Cleaning salt from derailleurs?

Buchaill_Mor

Hi there,
I had been out and about during the cold snap, and picked up a lot of road salt while in the saddle and when the bike was on the carrier on the car.
When I took the bike off, I gave it a wash using degreaser solution, and re oiled the chain etc. I used the bike for a good bit after that, but last week I did not get a chance to use it again. Yesterday I went to go for a spin, and the derailleurs seized. I washed them AGAIN, and used some WD40, and got them moving. I have cycled into the office, and I am lucky enough to have the space to keep the bike with me. I can see salt deposits building up on the derailleurs again.
What is the best way to clean this off? Should I taken them off and put them in the solvent bath, or just keep at them with the WD40??

QueensGael

WD40 is not recommended for bikes, use a proper bike lube instead (available at any local bike shop)

http://bicycletutor.com/no-wd40-bike-chain/

What are you using to wash the bike?

listermint

keep WD40 away from the bike. Any decent gear oil does the job. I use castrol from the car on it., another tip is not to clean is a degrease it down so often.


But especially keep WD40 away from it.

Buchaill_Mor

I use citrus degreaser I bought in Halfords, and a series of brushes including a tooth brush. I tend not to use WD40 on the bike because I know it will destroy the chain, and I was REALLY careful to keep it off the chain, and off the wheels when using it. I degreased the chain, and used a light chain oil to relube those, and degreaser on the wheels to stop oil getting on the brake pads after I used the WD40.

QueensGael

You probably need to get a bucket of hot water and a detergent for washing cars (I prefer it over dish soap) and give it a good scrub. Follow what they do here, should sort it out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ak4AzlUz5Q

Beasty

QueensGael wrote: »

(I prefer it over dish soap)

Know what you mean there - tends to not be as good when you put it back in the sink ....:pac:

I tend to take the cassette off and submerge that in some diluted degreaser and then apply a stiff brush to that and the rest of the RD (or spray degreaser). I'll also use a dedicated chain cleaner like the Park Tools one


A thorough going over every couple of weeks of heavy duty crap and it's looking like new again

Buchaill_Mor

Hi guys,
the drive chain and cassette are all in pretty good shape, and I do tend to clean the bike on a regular basis, but the problem is that some salt has gotten into the derailleur mechanism, which is causing it to stick. So it is not so much about cleaning the chain, sprockets and cassette, but the actual springs and mechanical bits in the derailleur.

Beasty

Spray degreaser is probably your best bet - it can penetrate into all the inaccessible bits. Then wash off and dry/lube as appropriate

NeedMoreGears

If there is salt in the mechanism, you could try some clean hot water to dissolve it ?

bbolger

Beasty wrote: »

Know what you mean there - tends to not be as good when you put it back in the sink ....:pac:

I tend to take the cassette off and submerge that in some diluted degreaser and then apply a stiff brush to that and the rest of the RD (or spray degreaser). I'll also use a dedicated chain cleaner like the Park Tools one


A thorough going over every couple of weeks of heavy duty crap and it's looking like new again

Near half price on the chain cleaner tool on Wiggle now:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/park-tools-cm52-cyclone-chain-cleaner/

Beasty - what solution do you fill it with. Can't seem to get the Park Tools Citrus Cleaner fluid anywhere these days.

Brian?

Buchaill_Mor wrote: »

Hi guys,
the drive chain and cassette are all in pretty good shape, and I do tend to clean the bike on a regular basis, but the problem is that some salt has gotten into the derailleur mechanism, which is causing it to stick. So it is not so much about cleaning the chain, sprockets and cassette, but the actual springs and mechanical bits in the derailleur.

Does it move freely when you detach the cable? If so it could be a cable issue.

If it's salt, water will get rid of it. I doubt it's salt in the derailleur that's causing your problem.

Beasty

bbolger wrote: »

Beasty - what solution do you fill it with. Can't seem to get the Park Tools Citrus Cleaner fluid anywhere these days.

From Halfords

tom francy

I've been using we40 for years now.spray sum on the moving parts before a wash.wash wit all bike with warm water.then dry then spray wd40 as on moving parts again ...has worked for years why is everyone always afraid of it.

07Lapierre

Beasty wrote: »

Know what you mean there - tends to not be as good when you put it back in the sink ....:pac:

I tend to take the cassette off and submerge that in some diluted degreaser and then apply a stiff brush to that and the rest of the RD (or spray degreaser). I'll also use a dedicated chain cleaner like the Park Tools one


A thorough going over every couple of weeks of heavy duty crap and it's looking like new again

Chain cleaning Machines?..whats wrong with an old towel with a few drops of degreaser on it and a bit of "Elbow grease"?

Buchaill_Mor

Thanks for all the advice. I will go for another wash with REALLY hot water.

tom francy wrote: »

I've been using we40 for years now.spray sum on the moving parts before a wash.wash wit all bike with warm water.then dry then spray wd40 as on moving parts again ...has worked for years why is everyone always afraid of it.

WD40 is thick and gloopy. It picks up grit from the road, and retains the small metal bits that are worn off your chain. This acts as sandpaper on your chain, cassette and other moving parts, leading them to fail quicker.

blamester

wd40 is not thick and gloopy.
Your problem is most likely cable or shifter related.
Spray a little wd where the cable enters or exits the outer cable and under the bottom bracket and in the shifter.
But your probably going to need new cables pretty soon anyway.

DaithiMC

Had to comment.....Some basic chemistry lads, salt is NOT soluble in oils, including light oils like WD40. The reason for using salt on roads is to depress the freezing point of water. Wash with hot water, wipe off the excess you can, wait until it dries, if there is still a white film of salt go again. When dry spray WD40 into the difficult to get to bits it will do its job as WATER DISPERSANT number 40 and shift residual trapped water leaving the mechanism clear for your favourite brand of lube, which might also be WD40.

PS.... adding detergent to water will reduce the solvent power towards salt, detergent is for increasing the solubility of oils in water solutions, e.g., grease on plates.

Brian?

blamester wrote: »

wd40 is not thick and gloopy

It's not. But it's also not a lubricant, there are far superior lubricants available. There's a load of myths about why you shouldn't use it, the "thick and glooby" is a new one on me.

DaithiMC

Brian? wrote: »

It's not. But it's also not a lubricant, there are far superior lubricants available. There's a load of myths about why you shouldn't use it, the "thick and glooby" is a new one on me.

WD40 is a lubricant, it is not a particularly long lasting one compared with oils designed to have more adherence to the mechanisms on a bike, but used regularly, week to week, it is a perfectly good choice as a lubricant and as a "light oil" it does not cause as much grit and mud to stick to it than heavier oils.

I agree that the WD40 I know is not a thick and glooby oil, in fact, it is the opposite.

Brian?

DaithiMC wrote: »

WD40 is a lubricant, it is not a particularly long lasting one compared with oils designed to have more adherence to the mechanisms on a bike, but used regularly, week to week, it is a perfectly good choice as a lubricant and as a "light oil" it does not cause as much grit and mud to stick to it than heavier oils.

I agree that the WD40 I know is not a thick and glooby oil, in fact, it is the opposite.

OK it is a lubricant, but it wasn't designed as one and isn't a very good one. It's great at repelling water and forming a protective film against oxidisation. I don't see why anyone would want to use it as a lubricant give the array of superior products available.

DaithiMC

Brian? wrote: »

OK it is a lubricant, but it wasn't designed as one and isn't a very good one. It's great at repelling water and forming a protective film against oxidisation. I don't see why anyone would want to use it as a lubricant give the array of superior products available.

Well for one, its cheaper than products sold as lubricants that have a picture of a bike on the front which seems to multiply the price by 2! I generally clean the bike after most long weekend spins and use it to degrease the cassette and mechs and I don't see the need to add another lubricant on top of this given that it will get the same treatment a week from then, with a few commutes in between. Its also convenient to be able to spray it and use the tube supplied to get to less accessible areas. I use heavier oils occasionally on the jockey wheel axles and the springs on the derailleurs etc. but WD40 for most other purposes.