On the brink of of milestone...technical problem

[Roy Keane]

Hi everyone.

[sorry for the longish post to follow]

At the beginning of the spring, I decided it was time to get my sorry butt in shape. I made a goal to ride 300 miles before the end of the summer. I sure that 300 miles is laughable to some of you, but it was a mountain to me.

I started out going 5 miles...slowly worked my way up to 8, then 10. Before long, it became addictive. After a couple of months, I took my first 20 mile ride...I thought I'd never want to suffer that much again. Today, 20 is routine.

So, here I am...35 pounds lighter than when I changed my diet this winter and started lifting in the gym. I hit 270 miles today, setting myself up for my first ever 30 mile ride to hit 300.

To hit 270 today, though, I ended up riding in a pretty nasty rainstorm. Now my chain and the gears are all sandy (from riding through all the puddles). I'm not sure how to clean the chain - should I hose it off with water, then relubricate (will washing with water hurt the chain)? Should I remove the chain and use solvent?

Thanks so much for your help - I don't want to get derailed so close to my goal.

Roy

 

[daveornee]

Hi everyone.

[sorry for the longish post to follow]

At the beginning of the spring, I decided it was time to get my sorry butt in shape. I made a goal to ride 300 miles before the end of the summer. I sure that 300 miles is laughable to some of you, but it was a mountain to me.

I started out going 5 miles...slowly worked my way up to 8, then 10. Before long, it became addictive. After a couple of months, I took my first 20 mile ride...I thought I'd never want to suffer that much again. Today, 20 is routine.

So, here I am...35 pounds lighter than when I changed my diet this winter and started lifting in the gym. I hit 270 miles today, setting myself up for my first ever 30 mile ride to hit 300.

To hit 270 today, though, I ended up riding in a pretty nasty rainstorm. Now my chain and the gears are all sandy (from riding through all the puddles). I'm not sure how to clean the chain - should I hose it off with water, then relubricate (will washing with water hurt the chain)? Should I remove the chain and use solvent?

Thanks so much for your help - I don't want to get derailed so close to my goal.

Roy

Water doesn't hurt unless it washes away all the lubicant and the lubricant isn't replaced soon.
You can even add a little liquid dish soap to clean things up. Oil it and make sure the oil gets inside to the rollers. Wipe it with a clean dry cotton rag. Clean off the surfaces of the cogs and chain rings too.
Removing the chain and soaking and shaking it inside a plastic bottle works too.
http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8d.2.html
is a worthwhile article to get a better understanding of chain care.

 

[Roy Keane]

Water doesn't hurt unless it washes away all the lubicant and the lubricant isn't replaced soon.
You can even add a little liquid dish soap to clean things up. Oil it and make sure the oil gets inside to the rollers. Wipe it with a clean dry cotton rag. Clean off the surfaces of the cogs and chain rings too.
Removing the chain and soaking and shaking it inside a plastic bottle works too.
http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8d.2.html
is a worthwhile article to get a better understanding of chain care.

Thanks very much, David - I'm on it!

 

[John M]

Hi everyone.

[sorry for the longish post to follow]

At the beginning of the spring, I decided it was time to get my sorry butt in shape. I made a goal to ride 300 miles before the end of the summer. I sure that 300 miles is laughable to some of you, but it was a mountain to me.

I started out going 5 miles...slowly worked my way up to 8, then 10. Before long, it became addictive. After a couple of months, I took my first 20 mile ride...I thought I'd never want to suffer that much again. Today, 20 is routine.

So, here I am...35 pounds lighter than when I changed my diet this winter and started lifting in the gym. I hit 270 miles today, setting myself up for my first ever 30 mile ride to hit 300.

To hit 270 today, though, I ended up riding in a pretty nasty rainstorm. Now my chain and the gears are all sandy (from riding through all the puddles). I'm not sure how to clean the chain - should I hose it off with water, then relubricate (will washing with water hurt the chain)? Should I remove the chain and use solvent?

Thanks so much for your help - I don't want to get derailed so close to my goal.

Roy

The Park Tool website is a nice site to learn general repairs and is a particularly good site for beginners because of the good pictures. They also have an article on washing and cleaning bikes. Of course, their way is not the only way to do it, and you don't need their special cleaning tools.

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=85

DO take caution not to directly blast bearings with a hose.

And congratulations on your progress. Pretty soon 30 (or more) will also be routine and then 500, or even 1000 won't be that far away.

 

[Roy Keane]

Thanks John - one thing I haven't gotten clear info on is, when I use the citrus degreaser, do I need to dry that with a towel or should I let it air dry? Then, how soon after using the citrus should I/can I relube the chain?

 

[John M]

Thanks John - one thing I haven't gotten clear info on is, when I use the citrus degreaser, do I need to dry that with a towel or should I let it air dry? Then, how soon after using the citrus should I/can I relube the chain?

The citrus degreasers (like Finish Line) usually have a water activated soap in them that allows rinsing off with water. I rinse with water, get the excess water off with a towel or rag and let it completely air dry then relube.