What is the proper way to clean the gears of a mountain bike?

Question

After a day on the woods. The chain and gears on the bottom of the back wheel are full of litter rocks and dust .

Answer 1

First, consider using a different chain lube that won't attract dust and grit so badly. I love Prolink Pro Gold, but it takes a long time to dry. White Lightning is great and clean, but it absolutely sucks in water or mud (it won't last a couple miles in the wet). I really didn't like Pedro's Ice Wax or the Finishline Krytech.....the other two lubes work great. Wet lubes are magnets for crud, and crud will wear out every toothy part of your drivetrain much faster.

If you're cleaning your bike with all the parts assembled, try not to get any solvent or light oil into the cassette body or the hub bearings. Tilt the wheel so that liquid drips down at an angle and has less chance of contacting the seals. Work on the bottom of the gears instead of the top, then rotate.

The gear brushes at the bike shop work great, but an old toothbrush or welder's brush is fine. If you have the cassette off of the hub, aerosol auto brake cleaner makes it fast. For the chain, you can use aerosol degreasers or a chain wash thingamabob. They work ok, but not as well as removing the chain and soaking/brushing it by hand. Use a cleaner that's oil-free (not kerosene or some of the orange cleaners) so that your new lube will adhere better. Be sure to let the lube dry overnight, and relube the chain (sparingly) once or twice over the next few rides. Unless you get it muddy, you can usually just relube the chain (with the dry lubes) and not have to worry about scrubbing things clean....those lubes will shed dirt nicely and run clean with a little reapplication every so often.

Answer 2

Soap and water works OK as a degreaser, although Mephs is suposed to be good (Especially for rear wheels).

Place the front gear in the highest cog. I tend to use a metal barbecue scewer to poke the mud out of the front derailer and the rear casset.

A small, firm brush can then be used to clean the rest. You will also want to clear the rear jockey wheels. Use a sponge and rotate the chain. Small knife will get rid of any grass (Rear mech is easier to clean if you take the wheel off).

Use a sponge to give the chain a first going over. Grip the chain with the spong and turn the crank. although, if you have a power link, just undo the chain and dunk in a bucket before whiping down with a sponge. Next attack the chain with a stiff brush to get rid of all the bits in between. Dunk in bucket again and dry off with paper towel (Baby whipes are good de greasers as well.

Replace and re-lube chain. Oil cables and use a light oil for the front derailier. Re-greace the rear mech spring.

There you are, all clean.

P.S. Someone said about using a high pressure washer. Not if you like your bearings. DO NOT get one of these anywhere near your pride and joy.

Luck

Answer 3

The problem starts with what you are buying, these bikes, if you can call them that, are not much more than side walk bikes at best. The components used are the cheapest low end stuff out there and while for many this is fine these bikes all shift and handle terrible. For a few hundred dollars more you can get a quality entry level bike from a bike shop and not have these problems. Sad to say but the way to prevent this is not to buy bikes from Walmart, K-mart, Target, etc.

Answer 4

Go to your local bike shop and for less than $5.00 you can buy a plastic brush designed to clean your rear cassette. You may also use this on the chain. I would also recommend using a spray cleaner on the chain and wipe clean with a rag. Then reapply a good Lubricant to your chain ,let it sit for 10 minutes then wipe it clean with a fresh rag. You'll clean the loose lube off the outside so it won't fling all over you while riding, but the internal rollers will stay lubed. Good luck. Jim

Answer 5

There are bike-specific tools for this, but basically any stiff brush that can get down between the cogs will work. Sometimes you just gotta use a screwdriver or something to get that stuff out.

Stay away from car washes. Use a bucket and mild soap, I use Simple Green and I really water it down. Just get the big chunks out, then wash n scrub.

Let 'er dry and apply chain lube (sparingly, it should not drip)

Answer 6

A lot of this depends upon how anal you are about your bike, and how bad it is.

Your level of effort can range from a wipe down with a clean, lint-free cloth, to a full clean like the procedures I attached as links.

I usually try not to use water where possible. There's nothing wrong with it on occasion, just as you'll ride through water, but it requires more work to prevent corrosion and potential damage.

Answer 7

Hose it down and relube. Just try to avoid high pressure spray near crank and wheel bearings. Yeah, they're sealed but not THAT well.

Once or twice a year break it all down, get busy with a toothbrush and degreaser on the cogs and chain, and repack wheel bearings.

Answer 8

I use a high pressure washer