bits of engineering, nothing is rocket science. The worst that can happen is that you have to make the walk of shame to your LBS asking him to put it back together for you, but the learning curve is almost vertical on virtually all bike-related maintenance tasks.

Thank you - appreciated!

laurentian

keef66 wrote:

Or for a Shimano hub, after removing the axle, use a 10mm hex key from the drive side to remove (anticlockwise) the tubular nut which holds the freehub on. You can then carefully pick out the seal from the rear of the freehub and drizzle copious quantities of oil in there. This should flush out anything nasty, and lubricate the internals. (Disassembly may be possible, but you can't buy spares and it looks a bit fiddly with dozens of tiny ball bearings in there) Replace the seal carefully and you should be good to go. Done mine twice in 5 years and it still sounds peachy. Proper mudguards may have helped.

. . . and thank you Keef . . . again!!