How do you clean and maintain a bicycle?

Question

I'm new to bike riding and I was wondering how you clean and maintain your bike. I have a 21-speed mountain bike that I ride casually on the weekends. I've only ridden on paved trails but I'm wanting to try off-road soon.

What cleaning products do you use?

What regular maintenance or checks do you perform?

Can you use tire shine on bike tires? I tried it and it makes those tires black and shiny, of course, but I'm concerned that it might dirty up other areas of the bike.

Answer 1

two birds-one rock-ride it through the car wash!

(Just kidding)

Answer 2

if you go on trails especially if they are dusty or muddy i at least rinse off my bike after every time.  the most important area i personally think to keep clean is the chain and derailleurs.  simple green is good to get the grease off the chain and gears, then I would make sure it dries to prevent rust, and lube it with like tri-flow or white lightning (my fav cause it helps to clean) available for pretty cheap at any bike shop.  as for regular checks you can usually tell if something is wrong just by riding it..hopefully it's not the brakes!  hope that helped

Answer 3

Forget the tire shine.

You can keep the frame clean just with soap and water.  Hose the frame down first to knock off mud and debris.  be careful not to aim the stream at the wheel hubs, bottom braket-- the part where the pedals are attached, or into the gear cluster.    

Before a ride, make sure all the cables, seat and handlebars are secure.  Once a week, maybe every other week, lube the chain.  Once a month, I like to clean the chain and derailures.

For a good lube get, Finish Line's Dry Teflon Lube.  Or get White Lightning, a wax based lube



You're going to get a difference of opinion on lubes.  May I be so bold as to say, those opinions are correct.  It all depends on where you buy and what they have.  

(Just making it easy)

I highly recommend getting a spare inner tube, a frame pump, and a patch kit.  I would also get one of those all-in-one tool kits.  

For cleaning the chain, cogset (aka gear cluster) and front chain rings, get a brush for that.  It's made by Park Tools and it looks like a big toothbrush.  it's got a serrated end for removing embedded mud or other debris from the gear cluster.

Keep a small package of paper clips with you.  These you can use if you don't know how to break a chain link and replace it with another link.

Buy a set of tire bands, they go under such names as Mr. Tuffy.  These are strips that go inside the tire between the inner tube and tire and reduces the chance of a puncture.  I went 2,800 miles without a flat.  

Keep the rims clean with soap and water to get all the crud, debris and brake shoe stuff off.

Answer 4

OK, believe it or not, you can take your bike to a drivein car wash ( the ones you do yourself with the hoses ), which will remove most of the dirt and grime.

After drying the bike off, make sure to lubricate the chains and any moving parts ( we use WD-40, or even regular oil in a pinch ), as the high pressure soapy water will have removed most of it.

Check all tires, rims, and spokes for any signs of damage, and make sure you check the brake pads for not only wear, but also to make sure they do not have any small object stuck in them, which will damage the rims.

Always check the cables to make sure they are tight, and also keep them well lubricated as well, and of course, you can either tune the bike up yourself, or have a local bike shop do it or you, including truing the wheels.

And using wheel shine is not a great idea, as not only does it mess with your braking ability, but it collects dust that mixes with with the shine to make a gritty paste that can damage the finish.

Hope this helps ?

Answer 5

Well you just clean it with a wet rag or with Windex (works great) and for maintenance just check and make sure that everything works before you go on a ride. I do it all the time and trust me it will save you time if you don't want to have to stop on the trail and fix it.