Regular cleaning of your bike......

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probertsqbe
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Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 1:27 pm

by probertsqbe

Wholeheartedly agree re using car detailing products on your bike.

I’ve got a Canyon Ultimate SLX and use this product to keep the Matt paintwork looking great..

https://www.crankalicious.com/collectio ... boniferous

Most of these products are actual produced by Dodo Juice and rebranded as Crankalicious.

PokojniToza
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by PokojniToza

Matte can be a real pain to clean. Recently, after I finish all the regular cleaning, I use a bit of bike spray by Muc-off on a piece of cloth and give the bike a polish. It turns semi-glossy, and it helps repel water and mud (to an extent) for some time.

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TonyM
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by TonyM

PokojniToza wrote:(...) I use a bit of bike spray by Muc-off on a piece of cloth and give the bike a polish. It turns semi-glossy, (...)
That‘s the problem if you don‘t use the specific products for matte paint.
It turns glossy....

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

I cleaned my commutor bike from the first time in over 12 month yesterday.

Since I use Rick n roll lubes my chains never really get dirty so cleaning the bike becomes less of an important thing.

So long as everything works as it should I'm happy. I'm know it heresy but I really don't care Bout the paint being clean. .

I need to clean the MTB after today though. That's is beyond filthy.

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TonyM
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by TonyM

bm0p700f wrote:I cleaned my commutor bike from the first time in over 12 month yesterday.

Since I use Rick n roll lubes my chains never really get dirty so cleaning the bike becomes less of an important thing.
(...)

Which type of Rock n‘ Roll lube do you use for your commuter bike?

PokojniToza
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by PokojniToza

TonyM wrote:
Sun Feb 10, 2019 5:17 pm
PokojniToza wrote:(...) I use a bit of bike spray by Muc-off on a piece of cloth and give the bike a polish. It turns semi-glossy, (...)
That‘s the problem if you don‘t use the specific products for matte paint.
It turns glossy....
Yep. But the gloss does not really last, so it is fine. Unfortunately, that is the only thing available locally, and I always forget to order something online (or the shipping does not justify the purchase).

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

Gold mostly, sometimes holy cow tonym

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TonyM
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by TonyM

bm0p700f wrote:Gold mostly, sometimes holy cow tonym
How do you compare both to the blue „extreme“?

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

Blue extreme is for off road use. it picks up a bit more dust (not alot mind but more than the Gold) so I use the extreme blue lube for my MTB in winter.

Holy cow gets used when it always wet as it is more persistant than the red, blue or gold lubes on my road bikes or MTB's. being a wet lube is picks up more dirt but this is relative. Holy cow is a clean lube next to almost everything else.

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TonyM
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by TonyM

bm0p700f wrote:Blue extreme is for off road use. it picks up a bit more dust (not alot mind but more than the Gold) so I use the extreme blue lube for my MTB in winter.

Holy cow gets used when it always wet as it is more persistant than the red, blue or gold lubes on my road bikes or MTB's. being a wet lube is picks up more dirt but this is relative. Holy cow is a clean lube next to almost everything else.
Thanks for the feedback!

I am using the blue extreme on my road rain bike as RnR advertises it as MtB and wet road riding.

I was not sure if the Holy Cow was an improvement in terms of attracting dirt and grit....

AJS914
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by AJS914

FWIW, Rock N Roll attracts a lot less dirt if you fully follow the last step of the directions:
For best results, allow your chain to sit a few hours or lube the night before. However, if right after lubing, you have to ride, you have to ride, so go for it. Giving the lube a chance to set gives the lube a bit more life by allowing the protective membrane to fully set-up.
Letting it dry over night allows all the wet solvent to evaporate.

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TonyM
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by TonyM

That‘s what I do.
But Holy Cow is a wet lube it seems.

Just wondering if Holy Cow could really be better for wet road biking ad wet lube usually attracts more dirt and grit than a dry lube like the blue RnR extreme.

AJS914
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by AJS914

It should. I hadn't heard of Holy Cow until now.

Rock N Roll seems to want everybody to be super OCD and wipe down their chain after every ride. I do mine once a week (road bike) and I ride 100-150 miles per week.

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TonyM
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by TonyM

If it was a wet ride then I clean my chain after each wet ride and relube it...
If it is dry then only every 300km I think.

by Weenie


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Multebear
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by Multebear

themidge wrote:
Wed Jan 02, 2019 1:31 pm
The best solution to the bike washing problem in winter is mudguards. Not only do they protect the rider, but more importantly they protect the bike.


IME there are two approaches to the drivetrains in winter:
- clean it all the time so it's shiny at the start of every ride

This.

I really don't get why you other folks use a lot of degreaser, and products and this and that. Just clean your bike with water, dishwashing soap and a brush, rinse it down, dry it of and relube. Don't overthink it.

I clean my bike if it's dirty, end of story. I don't want to ride a dirty bike, and I much less want to be seen on a dirty bike. The state your bike is in shows a lot about you as a rider.

In the winter here in northern europe, it's dirty nearly after every ride. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but even when it's really dirty, it's 25 min. of work tops.

1) Rinse it down and wash it with water and dishwashing soap, rinse again = 10 min.

2) Dry it of = 3 min.

3) Unmount cassette, clean each cog, pulley wheels and chainrings = 10 min.

4) relube = 2 min.

These four steps will take 25 min. nomatter the state of the bike. And it's really worth it. My cassette, chain and chainrings are clean, shiny and well lubed before every ride - always.

I meassure my chain regularly with a caliper. Whenenver 12 chainlinks reach 145,30 mm, I trash the chain and install a new one. This way I never need to change cassette or chainrings. And the shifting stays perfect. I get 1500-2000 km out if each chain during winter doing this regime. And there's still a lot of km's left in the chain if I wanted to wear it even more. But as mentioned, like this I don't have to ever change cassette or chainrings.

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