GT85 - bad for your bike?

mattdanielc

I'd like some advice about cleaning my bike if I may - I have a new bike and want to ensure I'm not doing any bad practices from my old routine.

I clean my bike every Saturday. I use 'muc off' products. I don't think I'm gonig wrong with any of this.

But...I do use GT85 on the cassette. This sprays off the grime and makes the cassette all shiny again. I sometimes, but not always, spray the chain too. After this I hose the cassette down to get all of the oil off.

I then put lube on the chain.

IS GT85 ok to clean the cassette like that? On my old bike as well I had some round plastic behind my cassette meaning that the spray couldn't reach my disc brakes. But my new bike doesn't have this plastic - so I'm worried when I spray it will get my discs too...

Would appreciate any advice

kingstongraham

Hope it's OK, it's about the only maintenance my bike gets.

veronese68

It's fine for most things, but cover your brakes up as it really doesn't want to be anywhere near them.

frogonabike

Yeah it's fine, I saw some test recently that showed it as one of the best (or maybe THE best) for chain friction... as already mentioned avoid brakes and also be mindful of bearings as it will clear out the grease in your freehub, bb etc In fact do you really need to give it a proper clean every week? I tend to do a "dry" clean with just a rag and a small amount of GT85 regularly + a chain lube then a proper strip and scrub every 50ish hours


Also, WD40 is actually better for the stubborn stuff on frames etc

mtb-idle

the Mucoff which is quite aggressive and the hosing it off with water are both probably doing more harm than the GT85

cycleclinic

Too much cleaning. Better to use a lube (not much off or oils) that does not junk up the chain and cassette in the first place. I have only found one brand of lube that truly does this.

No your not harming you bike using gt85 for cleaning but it does works it's way into the pins and rollers in the chain and relining does not push it all out so chain wear will be accelerated.

elbowloh

I never clean my bikes and they are all currently running fine.


I used to regularly clean them and spend whole weekends stripping them down, cleaning, lubing, greasing and re-assembling, but then I got married.

itboffin

Is it just me or does GT85 smell awesome ...?

roger_merriman

I’m sure it’s fine for cleaning/lubing as you do, but personally I don’t use any spray oils since all my bikes are disk and it’s very easy to get a bit on the rotor/pad.

Equally I’ve found that dry oils suit me better, my present favourite is squirt? Which seems fairly robust for a wax oil.

hopkinb

I get through 3 cans a week. Goes nowhere near the bike mind you.

frogonabike

itboffin wrote:

Is it just me or does GT85 smell awesome ...?

A sniff of GT is part of my getting ready for a ride procedure

cycleclinic

3 cans a week = rehab

hopkinb

thecycleclinic wrote:

3 cans a week = rehab

Nah, I can handle it. It's under control. Stop any time I want. Erm. Sniff.

mrkev83

My road bike is at least 4 years old and I've used GT85 most that time without any issues

merkin

I have found that a couple deep sniffs of GT85 before a ride gives me a 5% increase in speed over the course of a ride.