Monsoon Maintenance of your Bike

Venkat Anil is  a passionate mountain biker and senior Bike Tech at TBA. Apart from playing the role of Tech Expert , he is also in charge of Quality Control and Process Implementation of the Tech Department. Here he talks about taking care of bikes during the rains.

Photo Credit : Manu Balasree

It is monsoon time! The green cover is as good as it ever gets. The cloud cover will give us the magical shade that  inspires us to ride the whole day. Add to it the burst of rain that you might absolutely love or hate on a ride. Whatever it is, riding during these monsoon months is something that you would not like to miss out on.

However, riding in rain also calls for some  basic bike maintenance steps. Unfortunately, new riders are not aware of this which leads to premature wear and tear of components.That includes worn out chain, noisy bottom bracket, poor gear shifting and stuck seat posts. Assuming you won't have time to indulge in a full fledged  cleaning routine every time you are back from a monsoon ride,  here is a 10 min routine you need to follow as soon as you re back from the ride.

1.Turn the Bike Upside Down : Keep her like  that for a min to drain out water from some of the nuts and bolts which otherwise might pick up rust.
 
2.Wipe and lube your drive train : Turn it back on wheels and spray  water on the drive train parts(cogs, chain, chain rings, jockey wheels) and wipe them off with a cloth piece . Apply lube liberally. The extra lube will drive out the muck from the chain links. Do this as soon as your back from the ride.

3. Use Wet Lubes : Lubes like Finish Line Wet  are designed for wet conditions. They don't get washed away in rain or water crossings easily and hence stops the chain from running dry in wet conditions ( unlike the dry lubes which will get washed away with a  short spell of rain).

4. Clean your Rims and brake Pads : Use a piece of cloth to wipe the rims and brake pads surface after every ride in rain. This will ensure two things :

• brake pads will not wear-out soon
• Braking efficiency will not do down.

5. Clean you Rotor and disc brake pads :Clean the rotor and brake pads with a piece of cloth the same way as point no 3 above.

6. Wipe of muck from your seat post and  around the seat clamp : To do this, lean the bike to one side and take the seat post off and clean the seat post and the interior part seat tube of the frame. This will ensure the muck doesn't get inside the seat tube.

One last bit of advice. Use a full mudguard. It will not only save your back, it will save the amount of time you spend cleaning your drive train and brake sets.