op
www.thepaceline.com (wel registreren) staat 'n heel mooi artikel erover.
2006 will be Vince Gee's 12th season as a professional cycling team mechanic. He started with the Saturn team in 1995 thru 1998. In 1999 he did did metal work (welding) and worked part-time with various teams including US Postal for a handful of races. In 2000 he officially joined with US Postal (now Discovery) to take care of all the US races. Occasionally he supports races in Europe with US Postal/Discovery but primarily is at the US races/camps. He has traveled to more than a dozen countries, and has suported big races such as the 2004 Athens Olympics, the 2005 Giro d'Italia, and the 2002/ 2003 World Championships.
Things needed:
Bucket
Dish soap (blue "Dawn" is my favorite)
Two sponges -- ne for the chain and one for the rest of the bike.
Parts cleaning brush -- For the chain / cogs / chainrings. Or, a cheap 1" paint brush
Small bottle brush -- For the hard to get areas.
Degreaser -- For the chain / cogs / chainrings -- Pedros "Orange Peelz" is my personal Favorite.
An old nasty water bottle. Cut the top off and you have a cup for your degreaser.
A wide soft brush -- for chainrings and spokes -- the small dust pan brushes work well here (Pedros Super Pit Kit has a great "paddle" looking brush for this).
- As a complete bike wash kit, Pedros Super Pit Kit is very nice. Add some blue Dawn and an old water bottle to this set and you are pretty much complete.
How to do it:
Wander out to the sidewalk, get the hose out and make a bucket of soapy water. I like to use the cut water bottle because when the bike is in the workstand you can put your degreaser cup (the cut bottle) in the cage of the bike so your degreaser is always close by. I'll also wash the bike with the wheels off so I can get into all the tight areas (I'll usually do the wheels last).
A) With the parts brush or paint brush "paint on" the degreaser onto your chain, cogs and chainrings by turning the crank with one hand and brushing on the degreaser with the other hand. In my obsessive / compulsive manner, I count pedal revolutions when cleaning the chain. In my quest to go as fast as possible, I want to do exactly what I need to and not a second more. Pedal about 4 revolutions in the big ring and small cog and your chain goes around one complete time. So when I degrease the chain, I usually turn the crank in multiples of 4 depending on how dirty it is and how much degreaser I need to brush on. Don't forget to do other dirty areas like the derailleur pulleys and the derailleur itself.
B) Rinse the chain, cogs, chainrings and any other areas that you degreased with water from the hose. You'l get most of the degreaser off via this process. You can use a spray nozzle, just don't high-speed blast it
C) Take a sponge (that will now and forever be your dirty-chain sponge) and using the soapy water "grab" the chain with it and spin the crank with the other hand as you use soapy water to get the remaining degreaser off the chain. Remember the 4 crank revolution rule here? Now use the wide brush (Pedros "paddle" brush -- dust pan brush) to lightly brush the chainrings with the soapy water.
D) Take the other sponge (this will be the frame sponge for its life) and soap down the rest of the bike. Don't forget under the bottom bracket shell where lots of debris collects, including but not limited to your favorite sports drink clogging up the cables under the BB.
E) The bottle brush can get areas like under the saddle, inside the brake calipers (when the wheel is off), some areas of the derailleurs, in-between the crank and seat tube (below the front derailleur), under the fork crown and any other area that is hard to get to with a sponge.
F) Handle bar tape can also be washed here (I'm a fan of white or light colored tape) and with some soapy water and a clean sponge it can clean up really nice.
G) With the hose rinse off the whole bike now.
H) For the wheels brush on degreaser for the cogs (rear), sponge off the tires and rims, and us the bottle brush gets inside to the tight hub shell area and the wide brush for the spokes.
I) Rinse off the wheels and you are done. We don't dry the bikes, they air-dry.
* Don't worry about the myth about getting water in your bearings. It is just that. A myth as long as you don't point the hose at high pressure directly at the bearings. I usually rinse off the bike with a wide spray pattern instead of a narrow stream of water. Your bike will get way more contaminated on a rain ride than the rinse cycle here.
As a team mechanic we have to wash bikes daily during races. If I can save two or three minutes per bike, then the collective mechanics (usually 2 or 3 at each race) will save at least 20 minutes of work and thus be 20 minutes closer to dinner. If I am really flying, I can usually wash a bike in about 5 or 6 minutes or so. When washing bikes daily they don't get so dirty so it is not too hard to scrub off the day's dirt.
- Haven't washed your bike in 4 months? Then you are going to do a bit more scrubbing that I do, and you will probably need a bit more degreaser to get it clean also.
OK, so after a well-washed bike it is time to lube the bike. Some would take that as lube the chain but I say "bike" because it is more than just the chain that needs it.
Chain lubricants are sometimes mythical to certain people in certain areas. What type of lubricant is a common question I hear more and more, but it is not that difficult to think about. Meaning: it should not be too difficult to chose a proper lubricant.
Where you live plays the biggest part in choosing the type of lubricant. Someone in the Northwest (Portland for example) may want something that is a bit heavier due to the sometimes daily showers. Someone in climates such as Arizona or Southern California may want a lubricant that is a bit cleaner. With less rain, they don't need the heavy protection of a heavier viscosity lubricant.
There are many of you who already have a favorite lubricant in your tool box. No problem. Even if it is not the perfect lubricant, your chain will still love it and be better off with a nice light layer of it. After all, with a clean chain from the bike wash, it is the dirt that you just cleaned off the chain that was most damaging to your drive train and not a bad lubricant choice.
I'm a fan of Pedros and they make a slew of choices. From the Ice Wax to the Syn Lube, Pedros makes great choices for everyone. I'm from Northern California so I started out a fan of Ice Wax because it was light it did not attract too much dirt and my chain was cleaner longer. The Ice Wax does require it to be applied more often as it is not as durable as the heavier types. But I'm cool with that - apply a bit more often to keep my chain a bit cleaner? Sure thing!
But in the winter I may switch to Pedros Syn Lube in case I was caught in the rain. Now my current favorite is the Pedros Liquid X as it is a bit heavier than Ice Wax but still does not collect as much dirt as the Syn Lube. I think there is (in general) a direct relationship of lubricant durability to collecting dirt. Generally the heavier more durable lubricants attract more dirt and the lighter ones attract less.
I'm also a fan of minimal lubricant applied to minimize contamination. The 4-turn-of-the-crank rule applies here. I'll spin the cranks and add the least amount of my favorite lubricant to the chain that I can. After 4 revolutions, I'm done. In this application I do the 4 crank turn rule to control how much lubricant I apply more so than doing it faster.
Lastly, I did say lube the "bike" in the beginning. So after the chain gets lubed, add a very small drop to a few pivot points such as the derailleur pivots. I even put a drop of oil on the bottom bracket cable guide so the cables glide under them smoothly.
* Before the long 100 to 150 mile stages in pouring rain, we do something a bit different. We need our riders to have a chain that will stay lubricated as long as possible. ne of the things we do on the Discovery Team, when it is really raining hard and the riders are out there all day long, is add grease to the lubed chain. Right after the stage finishes we do our daily bike wash, check, and adjustments as necessary. We will then add the Lubricant for the next days stage. The next morning when we wake up and pull the bikes out, we will check the weather. If we think it is bad enough we will add a layer of grease on top of the lubed chain to sort of seal the lubricant in. The grease is NOT for lubricant purposes but just to be a seal against the heavy rains.
The down side to this is grease attracts EVERYTHING. So the bike wash after that day's stage requires a bit more scrubbing to clean the chain/drive train. I usually just get a tub of grease and take a couple fingers full and smear it on top of the chain. Messy and sure to be dirty at the end of that stage - but worth it.
Bottom line though is to clean your bike often and lube it with your favorite bottle of magic. For the average cyclist who does not have someone like myself at their disposal, I would recommend cleaning your bike every 20 to 40 hours of riding. A sort of wide range, as it depends on how bad your bike gets. Back to the rider from the Northwest. That person should do it more often (maybe the 20 to 25 or so hour range) as the rain can be damaging. But for the Arizonian maybe go as much as every 40 hours or more before that person does. This may sound like a lot, but a clean drive train will shift so much nicer and last so much longer. We all spend lots of money on our fine bicycles so why not a little work to make our investment last longer? And don't discount the rookie mark on your calf that you may avoid getting if your chain is cleaner…
hopelijk is dit genoeg informatie... en kun je op deze manier het hele jaar door 'n perfect schone fiets houden