In this article I’m going to give you my 2 cents on the essential process of cleaning with the help of a bicycle wheel cleaning example.
Cleaning is something that’s going to be part of any bike restoration project. So you want to do this as effective and efficient as possible and/or enjoy the process itself when it doesn’t go that fast.
The wheel comes from a Koga Miyata Skyrunner which had been sitting in somebody’s garage for at least 7 years. I doubt that the bike had ever been cleaned during those years.
Video
Fixing the flat
When I bought the bike the front tire sat on a flat. The tan sidewalls of the tires were completely rotted and have since been replaced by Rene Herse Humptulips Ridge tires, but the first step was to fix the flat. So I did.
There was wear around the valve, which is a classic place for a flat when tubes simply get old instead of punctured.
Cleaning spokes
Next up is cleaning the spokes. In this case 36 per wheel. To get them really clean takes a lot time. Especially where they cross each other and where they enter the hub.
So I simply put on a webinar and do the work. What Tony Robbins calls NET time or no-extra-time.
I use a toothpick to get in between the hub and spokes.
Cleaning the cassette
A rear bicycle wheel cleaning includes removing, cleaning and reinstalling the cassette. This wheel has a freehub, so I can remove the cassette and safely clean it by submerging it in white spirit.
White spirit is an extremely strong degreaser, it’s very cheap, and can be reused ad infinitum when you filter it occasionally.
The difference between a dirty and clean cassette is light and day.
Overhauling bicycle hubs
Normally I would also overhaul the hubs during a bicycle wheel cleaning. But these wheels are different from what I’m used to and required two 13 mm cone wrenches, which I didn’t have.
So I’ll need to buy those and leave the bicycle hub overhaul for another time.
And that concludes this little article bicycle wheel cleaning
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