Interesting that (other than WD40!) much of the pro advice is the same as Si's 10 year old bike wash video, even down to the washing up liquid and using the old water bottle and brush for degreaser.
As long as you clean your bike .dry it . I like air compressor for the chain .lube .good to go. I'd say it's not good to wash the bike every time. Especially in summer unless your sweating lots , but definitely the chain. Washing to much kills the paint 😮? What do you think
Don't let a pro mechanic clean my bike 😳. Too liberal with degreaser for my liking. Different story if you don't have to pay to replace degreased bearings.
One really good thing in these videos is they only put "music" on when no-one is talking! Small thing but makes a massive difference to my enjoyment. Alex Dowsett, if you're reading this, please take note and I might watch yours again.
We now need Ollie reacts to this video. Fairy liquid, degreaser in all sorts of unholy places, not removing the chain and cassette to simply submerge them in degreaser (or melt the wax off them), spraying water up the bike, using a sponge and there was even mention of a pressure washer.
With some Silca bikewash products and boiling water to clean the super secret wax of your chain. I'm surprised the at this level of cycling they still use lube
@@chrisjong8412 The key is drivetrain losses. A CLEAN chain with lube will sometimes (depending on the lube) have marginally less losses than a waxed chain BUT that's almost never the case because (as you know) a lubed chain is pretty good at catching dirt and holding on to it. For us non-pro riders, a waxed chain therefore almost always makes sense (that being said I still run lube because I can't be bothered to faff around with white spirit and a crock pot), but if your bike is cleaned by someone else after every stage in a bone dry desert stage race ...
First bike cleaning video I've ever seen on GCN or anywhere in which they talk about *drying* the bike. More detail would have been appreciated but at least it got a mention. Thanks. And I've been watching since before Si's WD-40 video :-)
Theres loads of degreasers out there. My tip is Elbow Grease from Poundland. £2 a bottle lasts for ages. Great for complete strip down cleaning and when used diluted is brill for general degreasing whilst components are on the bike.
Hmmm … car and bike detailers stopped using sponges a long time ago. Too much embedded grit. Soft brushes best. I also use Fairy Liquid for wheels etc. GCNTech, in a previous washy video, were horrified people used that. Assume this chain not waxed. GCNTech also strong wax advocates, I prefer wet lube, applied often on a cleaned chain.
I wash my bike chain, pedal tooth, drueller especially its wheel tooth with liquid detergent soap dilluted in water by using toothbrush(medium), brush thoroughly while rotating your pedal until all dirt removes and then wash with spray water until the soap residue remove and clean… let it dry, thoroughly dry… then have a spoonful of crude oil , dip dry toothbrush and apply on chain, drueller tooth, pedal tooth while rotating your pedal by hand.. proceed brushing until you hear that smooth sound, means the oil penetrates inside the chain, pedal and druller wheels… dont use lubricants as it invites much dirt… once your frame dry, rub w clean cotton rug dip little on crude oil to waterproof your frames so as it will not invite dirt or mud and its easier to remove.. for all bolt joints brush it with small amount of crude oil… remember; a spoonful of crude oil is enough for your bike… I’ve been using this scheme for more than 20 years by now..
Great video as always. Just a thought anyone had any bad experiences using washing up liquid on the tyres? It naturally gives off an oily sheen so thought it could become slippy over wet surfaces. Not exactly what you want at 40mph!
The real question is how and when to wash and lube your daily ride that collects all the dirt and salt and everything else throughout the year. Certainly not going to spend 30min each day doing all this on a
I basically have 3 standards of wash, 1. quick rinse and dry, wheels in, mostly in Summer. 2. Degrease and wash, wheels out, re lube, after nearly all Winter rides. 3. Strip, degrease, thorough wash, wheels out, cassette and crankset off, relube, polish etc. The whole 9 yards.
I feel very vindicated using washing up liquid for my frame in spite of all the advertising of specific (expensive) products for bikes! Didn't Ollie have a video explicitly telling us not to do that? ;)
Pretty much the same way I wash my bike except I don't use Fairy liquid but a bike cleaner for the frame, and don't take off the wheels unless the bike is caked in grime. Also, I clean my brake rotors every other or third wash with a regular disc brake cleaner, and check that the callipers are nicely centred.
I really would like to have seen his tips on applying chain lube. I used to apply it like he did in the brief clip you showed, but it was excessive and made a mess. Given he just washed the bike, I'm sure he has some great tips to share. Instead, I've been doing it lately like some other videos have shown: a drop on each link. Takes more time but generally less messy. I'd love to do it faster.
Hi, thanks for the comment. This is a tricky one, because the bikes are washed daily, the mechanics quite often aren't that bothered by any mess being caused, as they will be washing them again within 24hrs 🪣 Certainly though, to keep it nice and clean, you need to carry on following our tips of applying it to each link, or, do as Ollie would do, WAX! Hope it helps?
When I was in the bike shop, I remember I bought a bike wash liquid. It was more than 10 or 15 $, But after watching this video I realized that you don't need to spend your money on expensive things. In this video the man said, it just needs to be wash up liquid, so he used Fairy!!! wow I really understand something in my life after watching this video. Just don't buy expensive things and at the end of the month you find yourself not having money to eat something.
You should never use Fairy liquid, it's ultra abrasive and designed to clean plates, which are a far harder surface.. You would be better off using a neutral PH car shampoo, that's designed not to harm any surface.
Don't wash it like a pro bike mechanic. They have a literal truck of spares if case something gets water damaged. Disassembly, clean, dry put back together.
@@dbk81 Those stands are no move expensive than most other repair stands. What is very attractive about those stands are no clamping of seat tubes. In this pro tour level, that means no accidental breaking of very expensive carbon fiber parts. The only thing you can’t do with that type of stand is check the front brakes. Everything else is now 200% easier.
@@JMcLeodKC711I got to use a much better dropout-style workstand in my previous workplace and it really is useful for bikes with sensitive seatposts, the kind that is so thin-walled you can't clamp them. Bleeding however, is more cumbersome as I need to come up with another way to tilt the bike to guide trapped air bubbles upwards. Bike orientation rotation is the reason why I still prefer clamp-style workstands, most bikes I work on have clamp-friendly seatposts anyway. My own bike(s)? Never was an issue, I'll never use über lightweight seatposts I can't clamp onto workstands.
I'm gonna assume this chain isn't waxed? Kinda surprising considering they're racing in sand, to use a wet lube... I saw Silca recommends not using degreaser on a waxed chain.
I had a small panic attack when he said "water bottle holder" at 2:51 in the most British way possible 😅 Us non-natives can struggle with deciphering that combo 😄 Also, regarding the procedure itself: 1. You can see wear on through-axle from chain-rub. I'd avoid running the chain over it. Pro can do it, cause they'll just replace the whole bike every now and then. 2. It's better to spray the washing solution, than to rub it with a sponge like in this video - depenging on how dirty your bike is, you gonna scratch the coating. For optimum results spray warm solution, let it soak, wash it down. Only then, if there's some stubborn dirt would I use the sponge.
@@dtsybulskyi I'm not so rude - you really shouldn't jump to wrong conclusions or it'll make you look foolish. Nowhere did you mention pronunciation, just "in the most British way possible" which, to me, meant clearly articulated. Try to be clearer when you want to be rude.
& people take this on, blast their bikes with pressure washers and ruin their bearings & mechanical (& even electronic) control cables. I've been a team race mechanic and a shop mechanic, & the number of "But that's how the pros do it!" stories I could tell would talk the leg off a donkey. Low pressure hot soapy water in a bucket and a gentle hose rinse is all you need. & a waxed chain.
Eww you guys wash bikes!? Why don't you just buy another one 😂 *Be very careful with degreasers types, avoid sodium hydroxide in the list of ingredients.
Ideally, don't wash it, and if you do, use a minimal amount of water and pressure. The bike is full of largely unprotected bearings. A nasty water slurry destroys them. If you've got this dude replacing your bearings every second race, do whatever you want.
