[tweeder82o]

I'm not the most experienced bike washer, by the end of the last riding season I was really mailing it in with the chore.

But just last weekend, I had the privilege to wash my bike for the first time this riding season. And I was really getting into it, and really getting down into scrubbing the drive train, chain, and chain ring.

That's when I realised the predicament:

scrub the drive train, but the dirty chain recontaminates it
scrub the chain, but the dirty chain ring recontaminates it
scrub the chain ring, but the dirty drive chain recontaminates the chain which then recontaminates the chain ring.

short of removing the chain, and/or the wheel, but also trying to not have to chase your tail cleaning everything more than once, what is you guys' method?

 

[Schulze]

Pop the quick link, drop the chain in a jar of solvent, put lid on. Pull cranks. Pull wheel. Clean. Put previously cleaned chain on with the rest of it while dirty chain gets shaken in solvent and re-lubed and put in a bag over the course of the next weekend or whenever I feel like it.

 

[Lojack]

For easy regular maintenance, I use Park Tool DH-1 dummy hub (or similar knockoff)--take off rear wheel, put on DH-1, bucket of soapy water and scrub away with a cheap brush. The DH-1 ensures no soap or grease gets on your brakes. Scrub and rinse and dry and then re-lube. Sure, you can do a deeper clean with proper solvents, disassembly etc... But I am too lazy for that and just accept that I will probably have to replace stuff sooner than someone who thoroughly cleans the crap out of their drivetrain.

 

[tweeder82o]

I see this thread got movedfrom general discussion, i guess that's my bad for a poor choice of title.

...short of removing the chain, and/or the wheel, but also trying to not have to chase your tail cleaning everything more than once, what is you guys' method?

so I'm not crazy, it's impossible to not have clean something at least twice due to recontamination.

 

[Harold]

so I'm not crazy, it's impossible to not have clean something at least twice due to recontamination.

no, it's possible.

probably starts with your lubing protocol, though. An awful lot of people over-lubricate the chain. Meaning that there's too much lube on the exterior surfaces, where all that lube does is collect dirt and make a mess of your drivetrain. I apply chain lube liberally to ensure it soaks into the pivots and underneath the rollers. But I also wipe off the excess. This has the bonus of serving as a mini-cleaning for my chain every couple of rides (doing this before or after every ride isn't really necessary unless it was wet enough to wash off your chain lube - and if it was, a better chain lube for those conditions is probably in order).

Doing this should make for less grime accumulation to begin with, and less need for major cleaning.

Still, even when you do a major cleaning, separating the parts as Schulze describes avoids the recontamination problem.

 

[Lone Rager]

If you want it really clean, you need to take them (chain, cassette, RD, rings) and put them in solvent. On the bike, I just remove the chunks with a stiff brush or scraping as needed. Wiping excess lube off just after lubing the chain will remove a lot of gunk too.

Think through what you're trying to achieve and what you're actually achieving when cleaning something on a bike. Cleaning attempts can easily contaminate lube and grease with water, detergent and grit.

 

[Blatant]

Unless you spend time in mud, this seems like an enormous amount of work for basically no gain. I wipe the chain, use a brush for the cassette if needed, lube the chain with Dumonde Tech Lite and soldier on.

 

[tweeder82o]

probably starts with your lubing protocol...
Doing this should make for less grime accumulation to begin with, and less need for major cleaning.

Right, I meant to ask in the original post. does a good/better dry lube make a difference in not accumulating muck? I'm almost done with my randomly purchased park tools CL-1 lube, so I'm ready to switch to less-mucky lube

If you want it really clean, you need to take them (chain, cassette, RD, rings) and put them in solvent. On the bike, I just remove the chunks with a stiff brush or scraping as needed. Wiping excess lube off just after lubing the chain will remove a lot of gunk too.

Unless you spend time in mud, this seems like an enormous amount of work for basically no gain. I wipe the chain, use a brush for the cassette if needed, lube the chain with Dumonde Tech Lite and soldier on.

Right, I was asking for about a casual wash; not the take everything apart deep clean.

 

[Harold]

Right, I meant to ask in the original post. does a good/better dry lube make a difference in not accumulating muck? I'm almost done with my randomly purchased park tools CL-1 lube, so I'm ready to switch to less-mucky lube

Right, I was asking for about a casual wash; not the take everything apart deep clean.

To some extent, it depends on when and where you ride. I use white lightning epic ride most of the year. It isn't super wet, but it sticks around enough to handle some splashing through deep stream crossings, which are plentiful where I ride. A totally dry lube will wash off fast where I ride.

But I often use a wet lube in winter when the epic ride just doesn't last as long. wet lube picks up dust like a magnet, though, so once it dries out, I am back to a drier lube.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

 

[tweeder82o]

To some extent, it depends on when and where you ride. I use white lightning epic ride most of the year. It isn't super wet, but it sticks around enough to handle some splashing through deep stream crossings, which are plentiful where I ride. A totally dry lube will wash off fast where I ride.

But I often use a wet lube in winter when the epic ride just doesn't last as long. wet lube picks up dust like a magnet, though, so once it dries out, I am back to a drier lube.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

I tend to not ride in the rain, or through puddles. and one of my favourite trails actually closes if it's wet and it's rained. so I definitely will pick up a dry lube to minimise gunkage

 

[J.B. Weld]

I leave the chain on the bike and clean it first, then the chainring(s) and cassette. I've done loads of them that way that were completely filthy and it is somewhat of a chore but if you clean/lube your drivetrain regularly (recommended) it's pretty easy.

 

[Forest Rider]

My take away from this thread so far as been that OP waited the entire muddy riding season to clean said drive train only once.

Not to mean the bike should have been washed, but drive train could have been brushed off after each mudder.

I rode 3 trails in one day (for various, unimportant reasons) when trails had inches of standing water. I took my chain brush tool with me so I could wipe it off between trails.
It was only 9 miles, 3 miles and 7 miles. But I still started each ride without caked dirt on the chain/gears.

My process is typically brush off the chain and gears with my chain brush. Wipe with a rag.
Sometimes I'll rinse with just water to flush out the left over small particles of crud.
Even other times I'll spray the chain/gears with soap and allow it to soak for a few minutes before brushing it shiny clean.

I didn't mention lube because it's part of my cleaning process.

We are all different for sure. General cleaning is a good idea for the important bits once in a while.

 

[randum]

bro.... i am nominating you for the nobel peace prize

 

[tweeder82o]

My take away from this thread so far as been that OP waited the entire muddy riding season to clean said drive train only once.

Not to mean the bike should have been washed, but drive train could have been brushed off after each mudder.

I rode 3 trails in one day (for various, unimportant reasons) when trails had inches of standing water. I took my chain brush tool with me so I could wipe it off between trails.
It was only 9 miles, 3 miles and 7 miles. But I still started each ride without caked dirt on the chain/gears.

My process is typically brush off the chain and gears with my chain brush. Wipe with a rag.
Sometimes I'll rinse with just water to flush out the left over small particles of crud.
Even other times I'll spray the chain/gears with soap and allow it to soak for a few minutes before brushing it shiny clean.

I didn't mention lube because it's part of my cleaning process.

We are all different for sure. General cleaning is a good idea for the important bits once in a while.

cleaning out during a ride is something i wanted to get into.

I actually spoke to Karcher and they confirmed that they are finally bringing the OC3 to the US this fall. For some reason the US has very little in terms of self-contained, battery operator, mobile washers.

the only thing out there is the worx, and you have to bring your own water container and it's got a long spray wand. which isn't ideal for tasks like spraying the bottom of your shoes after a hike.

and yes, as i mentioned in my original post, I was mailing it in in terms of cleaning by the end of the last riding season -- last trail ride 10/6/18, last neighborhood rid 12/16/18 -- and i definitely didnt wash after riding in december.

then this time i didn't clean the bike until after 1 neighborhood ride (19 miles) and 2 trail rides.