How to Clean and Care For Your Bicycle

How to Clean and Care For Your Bicycle

By Theo CorbettIf you have recently bought a bicycle, whether a road or mountain bike, you will have no doubt already discovered how much fun it is. However, if you want to maintain those levels of enjoyment for many years to come you have to carefully maintain your bike. The last thing you want to happen is for something to break (especially the chain!) when you are out and about far away from home. Here is a brief guide on how to clean, and therefore maintain, your bike. This routine should be carried out at least once every six weeks if you use your bike regularly.

1) No power washing! Don’t even think of getting a jet wash or power wash out to clean your bike. Although it is both fun and easy, if it is too powerful it could damage the bike and it doesn’t provide the kind of due care and attention needed. If you want to spray the mud and grime off then use a basic hose with normal water pressure. After that, you need a bucket of warm water and some bicycle cleaner.

2) Use the warm water and bicycle cleaner and with a medium to soft brush gently clean over the whole bike except for the chain and sprockets. Take care around the handlebars, brakes and cables as we don’t want to get these too wet.

3) For the chain and sprockets you will need an old toothbrush and some specific bicycle degreaser. Spray the degreaser over the chain and sprockets and then work over them with the toothbrush until all the grime and grease has been removed. By doing this you remove any stubborn dirt and grime that would cause the chain to degrade. When it is all clean check the condition of the chain, you are looking for rust and any wear and tear.

4) Now dry off the whole bike using a chamois leather cloth. Ensure you get right into all the nooks and joins so that water doesn’t settle anywhere. Then we need to add new grease / oil to the chain. Ensure you cover the whole chain. You should also add some grease to the braking pivots. Ensure the brake pads are dry and that the brakes work effectively. Finally you may, depending on the conditions in which you normally take your bike out in, want to add some special water dispersal spray to the cables on the bike. This will prevent corrosion in the long term is you regularly take your bike out in the wet.
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