Newbie wanting some direction on cleaning and maintaining MTB

[PYGAR]

Hi there,

As the heading says it all..... basically.....

I need some advice please,

What products to use...

Type of maintenance to do after each ride and products used?

How often do you service your bike.... km?

Thanks in advance for all your advice.

BR

Viv

[Audible Anarchy]

Degreaser for the drivetrain, wash complete bike with sunlight / water, rinse (dont use a pressure hose on your bearings / pivots) dry ,polish the frame with a bit of mr min for a nice shine and lastly a bit of wax based lube on the chain - a chain cleaner is your friend.

 

Don't get synthetics like degreaser / polish on your brakepads / discs. if you have rims brakes a bit of rubbing alchohol every few months on the braking strip does wonders.

 

if you go on a really muddy ride, make sure to hose down the bike when you get home so all that gunk doesn't sit on your drivetrain and get a chance to create rust. Send it in for a major service a couple times a year dependant on how much you ride and obviously when you have problems with the bike like broken spokes etc... learn to do basic maintenance yourself and you can save a lot of money.

[the racing bug]

a product to use is powasol found at your lbs, @powersol

[Grebel]

Powasol and a hose after each ride. Avoid jets of water aimed at bearings. Solvent based degreaser for the chain (be careful though!!!) Compressed air to dry. Wipe it clean with a dry cloth. Doing that allows you to check all the components for damage. Make sure the chain is dry before lubing. Lube? Pick your poison. I use dry lube for dry conditions and wet lube for wet conditions.

 

Once a year strip everything off, check and replace what is worn. Get yourself a basic set of bike specific tools and if you can stretch that far, get a torque wrench. Nothing more dissapointing than stripping threads and having to replace components...

 

Learn to fix your own bike. Alternatively, take it to your local bike shop and get them to check for you if you can afford to do that.