WaterFilter.com

A Basic Guide To Keeping Your Bicycle Clean

A clean bicycle will be a well tuned bicycle and will serve you much better than a greasy, grimy bike that you rarely have time to wash. Everything on your bike is open and easily attacked by dirt and grime and if you do not regularly clean it off, you risk not only losing performance, but endangering yourself with shoddily performing parts.

Cleaning Chains

The most complex and actively moving part on your bicycle is its chain. It is here you should devote the most attention regularly, cleaning every time you go out. There are options to buy expensive, all-in-one chain cleaners, but you rarely need those if you have a good cleaning routine already in place.

First, make sure you have a chain that is easily removed for cleaning ? a Wippermann or Sachs preferably. The Wippermann in particular is stainless steel, immune to the effects of rust and corrosion. You still need to clean it regularly, but it will not succumb quite as easily to small problems that other chains might.

After removing the chain, place it in a tub and cover it in self cleaning lubricant. Use a basic degreaser if the chain is especially dirty and scrub it clean. You should do this every time your chain or bicycle gets wet or dusty.

Cleaning Cassettes

Place degreaser on a toothbrush and clean these thoroughly with the brush. Get inside every little crevice you can find. However, do not spray the cassette directly as it will get the degreaser into the bearings and remove the grease that you actually want to be there. Afterwards, rinse lightly and let it dry.

Cleaning Wheels

Use some luke warm water, a sponge and plain old dishwashing detergent to clean your wheels. Sponge off the tires, rims and spokes while being careful not to get the detergent into the bearings. Rinse it carefully and dry the wheels off manually with a towel.

Cleaning Chain rings

First, take the chain rings off of the crank ? this might require a special tool ? and place them in a tub or sink. Cover them with degreaser and brush them thoroughly. Rinse them afterwards and give them time to drip dry and then take a towel lightly to them to finish the job.

Cleaning the Frame

You will need a lot of additional help for the frame cleaning. Don't take a pressure washer to your frame because it looks easy ? you will only get stuck replacing shocks or other parts because of it. Clean the frame carefully and by hand and look for any other indications that you might need to clean other parts of the bike ? such as the pulleys.

Finishing Up

When you are finished, check over every part for any signs of wear or damage, including chipped paint, dings or cracking. Now, lubricate your bike thoroughly with the right viscosity of lubricant for each moving part and ensure everything is well placed and put back together properly.

If you regularly wash and lubricate your bicycle, it will run like a brand new machine every time you take it out of your garage. Make sure you follow the right steps provided for your specific bicycle in its manual and that you take it to a professional shop if any major work needs to be done.

Tony Brian is a freelance writer for outdoor sports magazines and a contributing writer for Body Sport Paintball, specializing in clean bicycle, well tuned bicycle, and http://www.paintball-gun.com/paintball-guns.html paintball gun.

MORE ARTICLES:

Relaxation - The Key to Healthy Life
Physical exercise complemented by a healthy diet may still leave you bereft of a truly fit body if you dont relax enough. Relaxation releases 'feel good' hormones in our body.

Turn On Your Tap And Consider The More Than One Billion People With No Access To Safe Water On World Water Day, March 22, Urges Hilton Foundation
Unsafe water is the No. 1 public health crisis in the world; one in six people globally have no access to clean water

7 Need to Know Campsite Cooking Strategies
Are you sick and tired of not knowing what to bring or what to cook when you go camping? Do you either pack the entire kitchen (including the sink) or you bring the absolute minimum and then have to use a fork as a spatula or two spoons as tongs?If that sounds even the slightest bit familiar then you are in the right place. Over the past decade or so I have refined a list of 7 things that I use every single time I prepare for my next camping trip.

Local Author Announces Book Launch Party and Reading Tour; Christine Whitmarsh to Read, Sign Books at Reno Area Coffee Shops
Local Reno author and business owner Christine Whitmarsh will host the official launch party for her first book, One Citizen's Words, on Wednesday, July 18th at 5 p.m. at the Jib on the Sparks Marina. A series of local coffee shop appearances where the author will read and autograph her book are also scheduled throughout the month of July.

Healthy Natural Weight Loss
Healthy natural weight loss is not about dieting. It is about changing your eating habits to those that are healthy for you and helps your body to re-establish it's natural rhythm. Everyone has a natural metabolism that is clocked inside themselves. When we mess up the body's metabolism by eating the wrong foods and gaining weight, we have changed this natural process we all have to one that is out of sync with us. In other words, we fooled mother nature on ourselves.

Quorum Productions' Hit TV Show Designing Spaces Shows Viewers All They Need to Know about Hot Water
Energy efficiency, high-output, sizing, applications... are you getting cold feet about choosing your next hot water heater? The hit Quorum Productions television program Designing Spaces will feature David Chisolm of A.O. Smith, the industry leader in hot water heaters, educating viewers on how to make informed decisions when choosing a hot water heater.

A Children's Science-based Fiction Story about the Importance of Healthy Food
"Skippy and Oaf: The Battle Against Oxygen Radicals" (ISBN: 9781933255279), by Craig S. Cousineau, has just been released by DNA Press. Heroic characters portray antioxidants battling evil oxygen radicals in this lively, science-based story. Skippy and Oaf are rats living at a science and nutrition research laboratory. Skippy, a very intelligent rat, is concerned about his friend Oaf's terrible eating habits, and tries to get his friend to eat healthier food. Oaf is skeptical until Skippy explains the science of nutrition at a molecular level, complete with descriptions of battles between superheroes (antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables) and oxygen-radical villains. Based on fascinating scientific information and including a lesson...

Cure for Epic Drought Could Be a $3.50 Fixture: Utility Solutions Makes Water Conservation Easy
A local company offers a product that could save millions of gallons of water every day, costs $3.50, and can be installed by almost anyone in less than five minutes.

Bottled Water And Bottled Water Delivery In Washington, D.C. And Northern Virginia: A Marketing Phenomenon
Bottled water and bottled water delivery has grown in popularity in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area in recent years.

ipodjuice.com Announces iPhone Battery Replacement Service
Apple iPod battery replacement leader ipodjuice.com, which has provided do-it-yourself iPod battery replacement kits to the public for the past three years, has revealed their new iPhone battery replacement service.

Pool & Hot Tub Water Sanitizers
We all enjoy soaking or swimming in a warm crystal clear pool or hot tub yet at times keeping that sparkle can be a trying experience. Keeping your pools chemicals in the proper range is not only necessary to maintain that sparkle but also to keep your pool or hot tub safe for swimmers. There are three basic ways to keep your pool clean and safe for swimming the traditional chlorine system, biguanide and mineral systems each are safe and effective for use in outdoor pools and hot tubs. Each system needs to be used independently of the other so which ever system you start using you must continue to use that system. You will also need to purchase the proper testing equipment for your system.

Shipwire Helps Doggypads.com Clean Up Mess That Came With Success: Housebreaking Pads Retailer Uses Shipwire Storage and Shipping Services to Jetti
Shipwire, Inc., a Demo 2007 success and the leader in Internet-delivered storage and shipping services, today announced that Doggypads.com has successfully deployed Shipwire to eliminate the hassles of warehousing and order fulfillment. By switching to Shipwire, Doggypads.com has been able to jettison a 3,000 square foot warehouse, expand sales to meet desperate dog owners' demands, and focus on launching new products.

Some Tips for Healthy Parenting
Looking back through my files I've come across several great tips for Parents. Here are just a few that I hope will be helpful to you as you invest your day in raising our next generation.

Refrigerator Water Filters Work For Your Health
Refrigerator water filters are an excellent option for individuals or families that are looking for a way to combine the health benefits of a water filter and the enjoyment of chilled water. This type of water filter is designed to be installed on the inside of a refrigerator. Although many refrigerators are designed with a built-in water filter, any refrigerator that has an ice-maker or water dispenser on the door can be outfitted with a water filter. In additions to refrigerators, this type of water filter can be used in conjunction with water fountains, ice machines, commercial coffee makers or water coolers.