Cleaning bicycle & protecting from rust - confused.com!

Mortsty

Afternoon everyone,

Sorry for such a noob question but after doing some googling there seems to be a lot of conflicting advice (such as what products to us etc) out there when it comes to cleaning a bicycle and protecting it from rust.

I wish to clean my bicycle, remove odd bits of rust and then protect it from rust in the future.

Would simple hot soapy water with an old rag with regards to the frame be suffice?

How would I go about cleaning other moving parts such as the chain?

Would using a bit of aluminium foil lubricated be OK to remove rust?

What can I put on my bike chain to prevent rust (in addition to the wheel rims)?

And how can I protect the handlebar which has a scratch from any further issues?

Sorry for the many questions I'm pretty confused to the point I'm scared of even trying to clean it in case I make matters worse! If anyone knows of any good guides that would be handy for any links.

Many thanks,

Samuel

The Rookie

For the chain, you use a decent chain lube.

You can't use anything on steel wheel rims to stop rust or you won't stop as your brakes won't work.

I wash mine with soapy water and a sponge, no hoses or pressure washes!

What bike, it sounds like its rather old with steel frame and rims?

redbikejohn

Don't use washing up liquid, lots of salt in it. Use proper stuff like muckoff.
Clean chain with a toothbrush and paraffin to remove old chain lube and dirt. Then wash clean. Dry chain and then spray on some proper chain lube. When cleaning the chain make sure you clean the front and rear sprockets too. For the rest of the bike (excluding wheel rims ) use a spare like gt85