Cleaning bike gears?

[UnderOpenSky]

I recently bought a bike from ebay for £20...understandably it's a bit shit, but I don't need it to travel huge distances or have to care that much if it gets nicked.

Anyway the gears are temprementle to say the least, I stuck some 3 in 1 on and the general running seems to have improved, but there is loads of junk in there, will I do any damage if I get happy with the pressure washer?

Not expecting it to sort them out, but thought if it made them a little smoother it might be worth doing.

 

[gentlegreen]

White spirit or gunk.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

White spirit or gunk.

Instead of? How does the white spirit clean it out? I'm assuming it will still need scrubbing at?

 

[gentlegreen]

Ideally you remove the cogs and chain...
I suppose gunk or a specialist eco-friendly cleaner might suit you better.

Mostly I just use lube to dilute the gunge - some chain lubes are specially designed to encapsulate gunge and grit.

I use cheap washing up brushes and dishrags.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Ideally you remove the cogs and chain...
I suppose gunk or a specialist eco-friendly cleaner might suit you better.

If I''m going down that route I might as well ask about fixing them properly hadn't I?

I'm not buying specialist cleaners or lubes for a bike that cost £20...

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I've got mates who are into mountain biking and the like but I'm a bit embarrised to ask them about it.

 

[8115]

If you google "how to clean bike gears" or similar you should find a load of good stuff, wikihows and videos etc.

I've just part-cleaned my chain. It was rank, and runs a lot smoother now. I might do it properly soon.

 

[gentlegreen]

Basically give it all a good scrub with whatever you have - perhaps neat washing up liquid... preferably with the chain hooked off the cogs.
Just keep lubing the chain and using a cotton rag to wipe it off again and it should ease up.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

If you google "how to clean bike gears" or similar you should find a load of good stuff, wikihows and videos etc.

That would be sensible

OK, my thread title should have read - will I fuck it with a pressure washer?

 

[gentlegreen]

The pressure washer could wash the lube out of the freewheel (ratchet) and wheel bearings among other places.

Please be careful. There's really no such thing as "only short journeys" when cycle safety is concerned - certainly if you're riding in town.
You need the gears and brakes to work properly - no nasty surprises at critical moments.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

The pressure washer could wash the lube out of the freewheel (ratchet) and wheel bearings among other places.

Please be careful. There's really no such thing as "only short journeys" when cycle safety is concerned - certainly if you're riding in town.
You need the gears and brakes to work properly - no nasty surprises at critical moments.

Ta GG, I'll not get to close to it and relube it afterwards. I'm just thinking it ran nicer just for lubing it, so cleaning it and lubing again could give another small improvement.

Maybe when I've got a few pennies for tools I'll come back and ask how to sort the damm things so they actually change when you press the selector instead of when they feel like it up to two mins later.

I try and avoid busy traffic, so don't think it's a safety issue for me. I'm using this bike as a sort of test to decide if I can justify spending more on a proper one.

 

[Lemon Eddy]

Quick, cheap and dirty method. Use a pressure washer, and stand a bit further back so you're not blasting the bearings too much. Purists will tut, but realistically it's not that much damage to the components.

Slower but gentler method. Bucket, sponge, dish brush, and the cheapest car shampoo you can find at homebase/wherever. Washing up liquids often contain salt or other compounds to help scrub off stuff, and that's a bit of an issue for bike parts. Cheap car shampoo costs sod all, and is metal friendly. Take the wheels off and give the gears a good go with a dish brush, and see if the removal of x years of road gunge helps.

 

[Lemon Eddy]

Just remember though, sometimes that gunge is structural. Chains and other moving parts can often meet a quick death when you strip away the gluelike crud that's holding them together!

 

[Sprocket.]

If you have a local Lidl they will have these in stock on Thursday 18th April. I got one last time they were in stock do a cracking job for £4.
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/lidl-chain-cleaning-kit-best-399-i-have-spent

 

[thedockerslad]

Yep absolute bargain. I bought one last time around. Mentioned it on the chain cleaning thread

 

[Boycey]

Just remember though, sometimes that gunge is structural. Chains and other moving parts can often meet a quick death when you strip away the gluelike crud that's holding them together!

be that as it may it's best not to let it get yo that stage... says the man whose drivetrain has had a plastic bag stuck in it for 3 months

 

[SikhWarrioR]

Ah the delights of using sturmey archer hub gears on my MK3 Moultons everything fully enclosed just clean chain and sprocket and have heard you can now get 5 speed and 7speed hubs much check it out and think about an upgrade