NativeTexan said:
Much has changed in cycling, particularly with parts, etc. since I was involved years ago. I'd appreciate any sugestions about how to proceed.
What is good for washing, removing rust, etc? What kinds of lubes and greases should I get for this?
I just bought a +15 year old 12 speed steel bike. I actually bought it for the frame alone, since I just wanted a fixie/singlespeed beater bike. After some cleaning and lubing I did a test ride and was shocked how nice it was to ride, how easy it was to use downtube shifters again after a 15 year hiatus.
Unless the actual parts are corroded or rusted through, there is a good chance that they will still work. Some oil or grease and some cleaning can work wonders.
You should be carefull about upgrading wheels or gears etc, to never versions without good reason, since such upgrades tends to escalate to total rebuilds.
I recommend that you try to make the bike work first as best as it can, changing as little as possible. Take the bike on some small slow rides, just to see if you still like it.
Take everything you can of the bike. Clean it it. Inspect it. Grease or oil it. Put it back on.
Here is my suggestions.
Get Lennard Zinns "Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance".
Go through your drawers and find some t-shirts and shirts you don't use anymore, and turn them into rags.
Buy:
A tube of grease (I recommend Finish Lines grease) and a grease gun. Cheap synthetic lithium grease in a tub is also adequate, but a grease gun is so much nicer to use.
Some light penetrating teflon oil in a small and handy drip bottle. Again I use Finish Line, but any cycle specific light teflon oil should do.
Some degreaser. I use Finish Lines "Ecotech" which I like a lot, since it isn't as toxic, highly explosive, easy flammable, unfriendly to the environment as some of the cheaper alternatives as gasoline (don't use that!). Degreasers such as "Ecotech" are extremely good a removing oil and dirt. The Citrus based degreasers tend to be even more effective, but can also be more aggressive against rubber etc.
Some latex or dishing gloves.
I use some cheap autoshampoo (contains wax) and a soft brush when cleaning my bike, but plain water, perhaps some ordinary soap or hair shampoo, kitchen sponge and rags will be all you need for your initial clean up. A little degreaser on a rag, also work wonders.
Wear gloves and old clothes or an apron when cleaning. If you have lots old chain oil on your hands and arms, a good trick is to pour olive oil and soap (dishing detergent or hand soap) together in your hand when washing them.
Hex keys and socket wrenches will get you a long way as tools.
Start with the wheels. Take them off, clean and inspect them for cracks, dents, and kinked spokes. On old rims one can see where the rims are put together, but thats no problem.
Check if the hubs are ok by turning the wheel while holding the axel. If the wheel has problems turning around, or there is a strong crunchy feeling when it turns, you better repack the hubs. It is a reasonable easy job to yourself (see Zinn).
Lube each spoke and rim eylet.
Grap two parallel spokes and squeeze them together with one hand. Work through all the spokes on wheelside at a time, and see if you find any loose spokes. Mark each loose or kinked spoke you find with some tape. Minor wheel truing and spoke tensioning is easy, see Zinn on how to do it.
You don't need to take the cassette off to clean it; if it is dirty and oily, take a long thin rag, apply some degreaser on it, and start flossing between the cogs, one at a time. If it is dry and rusty, pour some oil on it, or some wd-40, and and use a rag to floss the rust of.
Take the tires and tubes off, and inspect the rim tape (velox?).
Clean the braking rim with alcohol and a clean rag. (soap, oil or degreaser on the rim, reduces its braking ability)
The rear derailleur probably only needs a cleaning and lube. Take it of and clean it and put some teflon lube in the pulley wheels, and a some oil between moving parts. Move its moving parts, so the oil gets worked in, and remove any surplus oil with a dry rag.
Try to clean its thread, and the thread where it is mounted, and apply some grease on the thread before remounting it.
Brakes should get a similar treatment. Also inspect the brake pads for wear. If they need changing I recommend Kool Stop pads.
Change the cables, but try to see if the cable housing still work before changing it;
Put some wd-40 or teflon oil in the cablehousing. Use your mouth to try to blow it through. Put some oil on the new cable and use it to floss the cable housing. Dry the cable with a rag afterwards, before installing it.
Take the seatpost out (if stuck, see Sheldon Browns site on how to remove it). Apply a liberal amount of grease on it before reinstalling.
Same with the stem.
Generally clean all threads and apply grease on them (like bolts and nuts) before reinstalling.
The downtube shifters probably still work. Try to put some teflon lube on them and work them back and forth. That may be all they need.
Same with the front derailleur. (I wouldn't take it off unless I really had to).
While chains are cheap, see if the chain that is on cannot be salvaged. The reason for this is, that if you change the chain, you may also need to change the cassette, which may require a special tools or a trip to the LBS, which is silly to do if you later decide to upgrade the wheel and thereby the entire drivetrain.
Clean the chain with degreaser and rags. Apply a generous amount of oil on it, and remove as much as you can with rags afterwards. Inspect the chain for stiff links by moving it carefully up and down in sections.
If you need a new chain, I can recommend SRAM chains (or other chains with masterlinks), since they work well, and are easy to take of and put on.
Regarding the frame. Clean it it using water and rags. Perhaps use some oil on a sponge to grind some of the surface rust off. Oil can stop rust and corrosion for a while. WD-40 is also usable to clean the frame for rust, since it contains a little oil and a little wax.
Inspect the frame and fork carefully from all angles, notice rust, and paint bubbles and if there are any cracks, especially near any joints. Gently rock the rear triangle to see if it has become loose.
The above suggestions are about making the bike run again as cheaply as possible, not restoring it to pristine condition. If you can make it work by cleaning and lubing, and perhaps just changing cables, tires and chain, then test ride it for while and see if the frame still suits you and if you can live with the existing components.
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Regards
