Stupid question

philsalliss
philsalliss Posts: 175
edited September 2014 in Workshop
Just bought a carbon bike and keep reading different things and told different things on how to care for them.

My alluminium bike I clean with hosepipe on gentle spray setting to get loose muck off and the de grease around chain, sprockets and chain stay and then rinse followed by muc off and brush to get rid off anything else the rinse and spray with bike spray to finish and buff up

Does that sound ok

Comments

  • earthvspace4XTuUWcX
    earthvspace4XTuUWcX Posts: 322
    Makes no difference what the frame is made of, clean it any way you wish too.
  • JackPozzi
    JackPozzi Posts: 1,191
    Always been told by my mechanic to avoid muc off though, it's very good at cutting through dirt and grease but that includes grease in bearings so they don't last as long as they should.
  • philsalliss
    philsalliss Posts: 175
    JackPozzi wrote:
    Always been told by my mechanic to avoid muc off though, it's very good at cutting through dirt and grease but that includes grease in bearings so they don't last as long as they should.

    Think I'm with you there actually mate and am going to water down muc off by 2/3 water in future as use it on motorbike and it has suffered corrosion on certain bolts and likely that muc off has stripped finish on them
  • curium
    curium Posts: 815
    JackPozzi wrote:
    Always been told by my mechanic to avoid muc off though, it's very good at cutting through dirt and grease but that includes grease in bearings so they don't last as long as they should.
    Probably no better at cutting through grease than degreaser, which the OP is already using.
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    I generally try to only ride in the dry on my carbon bike (I have a alu bike for wet or winter) but if I do need to get it clean I give it a quick rinse off with the garden hose on light spray. So long as you dont put it on a high pressure you will cause 0 damage. If it can handle spray from the road it can handle it from a hose. I then dry with a micro fibre cloth and then remove any other grime with wet wipes. A quick run through a rag with the chain followed by a relube and all is done. No fancy sprays or chemicals just simple water and the little detergent in the wipes is all thats required.
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    Carbon won't disintegrate in the wet .... Honest - I had carbon spars and tiller extension on my last boat and they were always wet ....
    The carbon bike gets used when I want to use it ... If it's really wet then the cx comes out, but only because it has mudguards.
    Clean the bike normally ... It's a normal bike.
  • lapavoni10
    lapavoni10 Posts: 146
    I use some old car wash rather than washing up liquid. I do use the microfibre tea-towels though, but make sure you put them in the washing before the missus catches you.

    seriously though..., Muck-off, agitate, hose, car wash, spray with hose avoiding BB, hubs and headset...although you are fairly safe as long as you dont spray from the side on these.
    Muck-Off is fine as long as you get it on, agitate, then wash it off. It does say on the bottle not to let it dry on the bike.
    Squirt of WD40/GT85 (whatever smell you like best, I prefer GT85) on brake, front mech and rear mech pivots. Wipe clean. Oil chain.

    Use a seperate sponge for bike, and another one for the mucky bits (chain).
    I keep all out old toothbrushes and use those for those hard to get areas.

    You are probably safer using the carbon bike in rubbish waether as it wont corode like the aluminium or steel ones...but I know eher your coming from....its like your Sunday best :)
    Done
  • gozzy
    gozzy Posts: 640
    lapavoni10 wrote:
    You are probably safer using the carbon bike in rubbish waether as it wont corode like the aluminium or steel ones...but I know eher your coming from....its like your Sunday best :)
    Done

    Aluminium doesn't corrode in the wet.
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    Gozzy wrote:
    lapavoni10 wrote:
    You are probably safer using the carbon bike in rubbish waether as it wont corode like the aluminium or steel ones...but I know eher your coming from....its like your Sunday best :)
    Done


    Aluminium doesn't corrode in the wet.

    True but any steel components in contact with the aluminium will corrode quicker because of electrolysis. Even stainless steel can corrode.
  • team47b
    team47b Posts: 6,425
    Yeah why is it called stainless steel? I just splashed some water on some stainless steel and it dried and left stains that only metal polish would remove :D

    Or is it because it will 'stain' less than other metals :wink:
    my isetta is a 300cc bike
  • lapavoni10
    lapavoni10 Posts: 146
    Aluminium doesn't corrode in the wet.

    That may be true, but when the weather is rubbish they salt the roads here, and rain is not just water...at least not in the Surrey lanes...plenty of horse poo and cyclist wee everywhere!
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Muc Off is pretty corrosive IME - it dulls paint finishes and eats elastomers like bearing seals so make sure you rinse well. I mainly sticky to a bucket of hot, soapy car wash suds which cuts through the grime pretty well. Baby wipes are good for quick clean-up jobs.
    I have a carbon-fibre racing K1 kayak that seems to survive being immersed pretty well!
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • gozzy
    gozzy Posts: 640
    lapavoni10 wrote:
    Aluminium doesn't corrode in the wet.

    That may be true, but when the weather is rubbish they salt the roads here, and rain is not just water...at least not in the Surrey lanes...plenty of horse poo and cyclist wee everywhere!


    None of which will have any effect on aluminium...
  • lapavoni10
    lapavoni10 Posts: 146
    None of which will have any effect on aluminium...

    what causes un-anodised aluminium alloy to corrode then, not even salt , oxygen and water? I have had aluminium bikes (ok not pure aluminium) that have corroded very badly where they are either polished, or paint has worn off? Also older alloy parts get very pitted on the surface.
  • gozzy
    gozzy Posts: 640
    Most bikes are anodised, so it's a non issue.
  • lapavoni10
    lapavoni10 Posts: 146
    Ah ok, thats good to know. I thought I would need to retouch where paint had flaked off or chipped, but if they are anodised inside and out, thats not a problem.

    Cheers
  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    There are different grades of stainless. The more chromium and nickel it has the more stainless it actually is. 316 stainless (medical grade) does not rust period it can suffer stress corrison cracking though under the right circumstances. If the stainless steel part is magnetic it does not have enough chromium and nickel to be properly stainless and some stainless part are mearly chromplated fooling you into thinking they are stainless but they never were.

    Aluminium alloys do corrode as the surface film of aluminium oxide in a aluminium alloy is not continous so corrosion is possible it happend to my old MTB frame but it rarley harms the part structurally. anodising helps to an extent as the process creates a layer of aluminium oxide which is a nice barrier to corrosion.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • gozzy
    gozzy Posts: 640
    Even if frames aren't anodised, aluminium on it's own is so reactive in air that any exposed aluminium will form a thin protective layer of (unreactive) aluminium oxide near enough instantly. You simply don't get bare aluminium once it's exposed to air.
  • lapavoni10
    lapavoni10 Posts: 146
    I guess this is a subject where the proposed science and reality differ.

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