Bicycle Care – Taking care of your bicycle at home is something that every cyclist needs to do in order to make sure your bike is ready whenever you need them. There is also an option where you can bring your bicycle to the nearest bicycle shop with a cleaning and degreasing service. But for those who want to save some more money by doing bicycle care at home, we have some important tips for you.
The most important thing to think before you decide to take care of your bike at home is to make sure you have the proper place to do the cleansing. Sometimes for those who live in a small apartment, you can’t find a place to clean your bicycle easily. Sometimes you can use the empty area below the apartment but you should not leave any water puddles. The other problem comes up because you cannot find a hose or faucet to clean the bicycle properly around this area. The other solution is, of course, to clean the bike in your bathroom. But to accomplish this, you need to be extra careful. Tile (or carpet for those who use this fancy set up) of your bathroom can be damaged if you are not careful when moving your bike (and its part) around.
First thing of course, you need to brush the excessive mud around your bike outside. You don’t want to destroy your neat-looking apartment when you bring your bicycle fresh from the dirt, so clean it as much as you can with a brush or water from bottles before bringing it in. After that, what you need are some brush (big and small), microfiber cloth, bike wash liquid, drivetrain cleaner and also polish to give some finishing touch later.
To do this properly, you need to take both your wheels off and the rest of your bike on the floor of the shower. Use the bike wash liquid on the cloth and get scrubbing. If your shower head is the type that can be twisted around, make sure you spray even the smallest corner to make sure the bicycle is cleaned thoroughly. If your shower head is the stay-in-place type, you can just use the bike wash and then put the bike under the shower. Turn on the shower and run to your safety.
For chain, there is a special chain cleaner such as the one available in Rodalink Singapore by Finish Line. Make sure you put the cleaner on the chain properly and move the lever around to clean your chain thoroughly. You can just throw away the extra degrease later. Do the same to your drivetrain to make sure it’s free of the mud and grease.
To start polishing, dry your bicycle and bring it out to the lounge room or bedroom. Be careful to not hit any place in your small apartment when you bring the bicycle out of the bathroom. Put it upside down and make sure all the water residue is out before you start polishing your frame. You can use Finish Line Pro Detailer to get the desired result. Let the polish stay for 10 second and wipe it off after that. After doing all of that, now you are ready to assemble all the parts together again.
Next thing is to apply some lubricant to your drivetrain. Finish Line has a wide range line-up according to your riding needs. You can choose, wet, dry or even teflon lubricant to keep your gear smooth and running. Apply the lubricant with caution as you don’t want to make your frame dirty or worse, your lounge room full of lubricant drip.
After that make sure you bring the bike safely to the place where you kept it. If you will not use it for sometime, make sure you do some regular dusting after a few days. Now your bike is ready and you can go embark on another awesome riding adventure!
