What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race?

Apr 12, 17 12:35

Post #1 of 21 (2442 views)

Curious to what level you take it in terms of bike cleaning for your "A" race of the season.

Just wipe & chainlube?

Or new cables and chain degrease?

Or disassembly of stem, cranks off, all the way down to removing the BB?

And if you're one of the 'take it all apart then put it back on', feel free to share how you learned all the stuff (friends, internet, etc.)

I personally used to just be a wipe the bike - lube the chain kind of guy, but from now I'll be an extensive bike-breakdown guy all the way from the stem to the BB removal for regreasing and cleaning after neglecting my poor 2008 P2C for too long (I'm rejuvenating it - new aerobars on the way as well!)

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Apr 12, 17 12:48

Post #2 of 21 (2417 views)

Nothing. Well I will lube and wipe the chain and check everything especially brakes and shifting, but that's it.

I ride the race bike only in the spring and summer, and only for the long weekend rides. Clean it after each ride, rather than wait until crap accumulates that requires a complete teardown.

I mostly train on an older bike (same bike fit and same saddle of course!!!) and that one is wiped, lubed, greased, stripped, cassette "flossed", parts replaced, regularly. They are all standard bike parts. The TT superbike OTOH is a pain in the ass to work on so I mostly just keep it pristine.

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Apr 12, 17 12:48

Post #3 of 21 (2416 views)

I use the same quarq on my tri bike as my road bike, so I'm definitely cleaning and regreasing the BB & crankset prior to a race as I'll have the crankset off anyway.

All of my chains are waxed, so drivetrain is always clean. I have a race day chain that stays in a ziplock until race day that I'll put on. When the race day chain needs rewaxing, that's when I'll dump the old wax in my crock pot and put new in.

I learned everything I know from the internet.

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Apr 12, 17 12:55

Post #4 of 21 (2398 views)

Nothing special. Always maintain a bike as if tomorrow is an A Race. That way, it is always perfect, and any issues will have revealed themselves and have been resolved long before the actual race. Major maintenance often introduces more problems than it resolves in the near-term. I would never do major maintenance within a month of a race.

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Apr 12, 17 12:57

Post #5 of 21 (2379 views)

Switch to fresh MSW race day chain
rear disc is Al+Carbon so I have to switch the rear pads,
switch to latex tubes
switch 25mm conti 4ks2 to 23mm conti tt
charge di2
switch to fresh batteries in powertap pedals
switch from versa front hydration to torhans aero 30 (might not need to do this anymore if the new splash proof bottle pans out)
tighten down all cockpit bolts
wipe down the bike

that's my routine for an A race

Last edited by: jazzymusicman: Apr 12, 17 12:59

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Apr 12, 17 16:48

Post #6 of 21 (2248 views)

couple weeks prior: new chain.

if anything is creaking on me or acting funny, i call Velofix and they get me sorted

race week: latex tubes, race tires, new quarq battery, general check-over of everything

Last edited by: randomtriguy: Apr 12, 17 16:48

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Apr 12, 17 18:04

Post #7 of 21 (2171 views)

Clean/lube chain with Rock n' Roll Gold
Blow grease through my Speedplays
Charge Di2
Change battery on my power meter
Check the torque on all of my bike's bolts
Swap tires (currently the swap is from GP4000 SII to GP TT)

This is basically a "semi-annual" service for my TT bike which only gets ridden ~1-2x per week throughout the year.

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [exxxviii] [ In reply to ]

Apr 12, 17 22:05

Post #8 of 21 (2068 views)

exxxviii wrote:

Nothing special. Always maintain a bike as if tomorrow is an A Race. That way, it is always perfect, and any issues will have revealed themselves and have been resolved long before the actual race.

^ This.

The only race day specific things I do is remove the downtube bottle cage, and install my race day only rear wheel with a disc cover...

"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10, and I don't know why!"

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [exxxviii] [ In reply to ]

Apr 13, 17 0:21

Post #9 of 21 (1998 views)

Pretty much this. Bikes ridden on road should need a thorough inspection at max every 6 months. I prefer to prepare bikes for a season and if necessary inspect 2-3 weeks out from the A race. That would include cleaning, lubrication. and the minimum mechanical work possible to minimise the risk of failures. It's also time sufficient to work out any problems.

"Nothing new on race day".

Developing aero, fit and other fun stuff at Red is Faster

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Apr 13, 17 2:46

Post #10 of 21 (1914 views)

Definitely leave the shift cables if you have them, they can take a while to bed-in. Power meter battery is a great call (normally replace it about a month out). Now I've moved to wax chain-lube (Squirt), the cleaning aspect is very minimal, certainly no need to 'floss' the cassette any more :) I would also check all the bolts, particularly on the bars, as they can corrode from all that sweat.

29 years and counting

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [Jorgan] [ In reply to ]

Apr 13, 17 2:56

Post #11 of 21 (1910 views)

Jorgan wrote:

Definitely leave the shift cables if you have them, they can take a while to bed-in. Power meter battery is a great call (normally replace it about a month out). Now I've moved to wax chain-lube (Squirt), the cleaning aspect is very minimal, certainly no need to 'floss' the cassette any more :) I would also check all the bolts, particularly on the bars, as they can corrode from all that sweat.

Where do you buy your replacement bolts? I've been having a hard time findings reasonably priced correctly-shaped bolts locally. The hardware stores only carry normal shaped M5 bolts, not the type you'd find on a bike seatpost or stem.

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Apr 13, 17 3:17

Post #12 of 21 (1894 views)

Decent service from the LBS about 6-8 weeks before the season starts. That way if anything isn't quite right, there's plenty of time to remediate.

Then a decent clean just before I break the bike down for travel. And I've only just replaced the power meter batteries. But I'll take some spares as lithium AAA's are not that common.

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Apr 13, 17 3:53

Post #13 of 21 (1870 views)

Anyone with a treated chain doing anything different? Full stip of entire drive train before attaching, a ceramic speed chain for example?

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [exxxviii] [ In reply to ]

Apr 13, 17 4:03

Post #14 of 21 (1860 views)

exxxviii wrote:

Nothing special. Always maintain a bike as if tomorrow is an A Race. That way, it is always perfect, and any issues will have revealed themselves and have been resolved long before the actual race. Major maintenance often introduces more problems than it resolves in the near-term. I would never do major maintenance within a month of a race.

Exactly this—and for the same reasons—for my bikes, and my wife's bikes.

no sponsors | no races | nothing to see here

Last edited by: philly1x: Apr 13, 17 4:04

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Apr 13, 17 4:23

Post #15 of 21 (1841 views)

change brake pads (because i train on aluminum brake track and race on cc's)
adjust brakes
clean drive train entirely
put on new chain (only if big race)
check crank/bb for any noise
check front end bolts for tightness (make sure everything is snug and nothing is loose)
wash bike

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [trihard1980] [ In reply to ]

Apr 13, 17 4:52

Post #16 of 21 (1810 views)

Last season I used an ICED chain and for the times I didn't keep it on for training I would take cassette off and give it a good clean to make sure it didn't pick up anything from the chain. But I keep my drivetrain pretty clean so it isn't that bad as long as you maintain it and don't let it get too dirty. But I also like to give the cassette a good soak for the nice clean and shiny look too!

Twitter - Instagram

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [jrielley] [ In reply to ]

Apr 13, 17 5:06

Post #17 of 21 (1787 views)

Yeah, I keep my drive train in reasonable condition. But I have a new cassette which is permanantly attached to my disc, so one less thing to worry about. So short of stripping it all back with cleaning fluids, maybe a bit of oil on the pulley wheels, no additional lubing is required anywhere?

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Apr 13, 17 5:56

Post #18 of 21 (1723 views)

Maybe a month out I take it to LBS for basic service. Just making sure brakes, shifting are all working fine. A week or two before I might give it a decent washing and clean the chain. After the LBS service, I definitely want to get out for a ride or two to make sure things are working okay. I don't train on my race wheels so I also throw those on and make sure no issues with them.

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Apr 13, 17 6:47

Post #19 of 21 (1680 views)

Ebay UK has numerous trade sellers doing bolts of all kinds/specs; I got a pack of 10 black M4 countersunk bolts for about £2.50 for example; used them on my arm rests. The Zipp replacement bolt kits are £9.95 per side! (4 bolts). Have a search on ebay.com and you should find something suitable at a sensible price.

29 years and counting

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [trihard1980] [ In reply to ]

Apr 13, 17 7:05

Post #20 of 21 (1649 views)

That makes things even easier! I will give a quick wipe down of the pulleys and maybe chainrings if they are a bit dirty.

Twitter - Instagram

Re: What is your bike cleaning/prep for your "A" race? [GreenPlease] [ In reply to ]

Apr 13, 17 11:03

Post #21 of 21 (1506 views)

GreenPlease wrote:

Clean/lube chain with Rock n' Roll Gold
Blow grease through my Speedplays
Charge Di2
Change battery on my power meter
Check the torque on all of my bike's bolts
Swap tires (currently the swap is from GP4000 SII to GP TT)

This (well, I don't check all of the bolts). Thoroughly clean the drive train, plus I wash the bike so it looks pretty in transition. I also triple check the shifting and brakes and hope I don't have to make a panicked run to the bike shop.

Last edited by: happyscientist: Apr 13, 17 11:06

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