First Ride!

steelo · June 2007

I went out for my first 'decent' ride on my new rockhopper yesterday, round the ashridge estate from berkhamsted. Although it was only a 2-3 hour ride I did get covered in mud, as well as the bike, and if my a** wasn't caning like a 19th century schoolteacher then I would be out there again today.

However, my main dilemma is; I gave my bike a good clean yesterday afternoon, brushed the dried mud off then used a couple of brushes and a bucket of weak car shampoo to wash the whole lot. Never did it cross my mind that when I went to have a look at the 'hopper this morning I would see rust on the chain! And it pedals with a slight hint of a grinding sound now. I've given all the components a good spray of WD40 but...

What do I do now?
What should I have done?

Any suggestions would be good.

Cheers.

Red Lemon · June 2007

Are you absolutely sure it's rust, and not just rust coloured skank that didn't come off?

Top tip for the future: WD40 the chain and gears immediately after washing to drive the water off. Then lube. Then put away the bike.

kuzz3 · June 2007

Thats pretty much all you can do mate. But in future if u wash ur bike make sure u give it a good coating of oil as soon as it's dry....WD40 is ok but the thicker stuff is better, u can get it from halfords for a few quid.

steelo · June 2007

'lube', 'thick stuff' - give me brand names, there are loads out there, i've seen purple stuff, white lightning, and muc-off, but which are best?

Red Lemon · June 2007

The point of WD40 is to remove water. WD = Water Displacement. 40 = the number of experiments it took to figure out how to do it. It's not a lubricant.

To be honest, I just go with generic wet lubricant from the local bike shop. I know you're meant to switch to dry in summer, but it never stays dry that long anyway. It does a good job - never had any issues with rapid wearing of my drivetrain.

ride_whenever · June 2007

I use finish line dry and white lightning epic, both of which need to be re-applied regularly. The rust will almost certainly just be a light surface ming, don't worry, it should come off with a good clean. I have a powerlink in my chain so i take it off and degrease it after any messy ride, then rinse it, wd-40 and leave on a radiator or hung up to drip dry if summer. Then i lube every roller, wipe off the excess and re-fit.

As for your pedals, what are they? If they are metal, take them off and strip them down and re-grease them. It is probably just the bearings wearing in and stuff, a strip and clean should fit it. For grease i have one of these
Cheap and works well.

My Scott

My Single Speed

Always remember to pick your Uni according to the local trails or you'll be stuck with nowhere to ride for three years!

ToMBeMe · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Red Lemon

The point of WD40 is to remove water. WD = Water Displacement. 40 = the number of experiments it took to figure out how to do it. It's not a lubricant.

To be honest, I just go with generic wet lubricant from the local bike shop. I know you're meant to switch to dry in summer, but it never stays dry that long anyway. It does a good job - never had any issues with rapid wearing of my drivetrain.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Does GT85 stand for anything then?[B)]

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by UH DH

Manliness to the MAX!

QUERTY QUERTY QUERTY

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by the abductor
++kschhh-schhh++ Madeline, I AM your father ++kschhh-schhh++<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

First Ride!

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