Wrenches: Bike maintenance after deluge

Triathlon Forum
1

I was out riding the other day and got caught in what can only be described as a wrath-of-the-heavens deluge. I promptly dried off my bike and WD40 and oiled my chain. Is there anything else that I should have done, such as cleaining out the housings or removing the seatpost?
Thanks,
Skooch

2

I’ve been there myself, soaked to the bone huh? Does your frame have drain holes? If so you may need to hang it from a hook by it’s front wheel to get all the water to drain out. You may want to pull the seatpost just to be sure all the water is out and not sitting in your bottom bracket.

What kind of rims do you have? One time after a centruy ride on the rain I found that even after draining my frame I could still hear water sloshing. After going over the bike several times I discovered that the Kysurim Wheels (Elite and above) have two layers of rim, one that the spokes anchor to and one that the tube sits in. Hence the lack of need for rim tape on these models because there are no spoke nipples to worry about. What it does create though is a nice little space between the layers for water to get in. Don’t ask me how it gets there, I just know I drained a few ounces out of each wheel when I figured it out.

Good luck,

Karma

3

Also, check carefully for play or roughness in any important bearings (hubs, bb, headset). I’ve had water work past the seals in these areas during vicious rains. You want to find out about it NOW, not in 6 months when things start failing.

4

I was out riding the other day and got caught in what can only be described as a wrath-of-the-heavens deluge. I promptly dried off my bike and WD40 and oiled my chain. Is there anything else that I should have done, such as cleaining out the housings or removing the seatpost?
Thanks,
Skooch

I wouldn’t use WD4-0 ever on anything except to get bugs off a car with clear coat. It is not a good product.

5

Pull the saddle and hang your bike upside down. Don’t use WD40. Instead buy a bike-specific drive train lube.

Victor

6

Thanks Karma. I am actually riding the Ksyrium Elite. Did you remove the tube to check for water and drain the rims?

7

What do you normally use as a degreaser instead of WD40? I normally let it dry and then apply some Finish Line.

8

  1. Spray the bike down with fresh water from the hose.

  2. Use a degreaser to clean the chain, then re-lube the chain.

  3. Towel dry the bike.

  4. Put a drop or two of some light lube on the moving parts of the brake calipers

  5. Hang or prop the bike up so that any water that is in the frame will run out( many frames have drain holes but they are in different locations)

Go and have a hot shower and a cold beer!

9

Here’s what I do if I get caught in a huge storm:

I completely rebuild the entire bike. I take apart the whole thing, clean everything and lube and regrease everything as I put it all back together. Good as brand new!!

This takes about 4 hours. Zipp frames are tough to rebuild. The RC’s are tough to take off and rebuilding is time consuming.

10

What do you normally use as a degreaser instead of WD40? I normally let it dry and then apply some Finish Line.

A bike-specific degreaser…Pedro’s perhaps.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=4392&subcategory_ID=4205

Victor

11

What do you normally use as a degreaser instead of WD40? I normally let it dry and then apply some Finish Line.

WD-40 is totally fine to use for cleaning and degreasing, but you want to remove it afterwards and replace it with a proper lubricant. While water-based degreasers (simple green, orange clean, etc) do a good job at degreasing, WD-40 also displaces water.