Cleaning (Spin off from: Everybody should have one)

"ctg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So I'm still a relative newbie to the bike thing, it's been about 3-4 years since I started riding
regularly. When I started I got real compulsive with the cleaning, striping everything down,
degreasing, regreasing, etc... Long story short, don't really clean much of anything anymore, just
hose off and wipe down the moving parts, check for cracks occasionally but I really don't clean it
much anymore. I haven't noticed a huge change in the way it performs. The only problem I had with
dirt is clay-mud ripping off a derailer mid ride but that happened in the middle of a ride.

So what's the consesus, is cleaning really all that necessary? Besides making sure the moving
parts are hosed off occasionally and everything is lubed what harm is a little dirt going to do?
Like I said, I stil consider myself pretty new to the sport but some of the cleaning described
here sounds a bit OC.

Chris

I think I've only been riding 3 years and went thru the same thing you did; stripping and cleaning
everything. Now I pretty much just leave it alone as long as everything is running fine, which it
usually is. I'll squirt some Clean Streak on the drivetrain to relube it, but I hose down and wash
the entire bike maybe once every 6-8 weeks, if that.

But, then again, I've also replaced almost every component on bike to heavy duty maintenance
free stuff.
--
Slacker

ctg said:

So I'm still a relative newbie to the bike thing, it's been about 3-4 years since I started riding
regularly. When I started I got real compulsive with the cleaning, striping everything down,
degreasing, regreasing, etc... Long story short, don't really clean much of anything anymore, just
hose off and wipe down the moving parts, check for cracks occasionally but I really don't clean it
much anymore. I haven't noticed a huge change in the way it performs. The only problem I had with
dirt is clay-mud ripping off a derailer mid ride but that happened in the middle of a ride.

So what's the consesus, is cleaning really all that necessary? Besides making sure the moving
parts are hosed off occasionally and everything is lubed what harm is a little dirt going to do?
Like I said, I stil consider myself pretty new to the sport but some of the cleaning described
here sounds a bit OC.

Chris

I went throught the same process and got over it after about 3 years. Every winter I'll give it a
good going over but thats about it. The only reason i even hose it down is because I store it
inside. I would rather just spend money on more durable parts, it seems they'll take a lot more
abuse and demand less TLC.

"ctg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So I'm still a relative newbie to the bike thing, it's been about 3-4

years

Quoted message said:

since I started riding regularly. When I started I got real compulsive

with

Quoted message said:

the cleaning, striping everything down, degreasing, regreasing, etc...

Long

Quoted message said:

story short, don't really clean much of anything anymore, just hose off

and

Quoted message said:

wipe down the moving parts, check for cracks occasionally but I really

don't

Quoted message said:

clean it much anymore. I haven't noticed a huge change in the way it performs. The only
problem I had with dirt is clay-mud ripping off a derailer mid ride but that happened in the
middle of a ride.

So what's the consesus, is cleaning really all that necessary? Besides making sure the moving
parts are hosed off occasionally and everything is lubed what harm is a little dirt going to do?
Like I said, I stil consider myself pretty new to the sport but some of the cleaning described
here sounds a bit OC.

Chris

Hehehe..after reading yours and the other posts I have to say the same for
me. The parts last just about as long with neglect as with OC cleaning. I've also come to believe
water and degreasers can get in where you don't want them and do more damage than if you just
left the dirt to fall off on it's own.

Mike