Spring Cleaning

[Drew Saunders]

I guess the photo browser does them alphabetically, OK. I cleaned the Riv first, then the Ibis. The goal was to get the new RH Humptulips Ridge tires on the Ibis (which, when I bought it in 1999, was a Mountain Bike, but apparently has become a "Gravel Grinder" in the intervening decades...)

Both got clean chains and cleaner drivetrains and a good wipe down. I kinda agree with Alice B. Toeclips that a Mountain Bike shouldn't be squeaky clean, but the Riv certainly looks nice after a good cleaning.

The "0.5x" setting on the iPhone sure does distort, but my back "yard" isn't all that roomy, so we get weird super wide distortion.

I'll ride my "Gravel" bike next weekend, but at least around the driveway the new tires felt good.

I bought the bells on the Ibis at a Pow Wow many years ago. They're used, in pairs, for the Jingle Dance, but do a nice job of letting other trail users know that I'm approaching, without having to yell or ring the other bell. People seem to like the sound.

[Marty Gierke, Stewartstown PA]

Time well spent Drew.! Love me a red Riv! What tires are you running on the Riv? I need a pair that looks like that to complete a Miyata 912 project. 

Marty

[Drew Saunders]

Those are the Rene Herse 700x28 “Chinook Pass.” I had previously run Riv 700x29 Roly-Poly. I think I could fit the RH 700x32, which I’ll try when these wear out. The RH tires seem to run a bit smaller than others of the same size (my Bontrager 26x2.3 were a lot wider than the RH “2.3”). These 28mm tires seem about 2mm narrower than the RP 29mm tires.

Drew

[Patrick Moore]

What is all' y'all's bike cleaning regimen? How often, after what, and how?

Me: not very often, but yes on the rare occasions that they get very dirty, as from the rare messy ride when rain or snow makes mud (high desert here, so plenty of dust but little rain or snow or mud, tho' cold enough for snow). I also clean when the dust builds up from off road riding: the local dirt is river silt that is usually dry and that forms sand bogs and gets blow about by the wind. "Builds up" means "pretty bad" and, like mud, calls for putting the stand outside near a faucet, putting bike in stand, and lightly spraying dust or mud off, then washing everything from tubes and fenders to cogs and chain and tires with soft brush and warmish water with dish detergent; rinse, bounce, let air dry (fast, here), then lube chain (used to be Molten Speed Wax in crockpot, now wipe chain thoroughly, drip on ProLink or somesuch, wipe quickly, let dry, wipe more -- if you wipe the excess while wet and come back in a couple of hours to wipe again, there's very little black on the rag.

After the chain, lube pivots -- brake calipers, derailleurs and wipe; add few drops of oil to SA hub/s; lube trigger shifter; wipe. 

For the road bikes, I will occasionally simply wipe off the dust, wipe and lube chain as above, and lube pivots and SA hub -- no water.

But none of my bikes are as pristine as many of those pictured.

I'd guess I do the water wash on the prized off road bike (Matthews 1:1 road bike for dirt) 4 to 6 times per year, the Monocog, beater, I usually just wipe and lube the chain and, besides, it's a ss with cable discs so little to worry about; the road bikes get washed perhaps 2X per year and wiped about 4X that often.