Spring Cleaning

There are a many things that you can do that will make your bike happy... but hopefully it’s getting nicer out, and you’re going to ride more soon... but whoa! What are all those grinding and weird noises? Every so often (depending on how much you ride...) you should clean your bike. Maybe it won’t eliminate all those noises... but it’s going to help. Generally cleaning entails: some rags, you’re ex’s toothbrush (or roommate’s...), some rubbing alcohol, and some elbow grease. I usually clean my bikes in my kitchen, because I have carpet everywhere else, and I can sweep up my kitchen.

The Frame:
Grab a rag, wipe down your frame starting from the top down. Use the toothbrush to get into those little places your fingers can’t reach: hubs, behind the cranks, under the brake calipers, etc. It’s a good idea to take off the wheels to really get in there, but unless you have a stand, it’s kind of hard to deal with.

Wheels:
Grab another rag and wipe down your rims, making sure to note the condition of the braking surface. If it feels like an hourglass, your rims are worn, and may need to be replaced. If they are really worn and you inflate your tires or hit a big bump/pothole, the rim itself can explode. It’s not a firery kind of explosion, but it’s pretty scary. If you’re not sure how bad is really BAD, let me check them out. Usually the manufacturer puts a little “wear indicator” sticker on the rim so you know when to replace it. (None of this really applies to old steel rims. If you’ve got an old road bike- Schwinn, Peugeot, Motobacane, etc- you may have steel rims. They are usually very shiny, and when it’s raining or wet out, you may not be able to stop. These rims are heavy, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard of these wearing down.) Make sure to also wipe down your brake pads- they will pick up little bits of metal (from your rim...) and grind down the rim even more... sometimes you need to use a needle to get the chucks out, but once they’re out you’re golden!

Drivetrain:
And now the hard part: the most difficult thing to clean on your bike will be the drivetrain. The drivetrain is your crankset/chainrings (front sprockets), chain, freewheel/cassette/fixed cog (rear sprockets), and derailluers. (well, those may not technically be classified as part of the drivetrain, but the rear derailluer has little pulley wheels which engage the chain so I’m going to include it.) What you need: That toothbrush, rags, degreaser (if you’ve got it, simple green usually works well, and it’s not some gnarly chemical.) and chain lube for when you’re done. If you want to be really thorough, a 5mm allen key and a chainring bolt “spanner.” (this would be to take the chainrings off, so you can really scrub ‘em.) You can always grab a chaintool and pop the chain off, but this isn’t necessary.

Use a rag and the toothbrush to get all the grit and dirt off your chain, this is where the degreaser comes in handy. Soak the rag in the degreaser and with one hand- grab a pedal and back pedal (so the chain moves, but the bike doesn’t) with the other hand that has the rag- grab onto the chain and wipe away all the old chain lube and any other bullshit that’s on your chain. I usually do this for a minute or two, or until I feel like it’s “clean enough.” Grab a dry rag and make sure you get off all the degreaser. Now you need to lube your chain* and you’re done!

(*To lube your chain properly: place a drop or so of lube on the roller of the chain link [the middle of the chain link, if you’re looking from above] and continue doing this on most of the links. Or do the backpedal method and try not to get lube everywhere... no body likes that! haha! After that, wipe off all the excess lube- because an over lubed chain will only attract more grit and dust/dirt.)

To me, cleaning my bike(s) is very therapeutic and a clean bike just looks so nice! (though a nice dirty bike is pretty sexy sometimes too! I never clean my rainbike...) Whatever you do, do NOT use a pressure washer on your bike, do not hose it off... When water gets into where any bearings live, it washes away the grease and your bearings are left to grind away- metal on metal. This will cause some really nice noises... so like I said- rubbing alcohol and rags, maybe a toothbrush are all you really need. Go for it!