Post-immersion routine

[PrintError]

Here’s my plan for tomorrow morning:

Put both bikes on the stand (one at a time of course, heh)
Pull off wheels
Soak frame/components in SimpleGreen
Rinse
Soak
Wipe down EVERYTHING
Rinse
DRY with a towel then compressed air in all the nooks and crannies.
Wheels on
Run the chain cleaner until it’s super clean
Bust out the chain lube and TriFlow and go to town.

Been doing this for years after rain/sleet/snow/mud/crap/grime of commuting full time, and I’ve never had a problem.

[OneEighth]

Thorough wipe down with WD40 and rubbing alcohol (brakes, front rim, etc). Clean each link of the chain with a rag and then wax. Given the soaking, I may very well remove, clean, and repack the bottom bracket, too.

[Dirt]

@OneEighth 7942 wrote:

Thorough wipe down with WD40 and rubbing alcohol (brakes, front rim, etc). Clean each link of the chain with a rag and then wax. Given the soaking, I may very well remove, clean, and repack the bottom bracket, too.

OE’s bikes really show the amount of care he puts into maintaining them. His bikes are absolutely gorgeous every time I see them. I do that kind of maintenance on my fancy-pants bikes.

My daily commuter gets the chain lubed when it squeaks loud enough that I can hear it over my singing. I change the brake pads when the brakes stop stopping so well. If I submerge the bike, I pop the seatpost out and flip it upside-down to dump the water out of it. My bike looks like that is the limit of my care too. After the ride home last night, my bike looks GREAT! It’ll be squeaky tomorrow though. I may avoid the Christmas rush and lube the chain tonight.

OE and I both own Surly Steamrollers. His looks like a million bucks. Mine looks like it survived the apocalypse… barely. You’d never know they were the same brand of bicycle.

Bikes with shifters and derailleurs require much more maintenance to keep them working well. My beater fixie tends to get ridden hard and put up wet.

[PrintError]

There’s a beautiful fully-equipped Surly with panniers that’s been parked at my office (helmet and all) for about 3 months now. I’d like to know where the owner is.

If I can’t find him, want it?

[Dirt]

Hahaha. I need another bicycle like I need another concussive head injury. I’ve already got 3 bike builds in process and one that I’m ready to pull the trigger on. Someone will reclaim it.

[OneEighth]

Well I screwed up.
I skipped my post-winter-riding maintenance and didn’t strip my crap-weather bike down the way I should have back in March.
Finally did it today after riding through bottom bracket deep water a few times during the last week.
The bottom bracket bearings needed cleaning and repacking as did the headset bearings. Desperately.
Plenty of rust inside the steel frame.
But the annoying thing is that my seat post is now fused in place. Even some not-so-gentle rubber mallet work didn’t budge it.
Had I followed Dirt’s simple trick of removing the post after wet weather to drain the frame properly, I would have been better off. Heck, if I had just pulled it all apart as intended in March, I would have been better off.
Lucky for me, the seat is at the correct height.
Happy cleaning.

P.S. I’m the type who greases everything. The seat post and seat tube were both wiped down with marine grease before assembly and that still wasn’t enough to protect it.

[Dirt]

There are tricks to getting the post out. Start with penetrating oil. Soak it pretty well. Alternating heat and cold can help break it loose. I’ve used ammonia with success too.

[OneEighth]

Any particular brand of penetrating oil that you liked best?
The last time I dealt with frozen components was on the motorcycle and I just relied on WD40 and an impact driver for the quick and dirty fix.

[Dirt]

@OneEighth 8008 wrote:

Any particular brand of penetrating oil that you liked best?
The last time I dealt with frozen components was on the motorcycle and I just relied on WD40 and an impact driver for the quick and dirty fix.

Years ago I purchased the huge size of Liquid Wrench. I am about 1/3 of the way through the bottle. For bolts I use PB Blaster. It kinda freezes and sprays oil at the same time. I haven’t tried that on seatposts before. It might work.

[PrintError]

@Dirt 8010 wrote:

Years ago I purchased the huge size of Liquid Wrench. I am about 1/3 of the way through the bottle. For bolts I use PB Blaster. It kinda freezes and sprays oil at the same time. I haven’t tried that on seatposts before. It might work.

Confirmed, PB Blaster works for me.

[Dirt]

@PrintError 8017 wrote:

Confirmed, PB Blaster works for me.

Might help to warm the seat post and seat tube with a heat gun a bit before PB Blasting. The big thing that PB Blaster does that Liquid Wrench doesn’t do is freezing.

[OneEighth]

Much appreciated. Will give it a shot.

As a total aside, the last time I used my heat gun was to warm the oil in the pan of the motorcycle on really atrociously cold days. Hopping on the bicycle is so much easier (and more pleasant) in those conditions.

[Author]

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