OCD bike maintenance

[LegendRider]

What's the most OCD thing you've done or do on a regular basis with regard to bike maintenance and cleaning?

I have a reputation among my riding buddies for keeping my bike fastidiously clean, but I recently did something a little over-the-top. I decided to take the brake pads out and inspect them. A paper towel and spray cleaner did very little so I tossed them in the dishwasher (w/o telling my wife). I was really happy with the results - the pads look brand new.

Fess up.

[cfox]

I'm a saltophobe. During the spring/summer/fall my bike can get a bit dirty and it doesn't bother me at all, but if I ride my "good" bike in the winter within a month of any salt on the road, I go nuts: full bath, strip the chain, you name it. Oh, and my bike is Ti, so my mania is even more misplaced. I love riding that particular bike, but it's a lot easier and less time consuming to just ride my 14-year old Merlin trainer bike.

[AngryScientist]

making me feel bad here. my steel bike is sitting in the garage right now, literally caked in salt. especially the bottom bracket and brake caliper areas. it was sol chilly yesterday that i just went inside and took a hot shower after my ride, but now that you mention it, i should probably get some of that salt off the bike this afternoon.

brake pads in the dishwasher though - this IS crazy.

[gemship]

making me feel bad here. my steel bike is sitting in the garage right now, literally caked in salt. especially the bottom bracket and brake caliper areas. it was sol chilly yesterday that i just went inside and took a hot shower after my ride, but now that you mention it, i should probably get some of that salt off the bike this afternoon.

brake pads in the dishwasher though - this IS crazy.

especially when they make affordable ultrasonic cleaners for that kind of stuff:p

BTW road salt sucks, it is any bike's enemy including the beaters, common sense dictates that.

[sg8357]

The ShelBroCo chain cleaning system set the standard for OCD bike care.

http://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . with a complete bath 3-4 times per season or if it looks like they really need it. during the bath I just keep a sharp eye out for anything that looks to be a concern and whip out the pocket knife, check the brake pads, and remove any major stuff stuck in there.

If I ride in the rain or salt, I try to hose off the bike immediately when I get home. Especially with all the crud from the brake pads, I try to scrub that off thebrake track. If you let it dry on there it's a lot harder to get off. but all that only takes about 5 minutes and I don't consider that OCD, just prudent.

I also generally spritz a bit of new ProLink on the chain before every ride and wipe that down. Then I do a quick inspection of the tires to make sure there are no new major cuts or debris in there. Lastly, since my neck-breaking crash a couple of years ago I always check both skewers now.

After seeing that VeloNews chain lube story I'm seriously considering ditching the ProLink and going to something that rates better. It was way down toward the bottom of the list for effectiveness.

Keeping my saddle clean has also always been a problem. I'm often straining so hard on group rides to keep up with my buddies that, well, some, er, stuff usually gets on them that leads to discoloration. So this season I'm planning to replace my saddles with THESE (http://sheldonbrown.com/real-man.html) to make them easier to clean--a Brillo pad and some Comet and they should be good as new.

BBD

[cfox]

After seeing that VeloNews chain lube story I'm seriously considering ditching the ProLink and going to something that rates better. It was way down toward the bottom of the list for effectiveness.

BBD

If it's working for you, don't bother changing. It's ironic that it didn't rate well in Velonews because Zinn swears by the stuff. He claims he gets more drivetrain life with ProLink than anything else he's tried. I like ProLink, but ChainL keeps my chain quieter.

[Gummee]

OCD? Nope.

Fairly clean? Sure.

I can honestly say 'I don't get it' when it comes to certain things. Weight Weenie-ism and OCD cleanliness are the two biggest. ...but if it floats your boat, go for it.

I DO enjoy buying things from the OCD crowd tho. Their used parts are impeccably clean. :D

M

[oldpotatoe]

If it's working for you, don't bother changing. It's ironic that it didn't rate well in Velonews because Zinn swears by the stuff. He claims he gets more drivetrain life with ProLink than anything else he's tried. I like ProLink, but ChainL keeps my chain quieter.

Hmmm, since for most of us 'mortal's, having stuff work and last is more important than a lube saving a few watts. Don't think I'll stop sellin' it because of a Velo article.

[Fishbike]

I remember stopping once on a ride to wipe some grease off somewhere on the bike with my glove.

[gemship]

I will say one thing that Park brand grease isn't quite as nice as the multipurpose stuff I bought at Walmart, Supertech in a calking tube to be exact. This stuff is marine grade. The Park brand wasn't used in a while and when it came out of the tube it had actually separated so what came out first was this watery like liquid, it just seemed a little too thin to be long lasting for the job of lubing my wheel bearings.

[professerr]

What's the most OCD thing you've done or do on a regular basis with regard to bike maintenance and cleaning?


Moved to California.

[cfox]

Hmmm, since for most of us 'mortal's, having stuff work and last is more important than a lube saving a few watts. Don't think I'll stop sellin' it because of a Velo article.

we agree. I didn't see the article, but are you saying the lubes were tested in terms of watts saved vs. lubing/lasting? Beyond stupid for anything other than an hour record attempt...

[LegendRider]

we agree. I didn't see the article, but are you saying the lubes were tested in terms of watts saved vs. lubing/lasting? Beyond stupid for anything other than an hour record attempt...

Yes, the article was testing efficiency (fewest watts required), not other attributes like long lasting, etc.

[tiretrax]

Why spend $70 on the ShelBroCo chain kit when a new one costs less?

I like to keep my bike clean, and I try to wipe it down after every ride, no matter what the weather conditions.

Putting brake pads in the dishwasher seems to take it too far, and the dry cycle heat can't be beneficial - it probably shortens their life.

[carpediemracing]

Generally speaking I'll clean the drivetrain after every wet or dirty outside ride. It takes a few minutes because the drivetrain is pretty clean. I'll do it before I walk inside the house - I'm already wet/dirty might as well clean the bike.

http://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.com/2012/05/how-to-cleaning-bike-quick.html

The above bike cleaning took about 11 min, no hoses (but 6 bottles of water for rinsing).

I used to replace my bar tape during race season every week to two weeks. I'd buy Cinelli tape in the 10s and 20s for myself, usually layering stock upon stock (so I'd have 30 or 40 sets of tape). I eased back on this after I left the bike biz but I still have a few sets left from the late 90s. One of them is on my bike now.

For real OCD nothing beats the (NY) Bike Doctor as far as I've seen.

From his FB photos (I'm stunned when I see these and this is from someone that sometimes goes a bit bonkers on his own bike):

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/199135_3972221577592_1449991356_n.jpg

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/527971_3972223697645_835138523_n.jpg

brake track stuff
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/253985_3928824612695_1627198364_n.jpg

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/403843_3803840688175_663644235_n.jpg

[thegunner]

question for city-inhabitants -- how do you guys clean your bike when constrained by an apartment? Do you do the whole "shower with bike" deal?

[carpediemracing]

question for city-inhabitants -- how do you guys clean your bike when constrained by an apartment? Do you do the whole "shower with bike" deal?

We lived in an apartment for a year while doing some house hunting. That's when I started doing bottle rinses. I'd bring one of those "green" shopping bags full of filled bottles (1 liter, 2 liter, water bottles), a Simple Green spray, the grunge brush, a small sponge (discarded plain kitchen sponge or a small car wash one) and a few rags.

Once you get the bike to the point where I get it in the link I had above then the rest of it is easy. Bounce the bike a few times to get most of the water off. Go back into your apartment with everything. Wipe down the frame and other okay-to-be-slippery parts with a car detail spray. I put leather conditioner on the saddle. Wipe down the rims, levers. Lube chain, wipe clean. Shouldn't take very long because the bike is basically clean when you bring it in. Only thing that's a pain is if there is sand etc around outside. I usually had to carry the bike inside.

If you do this somewhat regularly you'll have your "kit" ready - the green bag with all the bottles inside, the scrub stuff, etc. Cost of kit - 99 cents for the bag, 5 cents for each bottle you don't return, Simple Green (I bought one sprayer and then a gallon refill), a car detail spray ($6?), a kitchen sponge that has some life in it but is useless for the sink now, and a grunge brush ($11?).

When we moved to a house I transferred all that into a 5 gal bucket, minus the bottles. I still do the bottle thing sometimes in the off season - the hose isn't hooked up because it's frequently below freezing. I wait until it's above freezing and I go out with warm/hot water in bottles and clean the bike.

[54ny77]

Winner!

Moved to California.