Spring has arrived, and the days are getting longer, the sun has more woarmth, and getting out of bed each morning to ride is getting a little easier.
Depending how much you’ve been riding through winter, your bike might be looking a little worse off. Or maybe you’ve skipped the colder months, and need to make sure your bike is good to go for the spring and summer that lie ahead.
Here are our 7 tips to make sure your bike is set to go!
1. Give it a good clean
This can be with a bucket and some detergent, but using a pressure washer that is suitable for bikes does save a lot of time. Some people recoil at the idea of using pressure washers, and we don’t advocate blasting your bearings, but a washer like the Karcher K2 has about 1600psi, and is perfect for bikes, and cars and outdoor furniture.
The Karcher K2 is versatile, and all you need for cleaning bikes.
The back of the unit has a hose that can suck in detergent on the low pressure setting – this is super useful for a cyclocross bike when you’ve let the mud dry a bit too long.
You might also want to spary the drivetrain with Bike Juice, from Ride Mechanic. Watered down it makes a great cleaner over the rest of your bike too.
When using the Karcher, keep it about 60cm+ away from the bike, at about a 45 degree angle to the frame tubes, and not directly at the bearings at your headset, bottom bracket or hubs. I find washing the chain at the lowest point of the jockey wheels on your derailleur works best.
Use a rag to dry off the chain and derailleurs, and a clean rag to wipe water off the frame.