Maintenance after traversing water hazards?

[vulgar]

Get to service your bottom pivot bearings, BB and rear hub(3 or 4 bearings inside)

Make sure chain is clean, sand acts like sandpaper on drive train.

 

I use marine grease, slightly lower viscosity, stickier, on my bearings and pivots especially.

A wet lube for the chain (FINISH LINE) and I cake it, the dry lubes and squirt doesn't work so good at wet races like what you guys encountered...

 

Trans Baviaans  is another race you would encounter this august with a few water passages...

[ChrisF]

I have seen the damage to 4x4's after water crossings ... YES, it takes a couple of water crossings, but once the dirt and water gets INTO the moving bits ..... no amount of "washing" gets to this dirt.

 

 

These pics are from a "clean" bike .... but during its travels the dirt did make it into the moving bits ...

 

 

 

 

Bearings - strip and clean, can take a lot of time on a full-suspension bike, ie lots of labour hours.  So often the LBS would "feel" the bearings and simply recommend replacement

 

 

Cables ... if the sand and grit got into the cables .... uhm, you could try to clean it out, but a new set of inner- and outer-cables are on the cards ....

 

 

Brakes ... try to make sure no grit is on the pads.

 

 

Derailures ... clean as much as possible, and lubricate.

 

 

 

These rides are a LOT of fun, but it can also be a very costly ride .....  If you have the skills and tools to do a strip down and rebuild it may cost no more than lots of hours and some new grease ...

[MORNE]

Get to service your bottom pivot bearings, BB and rear hub(3 or 4 bearings inside)

Make sure chain is clean, sand acts like sandpaper on drive train.

 

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These rides are a LOT of fun, but it can also be a very costly ride .....  If you have the skills and tools to do a strip down and rebuild it may cost no more than lots of hours and some new grease ...

 

For the sake of luring more info from people in the know:

 

Ball bearings/races are easy imo as they can basically be fully dismantled.

 

How does one handle the sealed bearings though? (BB/pivots/hubs on more expensive components)

Surely getting fully submerged once or twice for a few seconds should surely be fine for a sealed bearing..though they are not hermetically sealed i guess.

i have done this with other rubber sealed bearings (non bike related) in the past but in my experience opening them to clean and blasting them with a cleaners just messes them up more. That crap just goes and sits in spots you never get it out of again.

[BuffsVintageBikes]

If you have decent sealed bearings in there then you shouldn't have a problem. They're called "sealed" bearings for a reason. They do however have a shelf life and will eventually wear to the point where they will allow water and grit in. Movement on a pivot is normally the first clue.

The cables however are different story and the chances are good they've picked up grit that will affect your shifting negatively. I normally pull the cable out the housing and flush the housing out with WD40 before replacing the clean and slightly lubed cable.

While riding in mud is often fun it normally always comes at a price.

[ChrisF]

"sealed bearings" is an incredibly broad term ....

 

Mostly these are just dust seals with varying degrees of sealing capacity.  Water can still get into the bearing, if it is submerged long enough.  Better seals should prevent "grit" from getting in.  But we know that water and steal dont mix well ....

 

 

Some sealed bearings allow you remove a circlip, and then pop off the dust seal.  If you do this on both sides it is possible to properly wash and re-grease the bearing.

 

If you cant remove the seal .... uhm .... 

 

 

If you want to replace the bearings it may well be worth your while to speak to a specialist bearing shop. MOST bearings have standard sizes, and you can buy quality SKF or similar bearings to replace your old bearings.  Take your old bearings to such a shop, they can measure it up, and will quickly tell you if they have something that matches :

- the inner diameter

- the outer diameter

- the width

- type of seal (if you have the option, get something with a better seal)

 

 

I have had some very good sevice from West Cape Bearings in Brackenfell - http://www.westcapebearings.co.za/

[matthieup]

that second water crossing was quite unexpected indeed. I got their alone, decided to power through and as the bottom was soft compared to the first one there was no option but pedal out of it...

 

I was due for a service and got the good idea to delay until after the race. am i glad i did... off to LBS and get a proper service done. 

[PhilipV]

Sounds like an ideal race for a singlespeed.

 

If it was me I'd clean and oil the drivetrain, open the hubs, see if water got in, and service the freebody if it is possible (ie hope or DT.) I'll pull the crank and feel the bearings, ons of them will probably be less than lekker anyway unless it's new, and maybe just open and clean Pivot bearings.

You can pull the seal off sealed bearings, but I won't recommend it if you think the myriad of seals protecting them worked.

And then while you are busy sommer clean the headset and replace all the cables.

I usually do a service like this after winter anyway, a submersion event will have meant that I do it sooner rather than later.

[ChrisF]

...

I usually do a service like this after winter anyway, a submersion event will have meant that I do it sooner rather than later.

 

Took my bike in for its annual service two weeks back ....

 

Lesson learnt !!  Next year I will do it at at the END of winter .... cant bring myself to take the newly serviced bike into the current mud fest ....

[taito]

If your bike ever requires a BB replacement -do not fit the standard Shimano or Sram..Buy the BB that takes loose sealed bearings,, ,Both my mounties have them and when they feel rough its off to Bearing man. It costs a fraction of the price to replace the 2 loose bearings at home.