Thursday, December 20, 2007

The Greatest Story Never Told


In my own personal Pantheon of mankind's greatest inventions, right up there with nose clippers and the Tokemaster, is the most versatile lubricant and de greaser of our time...WD-40 !

I could spend literally three or four more lines extolling it's virtues, but instead I will reveal the "dirty little secret" that both bike manufacturers and snooty bike mechanics (You know who you are...Tom) don't want you to know... When used properly, WD 40 can keep the drivetrain on everything from your Carbon BMC Team Machine to your newly restored Takara in perfect shape.

Here's how in a few easy to follow steps.

1...Park a '93 Saturn with a Yakima strap rack in your driveway.(Any color, mine happens to be red)

2...Place bike on rack and pull up the hose with the high pressure nozzle

3...With the chainring side facing you, spray WD40(using the red extension thingy) directly into the chain links while backpedaling.

4.. When the chain is saturated, also spray your chainrings

5...Using the hose, rinse off the chainrings and the cassette(If you don't know not to spray water directly at your bottom bracket and hubs, then maybe cycling is a little too complicated for your lifestyle)

6...Stand behind the bike and spin the rear wheel towards you

7...From up close, spray water through the chain as it spools through the derailleur (Make sure the cranks rotate at least four times)

8...Dry chain with towel or t-shirt

9...Lubricate chain with appropriate cycling specific product (I use Pro Road by Finish Line)

10...NEVER, EVER, EVER, use WD 40 in any other way on your bike (Ok, maybe for some light rust removal on the vintage Merckx, but thats it !)

Your Welcome !

No comments: