[cityjackit]

Evening all,

I have been racing moto for over 30 years and just got back into MTB. After racing my CR, I would go through most all of the pivot points, barring suspension and lube everything including cables. Clutch, front brake, rear brake, and whatever else I could get to.
On the bicycle, XT M8000 brake components and SRAM Eagle drivetrain. Everything I can see is a pressed pin holding things together. I cannot disassemble anything to lube, brake levers, shifter levers, jockey wheels, hinge points of the derailers, nothing.
After a ride, I wash the bike down with a garden hose and a decent Meguiars car wash, clean the chain and cassette, teh stanchions of the fork and shock. Blow dry everything with air, and then relube the chain. But thats it. How can I get to everything else?
Lastly, I've heard god things about Maximas SC1. What do you guys use it for. I know Maxima is top notch on the moto side as I use their fork oil and brake fluid, but never this SC1.

Thanks for any help.

jack

 

[eb1888]

No wet riding.
I've never used water or soap on my bike since new.
An old bath towel gets stuff off the frame, wheels, etc. including the chain plates. Any mud spatter wipes easily when dry.
Stihl Bar and Chain oil is what I use on the chain rollers, one drop for each.
I've also not rinsed off the factory grease the chain ships with except for wiping the outer plates.
No brake cleaner or any other solvent.
The chain is a Shimano Sil-Tec coated XT version. Very long lasting.

As you can see we have polar opposite maintenance procedures. Mine comes from my conditions and experience. You'll hear other options that work. No one way is the only way.

 

[Nubster]

I use dish soap. Nothing special. Wash the bike, rinse, air dry, lube the chain. I generally use Finish Line or ProLink. Everything else gets red and tacky grease. Forks get whatever the manufacturer recommends. Pivots and hubs and bottom brackets...once a year-ish. If the chain gets really nasty...I'll take it off and throw it in some degreaser in the ultrasonic cleaner for a few cycles. Comes out looking new.

 

[One Pivot]

You kinda nailed a big point about maintenance. You often cant fully disassemble some components. That frequent washing is just pushing soap and water into places, and pushing out grease and lube. It often accelerates wear, and definitely increases how often you need to otherwise maintain bearings and suspension. Spray lubes and protectants often contaminate brake pads, if you insist on using them, spray a rag first and apply it that way.

I very frequently service my suspension, front and rear. I lube my chain before and after every ride, and do a full tear down annually... but no cleaning, it does more harm than good in the summer. If its dry out, I would stick to a less intrusive cleaning regiment.

 

[upstateSC-rider]

Wiseco piston and rings twice per season, Bel-ray on the chain. You're welcome.

 

[Forest Rider]

I hit the derailleur pivots with silicone spray once on a while. Or a drop of tri-flow is good also.

I clean and lube the chain as required. Once in a while I do an extra thorough job on the chain, with degreaser then start over with chain lube procedure. After degreasing the chain I'll add a coat of chain lube, then an additional coat. Generally a drop of Squirt chain lube per roller.

A light duty soap is all that is necessary for general cleaning of the bike. I don't recommend dish soap, and especially do not recommend Dawn dish soap.

If you do not have internally routed cables, pulling hte housing back, wiping clean with a solvent and applying tri-flow inside the housing is good to reduce friction. I like to use chain lube on the cable guide on the bottom bracket (if exposed cable).
I would typically use a film of Slick Honey on the cable, but I was doing routine maintenance to clean and reapply at least once a year.

Some jockey wheels are just bushings -add a drop or 2 of tri-flow to the bushing plates and no need to remove wheel from cage. Otherwise, jockey wheels will be sealed bearings.

Probably not a bad idea to pull the headseat apart to wipe away any dirt and regrease the mating surfaces of bearing/race interface.

I don't do more than a mist of spray on the controls at the bars. I don't want water getting inside the shifter housing.

I don't think there is anything you can do for maintenance on brake levers (if there is I just don't know about it) and I'm not a long time bike maintenance person to make the call if it is possible.

I use an old bath towel (hand towel) to dry the bike. Mostly dabbing and/or a slight wipe. I'll ride the bike down the street and apply brakes to dry them off (heat) and to fling water from the chain.

Most importantly, don't forget to oil your brake pads (no-don't do that).

 

[J_Westy]

After a ride, I wash the bike down with a garden hose and a decent Meguiars car wash, clean the chain and cassette, teh stanchions of the fork and shock. Blow dry everything with air, and then relube the chain. But thats it. How can I get to everything else?

As mentioned, it for sure depends on your region, but I personally wash about once a month depending on the season.
- garden hose on low pressure and wide angle (you don't want to blast water into bearings etc.)
- bucket wash with a mild soap
- Park Tool chain cleaner tool with 50/50 Muc-Off chain cleaner and water, then a cleaning brush with the same mixture for the chainrings etc.
- Towel dry (Blow drying also can blast water where it doesn't belong)
- Air dry for 1/2 hour our so and
- Relube the chain with Finish Line "Dry" Teflon Aerosol, wiping off the excess with paper towel.
- Squirt a bit in the derailleur pivots and wipe off excess
- Inspect for cracks/damage while everything is clean.

Otherwise I just relube the chain every ~3 rides with the same procedure. Sometimes lubing twice to wipe more grime from the chain (i.e. more-or-less using the lube as a cleaner)