mud and more MUD !!

[stumpy150]

great day out on the KTM today - 18.5 miles off road on moor / woodland tracks - never seen so much mud and water !!! Should worn waders !!

Bike performed almost without a hitch despite the bad conditions..

Two issues;-

Rubber chain frame guard slipped round and rubbed against tyre - sorted when back home by removing / cleaning and fitting new/tighter cable ties..

Rear derailleur kept jamming - mud /crud on chain ---- never had that happen ( no twigs etc ) on my specialised...Sorted now by giving the bike and chain a proper wash wen I got home....Now all sparkly and drying off in kitchen ( and my wife is ok with this too !! ) Garage heater not working - chimney broken so its a good excuse.

 

[Fordulike]

Now all sparkly and drying off in kitchen ( and my wife is ok with this too !! )

Damn you're so lucky. I get nagged at if I leave a bike pump in the kitchen. I've got no chance of leaving a whole bike in there

 

[VictoryV]

great day out on the KTM today - 18.5 miles off road on moor / woodland tracks - never seen so much mud and water !!! Should worn waders !!

Bike performed almost without a hitch despite the bad conditions..

Two issues;-

Rubber chain frame guard slipped round and rubbed against tyre - sorted when back home by removing / cleaning and fitting new/tighter cable ties..

Rear derailleur kept jamming - mud /crud on chain ---- never had that happen ( no twigs etc ) on my specialised...Sorted now by giving the bike and chain a proper wash wen I got home....Now all sparkly and drying off in kitchen ( and my wife is ok with this too !! ) Garage heater not working - chimney broken so its a good excuse.

You are lucky you don't have to dry out in the garage as well!

 

[James Smalley]

Sounds like a good ride.... I have an understanding wife, who allows number 1 bike to stand In the kitchen as long as it doesn't drip oil. No 2 bike is stored in the garage and no3 on the trainer also in the garage, for which she went out and bought a heater and a fan!!!!! (the question is what is she after....)

With regard to the weather, was it raining? raining hard? or mostly standing water?

How did you find the electrics with all the water and mud? Do you take any special precautions when cleaning off (jet wash?) Do you bag any electrics or similar?

Do you prewash with a specific cleaner solutions?

Sorry for the questions - new to ebikes and my brain is working faster than the search facility!!

 

[stumpy150]

First off - Do not use a jet wash...It can damage oil seals and electric joints etc...

It had been raining very heavy for two days...MUD everywhere and deep puddles up to the underside of the motor..


No issues with the electrics dealing with mud / water - just chain and rear deraileur getting bunged up with mud..


I remove the control / display and battery before washing. Hose it down with a cold hose pipe....Not a jet wash.. then use bucket of hot water / car shampoo with a soft brush ( spokes + hard to get into nooks and crannys ) and sponge then a rinse off and chammy leather it down before putting it in a warm room to dry ( My heater in the garage is broken at the moment so an eveining in front of an AGA does the trick in drying it out... I always remove the seat post as water always seems to collect inside the frame tube so it gives it time to dry out internally and i put a spot of GT85 spray on the seat tube before re-fitting.

Cleaning chain depends on type of crud....MUD just washes off then when dry a coat of GT85 .....Sand etc - I use a chain cleaner with the citrus chain cleaner and i use one of those 'wash devices'' that fits over the chain with the brushes inside - does a really good job.

Was pleased with how it behaved off road - kept up with mate on his posh Marin downhill bike !!

 

[James Smalley]

Thank you Stumpy

 

[stumpy150]

forgot to mention - I also have a tailor made black neoprene battery cover - keeps the battery warm in cold weather - and keeps mud / stones form damaging it - £29 on ebay from a well known cycle shop - well worth it.

 

[soundwave]

wash it in this and it will make it water proof

http://www.nikwax.co.uk/en-gb/index.php

 

[stumpy150]

SHOULD HAVE WASHED ME IN THAT !!!

 

[EddiePJ]

Just an average winter ride at this time of year.

Stumpy, have you seen this thread?

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/how-many-people-are-using-there-e-bike-off-road.15780/page-73#post-292555

James, this is my tried and tested method of bike cleaning....

Remove console and battery, fit a latex glove or similar over both connection areas.

Assuming that a hose pipe is available, quickly rinse off any large lumps of mud etc, avoiding bearing areas, battery area and console area.

After this I quickly use an airline to blast the chain free of water, then apply a degreaser to the chain. As this is taking action, I apply Muc-off or similar, and gentle agitate it in.

Once both have been left to do their thing, I then hose down the whole bike, once again avoiding bearings, battery area and console. I never direct water into the cassette, I lean the bike over to the right (not onto the derailleur) Then wash the rear cassette that way. This will help avoid water entering and damaging bearings by washing grease out.

After the above, I thoroughly go over the whole bike with an airline to remove as much water as possible, then I spray the whole bike with duck oil, avoiding brakes and cassette, and once again blast the whole bike with an airline.

Never apply wd40,duck oil, gt85 etc to bearing areas and rear cassette. The reason being is that you will eventually wash the grease out. So don't do it!

I then suspend the bike as below.




Once suspended, I remove the wheels, brake pads, saddle, and periodically the final drive chain.

I then re wash the wheels, paying great attention to the discs. Removing the wheels, also gives me a chance to check for any damage and loose spokes.

It bugs the crap out of me when people say that they have cleaned their bike, then upon inspection they haven't cleaned under the saddle. That is my reason for removing it, as I can then wash and clean it properly. I also apply anti seize spray to the seat post, not oil.

Next up is brakes. I thoroughly clean the calipers with the pads removed, and also thoroughly clean and check the brake pads, for damage and wear.

I use Kimwipe to clean the battery and console area, and then once again spray the whole bike with duck oil, then wipe everything down again.
I pay particular attention to the rear derailleur, jockey wheels and front sprocket, to make sure that each is spotless., and in the case of the front sprocket, that there is no hidden debris.

Next up is suspension. Make sure the dust seals are clean and intact, remove any water or grime, check sliders, and apply Fork Juice.

Once I am happy with everything, I replace the brake pads, which on some bikes running Shimano XTR finned pads, the pads are left and right handed.

Before installing the wheels, I check the tyres once again, looking for thorns etc.

Lastly I lubricate the chain, with either wet lube or dry lube depending upon riding conditions. I then apply ACF50 to any exposed metal parts, and also go up and down through the gears, and check brake action, and steering.
I then coat the frame with either Fork Juice, or more often than not, a wax polish to help prevent dirt from sticking on the next ride.

Over and above this..

Stubborn marks can be removed with car insect and tar remover, and it's worth buying a bag of lint free rags. You can buy these by the sack load online. Just look for bag of rags.

At least once a month I will also removed the plastic motor covers, the cover that surrounds the battery connector and also the cover from power settings switch, and thoroughly clean behind all. You will be surprised by how much crud gets behind each. Example below.





Other than just checking that everything is sound and secure, there isn't really much else to do.

I then move onto my spd shoes, and ensure that the cleats are cleaned out and spotless.

I have a tendency to swap chains if conditions dictate better cleaning.

I guess that I can take a completely dirty bike, and get it back to looking pristine in about half an hour. It's half an hour very spent and could save loads of money and hassle, as any defects or loose components can be spotted and rectified with ease.

 

[stumpy150]

My bike gets two coats of autoglym Polish and a coat of autoglym r sin sealer - wife thinks I'm mad ....but after all you have shelled out a lot of money for your bike so best to look after it ???

 

[stumpy150]

Eddie saw the link.....not sure what you mean ?

The front cog is clear ..i was having issues with rear derailleur due to crud build up....caused the set to flip up against the underside of the frame and jam.....never had this happen before and my speclized stump jumper had been in worse conditions than yesterday

 

[soundwave]

id not expect very much from a 20 quid rear mech tbh

 

[EddiePJ]

Eddie saw the link.....not sure what you mean ?

The front cog is clear ..i was having issues with rear derailleur due to crud build up....caused the set to flip up against the underside of the frame and jam.....never had this happen before and my speclized stump jumper had been in worse conditions than yesterday

My bad, I was linking to in order to get you across there to join in the off road fun.


Ref the rear mech, change for one that has a clutch fitted. Your troubles will be over then.


.