Came home last night dripping wet, caked in mud from head to foot, and tired.

[MotownBikeBoy]

My shoes, legs, and beloved Zoic shorts were really sandy/gritty and brown. 17 miles at about 13.5 - 14 mph average. The boy can ride, in my own humble opinion, what can I say? Moderate rain, upper 50s, big puddles everywhere. Gathering darkness, early due to the heavy overcast. Miles of smooth, 9 foot wide safety paths with virtually no one on them except me. The Gin Blossoms on the stereo. Camelbak full of ice water. Cycling does NOT get any better than that! Perfect night! I wish it would rain for every ride!

 

[maydog]

Its hard to get motivated to ride in foul weather, but once you are out there it sure can be enjoyable.

Be sure to give your steed a proper rinse and chain lube.

 

[MotownBikeBoy]

Boy, ain't that the truth. I'm going to haul him into the tub tonight and get the mud off. Too cold outside here today. Right now, it's snowing, frack! Can anyone reccomend a good lube (no smart asses saying KY jelly, either, lol!) ???

 

[alienator]

Boy, ain't that the truth. I'm going to haul him into the tub tonight and get the mud off. Too cold outside here today. Right now, it's snowing, frack! Can anyone reccomend a good lube (no smart asses saying KY jelly, either, lol!) ???

Chain-L

You do have to clean your chain prior to every application of Chain-L, but you can also get upwards of 500 miles out of each lube job.

 

[danfoz]

Originally Posted by MotownBikeBoy .

I'm going to haul him into the tub tonight and get the mud off.

I thought I was the only one that did this. Without a backyard and a place to hose down the old gal, i take her right into the shower with me and give her a rinse before the crud dries solid. Afterward give her a wipe down and lube the chain. It probably wouldn't be an option if I was married /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Menards just had a sale on pressure washers. I picked up one to add a second unit for the barn. If they're good enough for the pro's...good enough for Campagnolo!

Besides, spraying the bike off outside the house keeps my payments to my divorce attorney down.

Lube? I only use the best.



Try the 85-140 weight.

 

[Volnix]

Originally Posted by alienator .


Chain-L




You do have to clean your chain prior to every application of Chain-L, but you can also get upwards of 500 miles out of each lube job.

Classy... /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif

 

[Volnix]

Originally Posted by MotownBikeBoy .

Boy, ain't that the truth. I'm going to haul him into the tub tonight and get the mud off. Too cold outside here today. Right now, it's snowing, frack!

Can anyone reccomend a good lube (no smart asses saying KY jelly, either, lol!) ???

I still remember once, I made a 60km ride. Whilst on 30km away from home the clouds started gathering for what the weather website said would be a 2 hour 0.1mm rain. Apparently it ended up being a damn shower on all the way back. Not sprinkle or mist, a shower of rain.

On the way back, as I was looking like this:




a lady stoppes over with her pick up and says to me: "Do you need a ride"? /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif So funny it was... But for some reason I feel that the bike goes faster in the rain. Less rolling resistance or something, I dont know...

As far as washing the bike, I would avoid the shower option, which I have done. A cloth and a bucket is probably best because you wash and wipe everything immidiately so there is no water left in screw threads etc. I noticed some rust in the axle of my internal geared hub axle the other day and that is not a quick release scewer that I can just throw away... /img/vbsmilies/smilies/mad.gif Maybe you would like to avoid soap too unless you dont care about the paint job. Its a recommendation from manufacturers to just use water. You might also want to avoid throwing water into the bottom bracket.

Currently I live in a very dusty environment. I was using a wet lube in the winter and the chain would get black after every ride. But it would not get sticky. Now that the weather is better I used a teflon lube which comes in a spray. After about 200km the chain and the gears still look dust and muck-less. But I once have accidentally sprayed some of the stuff on the rim of the wheel and the brake was making alot of noise for a while...