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This is a note that I used to answer a similar question in
MOVIES::UK_BIKING a couple of years ago. The bike stand will cost you
money, but it's a very worthwhile investment. The rest is far, far
cheaper than these new yuppie liquids. You know the ones that are
described the same way as bottled beers...
Graham.
<<< MOVIES::DISK$SYSDATA:[NOTES$LIBRARY]UK_BIKING.NOTE;5 >>>
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Note 36.1 I got it dirty. How to wash a bike (moved from 9.19) 1 of 10
KIRKTN::GGOODMAN "Born Victim" 37 lines 17-AUG-1992 15:43
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Never heard of the spray, but it'll cost money - soapy water
doesn't...
My cleaning method...
Put bike in stand and take wheels off. Put a screwdriver through
the gaps on the rear drop outs to keep some tension on chain.
Clean chainset with a paint brush dipped in a mixture of petrol and
diesel with some oil. Clean bike with soapy water, starting at the
cleaner top areas (bar tape, saddle) working down to the grimier areas
with one of the double sided sponge/scourers you get for the kitchen,
using the sponge side.
Using the scourer side, run the chain through (the soap doesn't
really matter) to get rid of the grime.
NB. The only area to be careful with the soap is at the bottom bracket.
Clean from the underside there to stop the water flowing down into it.
Wheels now. Using the same brush and mixture you used for the chainset,
clean the block, with the wheel tipped towards you to keep the oil from
dripping onto the rim. Using a long handed dishwashing brush, clean
wheel, using the sponge on the tyres.
With a seperate bucket full of water (no soap), use a clean long
handed dishwashing brush and dab at the bike to clear all the soapy
water. Let the bike dry and oil the chain the next morning to prevent
it from rusting.
That technique came from the Steve Snowling book "BICYCLE MECHANICS
in the workshop and competition". It's a good book, but it does presume
that you already have a good basic knowledge of bike mechanics.
Graham.
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| I borrowed my lady friend's Cannondale M500 a while back and totally coated
it with mud which she wasn't very happy about. To console her, I washed
the bike and then decided to try my favourite type of car wax on it as
well.The surface of the finish became very smooth...
I recently put a coating of Nu_Finish carwax on my bike recently, let it
sit over night and polished it off the next day. I've found that mud
doesn't stick to it hardly if at all. The only thing I get now is a light
coating of dust on the downtube.
/todd
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