Sad, because this was the weekend I designated to officially recover from winter. If you ever wondered what Michigan winters were like (who would?) just take a look at my bike when spring pretends to come around. I actually do clean this thing during the winter so that is just a part of the crust, but the worst part. Every year, spring and fall, I take the bottom bracket catrtridges out of those two bikes, degrease and clean the shell.
The bottom bracket area gets the most punishment from the slop and corrosives of the street crews.
Then, after I am sure the frame hasn't suffered any damage, I slather the the shell with waterproof grease for the next few months.
A thorough cleaning,waxing and servicing of all the parts and bearings is what follows.
I give the bikes a rub down with diluted dish soap on a huge sponge.
Rinsing it two or three times and drying with a towel.
I didn't have to do the wheel bearing today, since I had repacked the Hunq's "summer wheels" last fall, and Byron's are sealed (Nuvinci rear, dynohub front). But the pedals deserved some attention. I even had to sand off some surface rust from the axles near the crank.
It's an extensive thing to do to two bikes over a weekend, but I feel better it's done even though it cut into my weekend riding time.
Back in the days when I had one bike and bearing seals were not what they are today,
I used to break down my bike every 3 or 4 months.
I'd get the whole thing done on my coffee table while watching TV.
Back then it never seemed to take longer than a 6 pack.
Where did those days go?
I built some strange looking things while drinking a six pack in my day.
ReplyDelete