Been away a while but im back!

Hi guys and gals, long time no post ;-)

I have just realised that the ISP changed their mailserver and i couldnt log
on for AGES! It feels good to be back tho!

I havent stopped cycling to work since we last spoke.

Had a rather nasty experience last night - got my first puncture :-( luckily
it had happened at work so i could sort it with a quick trip to half*rds!
got some tyre lining too!

Was getting blown all the way home and even fell off once - that hurt a bit
but I made it home after all that.

My bike REALLY needs a service - its pig dirty now! Whats the best way to
clean/lube the chain, derailer etc. they tell me at half*rds that engine
degreaser is best? Is it easy to take em off and put em on again?

Lee

Lee wrote:

My bike REALLY needs a service - its pig dirty now! Whats the best way to
clean/lube the chain, derailer etc. they tell me at half*rds that engine
degreaser is best? Is it easy to take em off and put em on again?

Best way is do it often: I do the chain with a very good dose of GT-85
and wipe off the excess, feeling that using lots in the first instance
will help it penetrate chain links. If you leave it all on it'll
actually help crunge stick, so do wipe excess off.
Cogs get a good wipe of all the muck off: it usually just comes off, but
a little more GT usually helps stubborn spots off. If you've neglected
it then the engine degreaser may well be a good way to go.

Removing rear cogs will need Clever Tools: I don't have them, so I do it
in place, and having it basically clean to start with by doing it often
really does help. Removing the chain is easy is if you have a powerlink
in the chain (designed so you can manually break and recreate that
particular link. If you don't have one you'll need a chain tool: they
don't cost much and it's worth having one in the shed, and once you've
split the chain with one get a powerlink to put it back together so you
won't need to use the chain tool for routine maintenance next time.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Lee wrote:

My bike REALLY needs a service - its pig dirty now! Whats the best
way to clean/lube the chain, derailer etc. they tell me at half*rds
that engine degreaser is best? Is it easy to take em off and put em
on again?


Mmm, not sure my way is the best but its what I do and it has been working
for a long long time now. I wa told of this by a professional bike mechanic
abut 20 years ago.

When servicing the bike, I first remove the chain, and soak it in a shallow
dish of diesel. Just enough to cover all the chain. I leave it for 30 mins
or so while I'm working on the rest of the bike. Having the chain off makes
other tasks easier. I brush the chain with a tooth brush to get the dirt off
then wipe it with a cloth to get the excess diesel off. I then spray my
cloth with WD40 and pull the chain through to get the rest of the diesel
from the outside. Once refitted I relube the chain. Diesel is cheap and
readily available, disposing of the dirty diesel is more of a problem, I
usually keep a jar of used stuff and periodically take it to the council
waste disposal facility where they have place for waste oil, or I ask my
local garage to put it with their oil waste.

I usually remove the sprockets and brush them with my diesel soaked
toothbrush, wiping them clean with an oily rag. I have recently started
using powerlinks, prior to that I simply used a chain splitting tool. Not
difficult for me but I've been doing this for years. Derailleurs get the
gunge scraped of then wiped with an oily rag, similarly for chainrings,
brake calipers.

Frame gets washed with very dilute car shampoo, rinsed and wiped dry, don't
put much water on the frame though, more wipe with a damp soapy rag. Wheels
get wiped with a dry clean rag, handlebar taped scrubbed with cream kitchen
cleaner, lemon scented if its a yellow bike. ;-)






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Lee wrote:
My bike REALLY needs a service - its pig dirty now! Whats the best
way to clean/lube the chain, derailer etc. they tell me at half*rds
that engine degreaser is best? Is it easy to take em off and put em
on again?

Engine degreaser stinks... I'm mean it really stinks bad (and is probably
highly toxic?), not that it doesn't work. Chain is best cleaned by
removing and soaking in a jar of white spirit, or if you don't want to
remove it, there are cleaning devices that clamp on while it's on the bike
that use bio degreaser.

Derailleurs can be left on but take rear one apart (back cage plate and
jockey wheels) if it's filthy. Clean however you think is best. Oil or
grease jockey wheel bushings.

Water can be used to get worst off frame and rims, then clean braking
surfaces with meths.

Chain tool from Mike Dyason's, Powerlink from bike shop or Parker
International or Settle Cycles. Instructions on Park Tools and Sheldon
Brown websites.

~PB

"Lee" gnippernospampleasemuchly@nospampleasemuchlyverym uch.btinternet.com writes:

My bike REALLY needs a service - its pig dirty now! Whats the best way to
clean/lube the chain, derailer etc. they tell me at half*rds that engine
degreaser is best? Is it easy to take em off and put em on again?

Here's my major service recipe, learned forty years ago so there may
be people who suck their teeth and say oooooh, no, use proprietary
gunk X:

Get a gallon of parafin from the hardware shop. Tip half in a
bucket. Take parts off the bike, and in particular dismantle the rear
deraileur's jockey wheel cage. Take cones and axles out of wheels, if
of the cup-and-cone bearing variety. Disassemble bottom bracket,
unless of the sealed bearing variety (which most are these days). Drop
all small parts in bucket, except ball bearings and parts with sealed
bearings. Thouroughly clean frame and wheels. Swirl the bucket around
a bit and then pour off the parafin into a second bucket. Inspect
parts; use old toothbrush and parafin to clean any that are still
mucky.

Lay all small parts out on newspaper or kitchen paper to dry; allow to
dry thoroughly. Inspect. Replace any that look too worn. Reassemble
using a small amount of grease on bushings and bolt threads, and
plenty of grease in ball races. Ball bearings are cheap; I can think
of no good reason for not replacing all of them, but remember to put
the right number of balls in (there should be a gap left in each race
which looks as if you could squeeze another ball in, but don't because
the gap is necessary to allow the balls room to move). Relubricate
deraileur pantographs, cables, brake pivots with your preferred
lubricant - I tend to use GT85 but suspect it's not the best thing.

Use dirty parafin to light bonfire. Actually I'm told if you allow the
dirt to settle you can re-use it but I'm not organised enough to do
this. Takes about a couple of hours per bike, repeat annually or
whenever you think the bike really needs it.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; 'I think we should trust our president in every decision
;; that he makes and we should just support that'
;; Britney Spears of George W Bush, CNN 04:09:03

Simon Brooke wrote:


Get a gallon of parafin from the hardware shop.

ooooooh no - use diesel from the local
garage usually handier especially if you are on tour, you can often blag a
jar full from a trucker.

I feared the same reaction as you when I typed my response to the OP earlier



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The Reply & From email addresses are checked rarely.
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"MSeries" wrote in message ...
Simon Brooke wrote:


Get a gallon of parafin from the hardware shop.

ooooooh no - use diesel from the local
garage usually handier especially if you are on tour, you can often blag a
jar full from a trucker.

I feared the same reaction as you when I typed my response to the OP earlier

There is a brake dismantling spay for cleaning car brake cylinders,
spray that liberally over the chain/drive and just watch all the grit
come out, GT85 is fine if you put a tiny amount on every ride but
otherwise a very thin layer of Finish Line Cross country on just the
bead once a week (reminds me, must do that tonight, that should
guarantee a nice wet ride for Saturday!)

(MartinM) writes:

"MSeries" wrote in message ...
Simon Brooke wrote:


Get a gallon of parafin from the hardware shop.

ooooooh no - use diesel from the local
garage usually handier especially if you are on tour, you can often blag a
jar full from a trucker.

I feared the same reaction as you when I typed my response to the
OP earlier

There is a brake dismantling spay for cleaning car brake cylinders,
spray that liberally over the chain/drive and just watch all the grit
come out, GT85 is fine if you put a tiny amount on every ride but
otherwise a very thin layer of Finish Line Cross country on just the
bead once a week (reminds me, must do that tonight, that should
guarantee a nice wet ride for Saturday!)

Ooh, no, I wouldn't use GT85 on chains. Like you, it's definitely
Finish Line Cross Country for chains. But for the pantographs and
cables I prefer GT85.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
Windows 95:
You, you, you! You make a grown man cry...
M. Jagger/K. Richards

Mseries wrote:
Lee wrote:
My bike REALLY needs a service - its pig dirty now! Whats the best
way to clean/lube the chain, derailer etc. they tell me at half*rds
that engine degreaser is best? Is it easy to take em off and put em
on again?
Mmm, not sure my way is the best but its what I do and it has been
working for a long long time now. I wa told of this by a professional
bike mechanic abut 20 years ago.
When servicing the bike, I first remove the chain, and soak it in a
shallow dish of diesel. Just enough to cover all the chain. I leave it
for 30 mins or so while I'm working on the rest of the bike. Having the
chain off makes other tasks easier. I brush the chain with a tooth brush
to get the dirt off then wipe it with a cloth to get the excess diesel
off. I then spray my cloth with WD40 and pull the chain through to get
the rest of the diesel from the outside. Once refitted I relube the
chain. Diesel is cheap and readily available, disposing of the dirty
diesel is more of a problem, I usually keep a jar of used stuff and
periodically take it to the council waste disposal facility where they
have place for waste oil, or I ask my local garage to put it with their
oil waste.
I usually remove the sprockets and brush them with my diesel soaked
toothbrush, wiping them clean with an oily rag. I have recently started
using powerlinks, prior to that I simply used a chain splitting tool.
Not difficult for me but I've been doing this for years. Derailleurs get
the gunge scraped of then wiped with an oily rag, similarly for
chainrings, brake calipers.
Frame gets washed with very dilute car shampoo, rinsed and wiped dry,
don't put much water on the frame though, more wipe with a damp soapy
rag. Wheels get wiped with a dry clean rag, handlebar taped scrubbed
with cream kitchen cleaner, lemon scented if its a yellow bike. ;-)
--
The Reply & From email addresses are checked rarely.
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You do have a lot of rags!!!!



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