I think what's missing from this whole video is that suboptimal maintenance is almost always better than no maintenance and that cosmetic damage is not the same as functional damage. Even the WD40 thing was specifically in that context. Degreasing and lubing your chain with WD40 or washing your bike with dish soap is still going to be a lot better in the long term than skipping on cleaning your bike, which is the real alternative for most people. If you're actually causing meaningful damage (not cosmetic) to your bike by using dish soap that will become obvious over the lifetime of your bike, you're washing your bike too often of doing something else very wrong. Totally agree on recklessly leaning your bike on important components, best to avoid that.
actually I find soap dishwasher a good way to clean the bike. mix it with water to soften it up and not too concentrated. removes all the dirt and oil easily
Haha...I admit to using WD40 on the chain (after degreasing and rinsing chain with water) and washing up liquid to get muck off the frame and it hasn't done any harm to my bikes in 40 years of cycling experience. As you rightly say, it's far worse not cleaning the bike at all.
You sound so precious about the bikes. lol: the bags stuff and the resting on bars... If I can't afford a minor damage to a thing it's a sure sign I should never have bought that thing in the first place. I live by that principle and I'm always chilled. Basically I try to not be owned by the stuff I own. e.g.: being overly cautious all the time or spending too much time and efforts in maintenance. If it wears out I replace it, simples. Money buys peace kind of thing. Now I still take the valuable advice on lube and clean, thanks.
Much better to lean against the top tube than the saddle or bar foam. Saddle and foam get damaged more easily (and you touch them directly with your body), the bike is much more likely to fall over, and unless you’re riding cheap ass plastic bikes (like those ones with carbon fibbers in) you’re at worst gonna scratch the paint, which is how you know a bike is actually getting used.
62,000 km on two bikes in 8 years and I use bags sometimes (eg London to Paris and back). In rain all too often. On dirt roads. One is 15 years old. They both look like new because I look after them. Everyone have some pride in your bike.
Feel like my paint work gets way more damaged from getting constantly blasted by debris from the roads than from most of these thing though to be honest haha
The thing with Dish soap is people dump about half a pint of the stuff in a one bucket of warm water (so it gets all foamy), if you must use it you just need a quick squirt maybe a couple of teaspoons worth in the bottom of the bucket with HOT water to break surface tension. Oh and people that go straight in with the sponge with dry or partly dry dirt/mud still visible on the frame, why? You may as well get the sand paper out.
Agree with all of this except the sarcasm on the bike bags. 😄 I know how to put my bags on in a way that doesn't damage my precious Colnago, but it seems like Ollie was more annoyed at bag carriers in general. Hey man, I can't put snacks in my back pockets, they're directly in the sun, on my sweaty back! And I don't want my keys mashed up against my body either. There are plenty of legit reasons to have a bike bag. And what about bikepacking?!
If you bike solo, especially solo remote, you need bags to carry all the spares and tools to save you when eventually you have a mechanical; spare tube, chain, chain tool, wrenches, zip ties, gloves, paper towels, etc. You also need fuel...snacks. Then there is layered clothing if you ride in varying conditions...say leave early when it is cold and then ride into the heat of the day...or get back later when temperatures plummet. Finally, I much prefer pulling my phone from a side zipper in my bag pocket than trying to wrestle it out of my jersey pocket.
Lacquer is not used for finish coatings anymore. Modern paint systems use Urethane clear coats over thin layers of color pigmentation. But you are right that dish detergents and degreasing agents will dull the topcoat finish.
Ollie being upset with people actually using bikes as practical transportation, and calling them “hipsters” for doing so, is pretty funny. How dare they? 😂 Those paint protection films he recommends don’t hold up very long against constant abrasion, in my experience. At a certain point, one just has to choose whether their bike is a vanity art piece or a tool. Not saying one shouldn’t try their best to keep their bike looking nice. But let’s not start calling people names for choosing to bike to haul their vinyl 😂
Exactly. My bike is used for a wide variety of things. Pleasure riding to to doing errands (groceries, hardware store pickups, etc). I’ll clean it with whatever I have available. Sometimes cleaning is just wiping water off the chain and using WD-40. My mountain bike is 35 yrs old, is used near daily spring to fall, is cleaned all the wrong ways, yet chain, cassette, and bearings last many years despite my “improper” maintenance (also original paint and stickers still look good except on underside). Incidentally I just saw a video about why we should do group rides. I don’t do group rides because there’s always an “Ollie” gatekeeper judging me and my bike and what I’m wearing (I wear cargo shorts over bike shorts because I need-and like-pockets for carrying stuff).
3:14 “Don’t use washing-up liquid … it’s going to damage…” - don’t like when sponsors use these channels to spread fear, to make people buy overpriced washing-up liquid. I’ve been washing my bike for over 4 years with a plant-based, baby-safe dish soap that biodegrades significantly faster(hours instead of weeks/months) than “bike products” and it did absolutely no “damage” to the color or shininess of the bike, and no, there is no “rusting”(heard that one when they invited the sponsor), just like your utensils are not rusting if not scratched and not left in water.
I agree, Dawn dish soap is used to clean aquatic animals because it is so gentle and safe, if my bike can't handle the same detergent as a sensitive skin sea duck, then I'm buying a different bike.
we all know that WD40 it's bad for the bike, it's just question of time and luck. don't use that shit, your bike must be still fresh from factory, try using that on aged bike and you'll notice the damage
@@leart78 of course you will notice the damage, as it penetrates rust and shows how damaged the bike is. Putting a lube, oil or anything thicker muffles the sound of grinding.
Seriously Washing up liquid? A few dollars buys a high quality CAR SHAMPOO and this will normally have wax for that hydra static effect and will make the bike look great. If you only have a bike, it will last years but if you have a car you care for, then BONUS. Use SIO2 liquid wax after drying the bike (and the car) with proper microfibre towels (one to put the wax on and one to buff it off). Never spray wax on the bike, it will go on to the tires and brake surfaces.
@@stevewilliams5428 You may want to calm down Steve, and consider the *amount* of salt involved. When diluted in the wash water it's basically a homeopathic concentration. Maybe equivalent to 1ml of sea water in 5 liters of fresh and of course even that will be rinsed. Likely the mineral concentrations of your tap water are more corrosive. Millions of people wash their steel cutlery every day without ill effect.
I wonder what Ollie is looking at when he does his habitual stare at his four o clock, then he does that odd little jaw waggle. Don't tell him but it's a bit annoying
I’m absolutely behind you on all of these! For crying out loud, your bike is an expensive, intricate piece of equipment! Treat it as such and you’ll get so many years of excellent performance from your attention to detail. The most incredible benefit of caring for your bike is being able to put your hands on it. You’ll see and feel possible problems before they become obvious.
In 2005, I bought a Specialized Allez. I have a couple other bikes that I ride, but this is my "daily driver". I ride it at least 4 times per week for 18 years. That's over 40,000 miles outdoors and nearly 20,000 miles indoors. I'm guilty of all these things and more - yet my Allez is in better shape and more enjoyable to ride than it was when it was new. Does any of this really matter? Should we take long-term maintenance advice from someone who gets a brand new bike every couple of months?
Ollie - About washing your bike - a surfactant has to be included in the bike wash to break down the water tension and remove dirt. Any other additives in the cleaning solution, no matter how well meaning, will have a negative effect. A small amount of ordinary washing up detergent applied at a low pressure, such as with a mitt, has to be the best compromise.
Olile is being paid by bike product cleaning companies, that is obvious. Look at the products he is using for his hair --LOL -- it is a clear a give away!
I washed my bike last week after accidentally riding through 2” thick mud across the road. I used my pressure washer to get most of the mud off, and a microfiber towel to wipe other areas. No soap used. Bike looks great.
Some, not all washing up liquid had aggregate in it so it gets burnt food off your dishes, but will scratch your paint. Alot is also acidic... It depends how much you care...
Difference is washing up liquid contains chemicals that will remove protective films and wax. Automotive washing liquids are very different and are formulated not to remove protective films and waxes. It’s not about strength, it’s about the chemical formulation.
Think we now need Ollie to give us a full on bike detailing video from start to finish, in detail, to remove all the micro marring that we've inflicted and then the ceramic top coating etc. To get it back to showroom finish. Also what to do about fixing marring on a matt finish bike.
@@gcntech Please no. There are enough of these videos for which you are obviously sponsored but never say so. Those ones about the fancy and extortionate coatings are crap. The wear and tear is in the moving parts and not the finish of the frame
@@jeremynorth wrong. bikes are ALWAYS in the sun. the coating is JUST like a car, including clear coat. Therefore it must be treated as such. The clear coat needs wax, and cleaning, just like a car.
You can’t fix matte finish. Once it’s rubbed to the point of being shiny, it stays that way. My road bike commuter with almost 20,000 miles has a few shiny spots on the matte finish. Just have to live with it.
I always use a small dash of washing up liquid in a bucket to wash our bikes. I don’t think it damages the paintwork as much as you say (maybe because Fairy don’t sponsor GCN ?). I also use a detailing brushes for awkward areas on a bike. They’re also used on high end cars so your argument seems wrong. High pressure hoses are a real bike killer. Isopropyl alcohol on discs, rims etc cleans them well. As for lube, I always say that if you can see the lube on a bike it’s not doing anything, apart from attracting dirt. It’s internal, metal to metal where it’s needed.
The argument has been raging for years in the car world, the issue is with an electrostatically attracted, super high pigment, robot controlled, uniformly baked on factory paint job, applied to a brand new near sanitized surface it will have near zero effect unless you are using way too much. On a respray or aftermarket clear coated finish it will overtime "attack" the paint/lacquer as its just not as chemical or abrasion resistant. Back in the day bike frames where stove enamelled and later powder coated usually after being "dipped" in a strong solvent to remove contaminants, this gives a final finish with similar properties to a factory car finish. However modern carbon can't be prepped or coated with those methods and the final finish is more akin to a car respray and more susceptible to damage. I suspect this is why we see a lot of matte/satin/semi-gloss finishes on modern frames as "dull" finishes can use more pigment an require less prep/finishing work to be pleasing to the eye. Having said all that a cap of washing up liquid in full bucket of water isn't gonna do much, if any damage.
Added tip, when putting lube on it is better to drip it on the inside of the links not the outside as shown in this video as rotating the chain will throw the lube off if on the outside, preventing it from penetrating the links whereas putting in on the inside of the chain will drive it into the link more.
Yep that’s how I do it. I use Triflow with the tiny straw and apply one drop to each roller along the bottom run of chain. I do the whole length between chain ring and cassette, then rotate the crank backwards to the next section of chain and keep going round.
Literally nothing as divisive as "this is how you wash your bike RIGHT!" Every time y'all do this kind of advice there's like 50 comments saying something different. So I still honestly don't know how to wash your bike proper 😂Use Muc-off, don't use Muc-off. Use wax, don't use wax. Cover your discs, no need to cover your discs. Don't use a pressure hose, it's fine to use a pressure hose. All I know is that I'd rather have a clean bike than a dirty one. You should have some kind of bike washing competition on your bike festival and have them judged by professional bike washers or something.
i dunno, i've use mild dish detergent on my bikes for maybe ten years now.... and it works just fine. and no, its not too powerful for your bike. glossy bikes, matte bikes, everything in between. maybe if you're using it straight up undiluted. who knows. but just a quick squirt into a big bucket of water. more than enough to clean everything.
You should thoroughly clean your drivetrain at regular intervals, and only apply new lube when it's totally spotless; completely agree. Obsessively avoiding brake rotor contamination is also a very good idea. Dish soap? I don't agree with that one; it's not going to damage anything on your bike if you don't use ridiculously hot water. If it doesn't scratch porcelain, it's not going to scratch a powder coated bike frame. I particularly don't agree with the bike bag rant. It's a bike, not a museum piece; it's meant to be used, and that involves a certain degree of wear and tear.
Love that fact that all of Oli's rants are about GCN tech videos (granted from back in the day) he wasn't involved in. Either he's in need of some personal release in his life or he has brought an increase in the quality to the tech channel?
As an adult onset roadie, I picked up some bad habits from my BMX and inner city fixed gear days. Went literally years without maintenance 🤷🏻♂️if it pulls and stops, I'm good 😂
A lot of people are complaining about audio levels. To whoever is editing the video there is often presets for TH-cam loudness in your editor. In Davinci it’s in the fair lite tab towards the right when you click on the dots above the metering. Select TH-cam and this should help you adjust the audio levels to stop compression when uploading. But the most effective change would just be ducking the audio when Ollie speaks. You can also widen the stereo separation of the music to make more room for Ollie’s voice on a mono track as well as using the EQ on the music track and lowering it on the frequency Ollie’s voice sits at to make more room for him again. Hope that helps :) 👍🏻
Here's a tip: if you don't want to get royally reamed by bike companies marketing you 10 quid bottles of bike wash that they buy by truckloads of IBCs (1000 litres for a couple of hundred quid, then bottle & mark up 700-1000%), use wool wash detergent. It's about the same chemical composition, give or take. Even the off-brand stuff won't affect your paintwork nor the lube on your pivots or bearings. 1 cap per bucketful is plenty.
I liked the bit at 4:28 when Ollie mentioned putting lube in the wrong places, then the editor followed it by showing a clip of someone putting lube on top of the chain.
Ollie has lost it over this one, lol, and some contact with reality. That reality is: 90% of people don’t have custom paint jobs on 12k+ bikes with premium racing components. Most of us ride a second hand sub 1k bike with calliper brakes, using an old 105 that’s been already scratched and we don’t care how we lean it and and how we clean it - as long as we clean it lol That aside, only valid thing I’m guilty of sometimes is too much lube or putting it right before a 100k+ ride rather than night before…
Ollie, need your opinion. I wash my bikes by filling a bucket of warm water, to which I add a cap full of car wash, applying with a 50 mm soft paint brush (used soley for the purpose of) Then allow the bike to dry by the sun. After that I bring bike into garage, to cool off. Sun can be very hot here in Aust. With my carbon frame bike, I then apply motor vehicle wax over frame/fork. Is that ok ? Just trying to preserve the carbon material.
No it doesn’t. He’s easily the most irritating and of the presenters. This video is borderline unwatchable. Tbh I rarely watch GCN on TH-cam these days. Has gone downhill badly and videos such as this are a prime example.
If all these things can damage a bike so easily, actually riding a bike must be inherently unsafe. I better just mount my bike on the wall of the living room as a piece of delicate artwork with a sign that says, "look but don't touch." Of course the hangers to display it will likely also cause structural damage. Maybe manufacturers could build them like they did in the old days. Almost indestructible.
100% on the tips (gripes?) and grab one of those car mitts which make cleaning easier. But I’m going to stick up for dry lube - less expensive and less faff than wax.
Nonsense -a capful of dishwashing detergent in a gallon of warm water. is perfect for the job. It contains the surfactants that you want -just like the overpriced products "designed" for the job. The *method* of cleaning is what causes issues, and Ollie is spot-on there. No power-washing. and no brushes on the paint.
Agree about the background music, far too intrusive. Gmbn also guilty of this, they use loud rock music 🎵 when showing bikes racing along tracks/descents. It detracts from what is excellent video content…..rant over!
Olie thank you. Seen it all in the bike shop - as a 69 year old commuter (hypster😂) I rather enjoy wearing my bike out. My 20 year old Bianchi castro Valley with leopard seat saddle(fake) has about 90,000 miles on it. Its got three layers of stickers such as “bike thieves suck”. My pretty bike is reserved for sunday best rides. Love your channel.
8:11 we are not hipsters (ok some of us are...) But what else are you gonna do if a bike is your only means of transportation and you have to carry stuff? 🤷
I suspect learning how do clean your bike will involve yet another (expensive?) product. For those of us who don’t have a bottomless pit of cash, hot water with a small squeeze of dishwashing liquid, topped and tailed with the garden hose jet nozzle does the trick perfectly well. I also use a very soft brush from from a household brush and pan set, once the initial hosing has been done. My disc brakes are cleaned with rubbing alcohol, cheaply available. 6 years on, my beloved beast still looks brand new.
No and NO! Car wash liquid is cheap enough and infinitely better than dishwashing liquid. Dishwashing liquid actually contains abrasives that can destroy your topcoat. Ever see those cars where the top coat is peeling?
@@kevinc9528 when you say "dishwashing liquid" are you referring to the stuff you put in your dishwasher appliance, or the liquid soap you typically put in a sink with hot water? The former does contain abrasives, the latter does not.
Man, here's an old-timer who learned to work on bikes when 7-speed cassettes were the thing. When I recently bought a twelve speed carbon bike I wish some young guy at the bike shop had dope-slapped me and said, "lookit, Pops, there's stuff you need to know about 12-speed drive trains and disc brakes and all this wonderful new stuff. And now you have dope-slapped me. Thanks.
#askgcntech please investigate what happens to a frame used in an indoor trainer. People sell bikes "only used indoors" but I think it might damage the frame, especially when standing up and sprinting
It is very hard on the frame, only crashing is harder. That is why I became a Spinning instructor so I could create an indoor ride for training days and the cold months that is "cycling correct". Tear up the gym's spin bikes instead of your own and interact with fellow humans in person rather than avatars! 😃👍🏻
A dedicated smart trainer is expensive but can save you in the long run on wear and tear on your outside bike...cassettes, chainrings, chains, bottom brackets, jockey wheels... A good dedicated smart bike is driven by a massive chain or belt system that can go 10's of thousands of miles with no maintenance.
Bollocks! I understand that you now need to boost overpriced Silca bike wash liquid but you have a degree in chemistry, so please name the SPECIFIC chemical ingredients in dishwashing liquid that are good enough for car paint but will destroy the lacquer on your bike?
@@mrflaxtv81 It's a tiny amount of salt. A few CC of soap in a pail of water -- even if the soap was pure sea water, the resultant mix wouldn't be that salty. And of course the soap is mostly NOT salt; a small amount is there just to adjust the viscosity. It's an insignificant amount of salt and pales in comparison to the mineral content already in your tap water. So unless you're washing with distilled water there's no practical difference.
@@BixbyConsequence I meant ammonia and bleach salts, rather than a common sodium compound. Combined with UV from sunlight exposure it can weaken and crack the top coat protecting paint, then dull the paint etc. For the sake of a few quid, I'll stick to Muc-Off to wash the 3k steed...
Indoor trainers....I wonder if the frames where ever made to be loaded like that. Looking at how the rear and front section gets bent....not the same as with wheels on
As a mechanic of almost 30 years, I seriously doubt that just the oils from your fingers will affect your brakes in any way. I can see it if you’re handling your brake rotors with greasy fingers though.
I would maybe suggest that the brief video showing the chain lube being applied is "wrong" too. I was always taught to apply it on the lower run of the chain, that way you are applying it to the inside, and centrifugal force will assist the lube push through the chain and reduce fling...
I think its easy to talk about the last topic when you are commuting on bike friendly places or not even commuting with the bike. I hate the fact that I have to lean in places that is in contact with my frame, but when I do, I have no choice! 😅
In bike friendly places the bike racks are better designed so I can lock my bike to.... my frame & tire. Which means metal against my frame. City commuters are going to get scratches. No way around it. And today in a less friendly place, I had to lock to a metal rail fence. Yep.... leaning my frame against hard metal. So that last point he made is pretty preposterous for any ride where you have to lock up and leave your bike somewhere unless it is a pristine vault, which most of us don't have.
Ha! Brake rotor surface contamination. That advice is expected from a kick ass power climber! When you are hauling ass down a mountain NEVER give up free speed! If you are braking hard enough for that switch back the rotors will burn that contamination off and sing from heat dissipation.
How about? Leaning it on the bars/hoods when windy could be a bad idea a little wind gust is enough to move your bike forward and your fresh new bar tape/hoods levers or even the back on the saddle can be scraped or worse your whole bike dropping to its side and scratching paintwork and more components -id just lay it on its left side.Another very important tip id say using too much degreaser (like wd40) around the cassette when not fully removing of the wheel and cleaning it ,the degreaser gets into and eats the bearing and hub body grease which results in broken back wheel if not serviced often enough.When using a high powered high pressure washer watch out spraying into chipped paintwork especially carbon as you may chip it even more-or your favourite wheelset stickers may come off from the high pressure-lower the pressure or use it from further distance 👍
Isopropyl alcohol and a microfibre cloth is perfect for cleaning your pads and discs, I do the discs at least weekly (or if a squel starts) and the pads probably bimonthly (or if a squel starts) this is also a great time to check for wear and tear, if you are just wiping the discs off you don't even need to take the wheels off and this also works for rim brake bikes.
Household dish washing liquid is made to be safe for human skin. It's not as powerful as a stripper as Ollie seems to think. However, the powder detergent for dishwashing machines is not made to be safe for skin and should be avoided. Same with laundry detergent, either powder or liquid. If it's for use inside a closed machine don't wash anything by hand with it.
THANK YOU for finally addressing but using dish soap for bike washing. I comment this on as many bike wash videos as I can that say to use it. It's not good for the finish and will eventually cause finish issues which can be even more detrimental to carbon bikes which rely on that to protect the glue from UV and other external threats. There's a reason car guys don't use dish soap on their cars.
Dishwashing liquid has worked very well for me for over 15 years with zero negative effects on my clear and matte finished bikes. I clean my bike(s) every 3 rides, which means about 40 times every summer... are there better products? Sure. Do you need them? That's another question entirely.
@@TanManFixes how does dishwashing liquid dissolve a clearcoat? Certified chemist here. There's nothing in there that attacks finishes. But let's say for argument's sake that you're right. I have a 2005 giant tcr czero that has been ridden hard and washed over 40 times a year since I bought it and it looks as shiny as the day I got it. The "damage" caused by the mild soap I'm using is clearly negligible if it can't be seen after all those years and hundreds of washes. Marketing is not a reliable source of information, especially scientific information.
This is a similar experience to my Late 1980's Gardin, SL chromoloy tubing, C-record, now Campy/Tiagra/Tektro/Chinese searpost mix, vs. Cannondale Synapse 105 Aluminum bike. I find great comfort o the Gardin and getting slowly used to the Cannondale. There is nothing like a good pair of rubber caliper brakes compared to the modulation of the disc brakes (non hydraulic). Also, the down tube shifting makes accurate choices fast. We bring in new tech, often concentrating on proprietorship, instead of other more important factors. Thanks for your cool review. I really do not see why Giant took a giant blow. It's a bike that needs a human to power it.
I use dish detergents on bikes my whole life. Never caused any issues. Those were always cheap bikes though. If i had machine with the price of a car i probably wouldn't dare.
@@ynie1 Squealing brakes are an odd combination of embarrassing and useful. Useful because you needn't use a bell or shout to make people ahead aware of your approach. Just squeak your brakes a bit. 🤪
YES! The leaning the bike against a top tube!!!!!! Party foul for sure. How about flipping the bike over on to the saddle and bars to take a wheel out….?
Ollie, one of your best vids of simple tips, though your ammusing 4 year old tantrums are over done a bit. You did miss that other sin of pressure washing the grease out of your bearings. Never the less good advice. I hadn't thought of the sweat one so its out to the shed with the cleaning materials after 30 in 30 turbo sessions.
Something to mention about paint protection film, removing it (when a corner was peeling) also removed part of the paint on my head tube. Appears that this might have been user error, but wanted to warn others.
One thing you'll spray without knowing is tyre sealant, when you let air pressure out the tubeless valve can release sealant with a blast of air towards the disc.
Do you do any of these things? 👀
Nope!
Although once i did contaminate my rotors a little, but i cleaned them properly afterwards
I use a brush, dish soap, sometimes scotch brite and I spray/wipe WD-40 on every inch of the frame.
Oh, it's Titainium BTW 🤣
Yes. And I will keep doing these things until Ollie releases the owl perched on his head.
Yes... the level of the voice is too low, though:)
No, but I do enjoy working in words like surfactant and saponification as part of casual conversation.
I think what's missing from this whole video is that suboptimal maintenance is almost always better than no maintenance and that cosmetic damage is not the same as functional damage. Even the WD40 thing was specifically in that context. Degreasing and lubing your chain with WD40 or washing your bike with dish soap is still going to be a lot better in the long term than skipping on cleaning your bike, which is the real alternative for most people.
If you're actually causing meaningful damage (not cosmetic) to your bike by using dish soap that will become obvious over the lifetime of your bike, you're washing your bike too often of doing something else very wrong.
Totally agree on recklessly leaning your bike on important components, best to avoid that.
actually I find soap dishwasher a good way to clean the bike. mix it with water to soften it up and not too concentrated. removes all the dirt and oil easily
Haha...I admit to using WD40 on the chain (after degreasing and rinsing chain with water) and washing up liquid to get muck off the frame and it hasn't done any harm to my bikes in 40 years of cycling experience. As you rightly say, it's far worse not cleaning the bike at all.
@@stevestreet7677WD make various things now, formulated for washing the frame, for example, or the chain
@@PRH123 😊👍
I'd rather have a dry chain than use WD-40. It not only ruins your chain but your cassette and derailleur too.
Tip to the editor; background music is too loud at points where it gets more intense.
Every single GCN video nowadays sadly...
That’s scream at the end … was me!
Totally agree. Very unnecessary background music
Nice to see the old Top Gear sound man got a new job :)
Especially if it has any kind of vocals
You sound so precious about the bikes. lol: the bags stuff and the resting on bars...
If I can't afford a minor damage to a thing it's a sure sign I should never have bought that thing in the first place. I live by that principle and I'm always chilled. Basically I try to not be owned by the stuff I own. e.g.: being overly cautious all the time or spending too much time and efforts in maintenance. If it wears out I replace it, simples. Money buys peace kind of thing.
Now I still take the valuable advice on lube and clean, thanks.
Much better to lean against the top tube than the saddle or bar foam. Saddle and foam get damaged more easily (and you touch them directly with your body), the bike is much more likely to fall over, and unless you’re riding cheap ass plastic bikes (like those ones with carbon fibbers in) you’re at worst gonna scratch the paint, which is how you know a bike is actually getting used.
Ollie must have a panic attack every time he sees a gravel bike that actually gets ridden.
Or with a handlebar bag!
62,000 km on two bikes in 8 years and I use bags sometimes (eg London to Paris and back). In rain all too often. On dirt roads. One is 15 years old. They both look like new because I look after them. Everyone have some pride in your bike.
Lol
Ollie is biking at a pink cloud
'You don't wash your car like you wash your bike' - damn right - I only wash the bike , I leave the rain to sort the car out
My only regret is that I have but just 1 thumbs up to give.
Feel like my paint work gets way more damaged from getting constantly blasted by debris from the roads than from most of these thing though to be honest haha
Very shallow take on the bags. There are many different bikes being used for different purposes, and not everyone is a damn roadie.
The thing with Dish soap is people dump about half a pint of the stuff in a one bucket of warm water (so it gets all foamy), if you must use it you just need a quick squirt maybe a couple of teaspoons worth in the bottom of the bucket with HOT water to break surface tension.
Oh and people that go straight in with the sponge with dry or partly dry dirt/mud still visible on the frame, why? You may as well get the sand paper out.
Agree with all of this except the sarcasm on the bike bags. 😄 I know how to put my bags on in a way that doesn't damage my precious Colnago, but it seems like Ollie was more annoyed at bag carriers in general. Hey man, I can't put snacks in my back pockets, they're directly in the sun, on my sweaty back! And I don't want my keys mashed up against my body either. There are plenty of legit reasons to have a bike bag. And what about bikepacking?!
How about putting eggs in jersey pocket so they are ready when you finish you ride? 😊
Or a steak and kidney pudding 😂😂
Bikepacking is shit, same for most bike bags. Except maybe under saddle one.
You must need a very large bag for the Vinyl record collection...and beard grooming equipment
If you bike solo, especially solo remote, you need bags to carry all the spares and tools to save you when eventually you have a mechanical; spare tube, chain, chain tool, wrenches, zip ties, gloves, paper towels, etc. You also need fuel...snacks. Then there is layered clothing if you ride in varying conditions...say leave early when it is cold and then ride into the heat of the day...or get back later when temperatures plummet. Finally, I much prefer pulling my phone from a side zipper in my bag pocket than trying to wrestle it out of my jersey pocket.
Lacquer is not used for finish coatings anymore. Modern paint systems use Urethane clear coats over thin layers of color pigmentation. But you are right that dish detergents and degreasing agents will dull the topcoat finish.
Ollie being upset with people actually using bikes as practical transportation, and calling them “hipsters” for doing so, is pretty funny. How dare they? 😂
Those paint protection films he recommends don’t hold up very long against constant abrasion, in my experience. At a certain point, one just has to choose whether their bike is a vanity art piece or a tool. Not saying one shouldn’t try their best to keep their bike looking nice. But let’s not start calling people names for choosing to bike to haul their vinyl 😂
Exactly. My bike is used for a wide variety of things. Pleasure riding to to doing errands (groceries, hardware store pickups, etc). I’ll clean it with whatever I have available. Sometimes cleaning is just wiping water off the chain and using WD-40. My mountain bike is 35 yrs old, is used near daily spring to fall, is cleaned all the wrong ways, yet chain, cassette, and bearings last many years despite my “improper” maintenance (also original paint and stickers still look good except on underside).
Incidentally I just saw a video about why we should do group rides. I don’t do group rides because there’s always an “Ollie” gatekeeper judging me and my bike and what I’m wearing (I wear cargo shorts over bike shorts because I need-and like-pockets for carrying stuff).
A man with that haircut calling me a hipster for having a bag on my bike. I've heard it all now!
@@Richarddraper 😆
3:14 “Don’t use washing-up liquid … it’s going to damage…” - don’t like when sponsors use these channels to spread fear, to make people buy overpriced washing-up liquid.
I’ve been washing my bike for over 4 years with a plant-based, baby-safe dish soap that biodegrades significantly faster(hours instead of weeks/months) than “bike products” and it did absolutely no “damage” to the color or shininess of the bike, and no, there is no “rusting”(heard that one when they invited the sponsor), just like your utensils are not rusting if not scratched and not left in water.
Plant based baby safe dish soap isn’t like normal dish soap though🙄🙄🙄
I agree, Dawn dish soap is used to clean aquatic animals because it is so gentle and safe, if my bike can't handle the same detergent as a sensitive skin sea duck, then I'm buying a different bike.
Using washing up liquid and WD 40 for 5 years now. Bike absolutely tip top. No issues.
But they don't do sponsorships...
we all know that WD40 it's bad for the bike, it's just question of time and luck.
don't use that shit, your bike must be still fresh from factory, try using that on aged bike and you'll notice the damage
@@leart78 of course you will notice the damage, as it penetrates rust and shows how damaged the bike is. Putting a lube, oil or anything thicker muffles the sound of grinding.
Seriously Washing up liquid? A few dollars buys a high quality CAR SHAMPOO and this will normally have wax for that hydra static effect and will make the bike look great. If you only have a bike, it will last years but if you have a car you care for, then BONUS.
Use SIO2 liquid wax after drying the bike (and the car) with proper microfibre towels (one to put the wax on and one to buff it off). Never spray wax on the bike, it will go on to the tires and brake surfaces.
@@Desmo500 and remember to ride a bike only on cloudy days, so you don't damage the paintjob with sun rays.
Making this video has clearly taken a lot out of poor Ollie. He needs a recovery day now.
He gets very into the subject matter 😂
@@gcntech Calm down dear. Washing up liquid is bad because most brands contain some salt.
@@stevewilliams5428 You may want to calm down Steve, and consider the *amount* of salt involved. When diluted in the wash water it's basically a homeopathic concentration. Maybe equivalent to 1ml of sea water in 5 liters of fresh and of course even that will be rinsed. Likely the mineral concentrations of your tap water are more corrosive. Millions of people wash their steel cutlery every day without ill effect.
People use steel cutlery still?
It's all the ingress he was dealing with.
What Ollie brings to this channel is amazing. And when Ollie and Steve get together, I could watch them all day:)
I wonder what Ollie is looking at when he does his habitual stare at his four o clock, then he does that odd little jaw waggle. Don't tell him but it's a bit annoying
@@jeremynorth 👀9:44
I’m absolutely behind you on all of these! For crying out loud, your bike is an expensive, intricate piece of equipment! Treat it as such and you’ll get so many years of excellent performance from your attention to detail. The most incredible benefit of caring for your bike is being able to put your hands on it. You’ll see and feel possible problems before they become obvious.
Why not just show how to properly clean your bike.
In 2005, I bought a Specialized Allez. I have a couple other bikes that I ride, but this is my "daily driver". I ride it at least 4 times per week for 18 years. That's over 40,000 miles outdoors and nearly 20,000 miles indoors. I'm guilty of all these things and more - yet my Allez is in better shape and more enjoyable to ride than it was when it was new. Does any of this really matter? Should we take long-term maintenance advice from someone who gets a brand new bike every couple of months?
Thanks Ollie! I can 100% relate to all the frustration. Especially when my family members do it.
Ollie - About washing your bike - a surfactant has to be included in the bike wash to break down the water tension and remove dirt. Any other additives in the cleaning solution, no matter how well meaning, will have a negative effect. A small amount of ordinary washing up detergent applied at a low pressure, such as with a mitt, has to be the best compromise.
Olile is being paid by bike product cleaning companies, that is obvious. Look at the products he is using for his hair --LOL -- it is a clear a give away!
car wash soap is the best bet. Modern paints are the same, including a clear coat. Dawn dish soap is a FULL stripping agent and should not be used.
I washed my bike last week after accidentally riding through 2” thick mud across the road. I used my pressure washer to get most of the mud off, and a microfiber towel to wipe other areas. No soap used. Bike looks great.
@@Patrick94GSR I bet your bike looks fantastic. But that preasure wash won't have done anything for your bearings.
@@thegorillaguide I avoided bearings with the spray and also removed the crankset to clean out some old grit that was inside the BB Shell.
Washing up liquid is absolutely and demonstrably fine to use to wash a bike or car.... It is not "too powerful" it's liquid soap dude. It's fine
I'd agree with this, I've even seen it recommended - bike cleaner is another way to charge OTT prices.
Some, not all washing up liquid had aggregate in it so it gets burnt food off your dishes, but will scratch your paint. Alot is also acidic... It depends how much you care...
It is an AD to sell the expensive "bike" washing liquids. Muc-off can fac-off. $20 for "nano marketing terms special cleaner".
I know, right? And it's not like you can't control the concentration (i.e., "power" ).
Difference is washing up liquid contains chemicals that will remove protective films and wax. Automotive washing liquids are very different and are formulated not to remove protective films and waxes. It’s not about strength, it’s about the chemical formulation.
Would love new updated bike cleaning tutorials from the channel :)
Think we now need Ollie to give us a full on bike detailing video from start to finish, in detail, to remove all the micro marring that we've inflicted and then the ceramic top coating etc. To get it back to showroom finish. Also what to do about fixing marring on a matt finish bike.
There might be a video on its way soon that you'll enjoy 👀
@@gcntech Please no. There are enough of these videos for which you are obviously sponsored but never say so. Those ones about the fancy and extortionate coatings are crap. The wear and tear is in the moving parts and not the finish of the frame
@@jeremynorth wrong. bikes are ALWAYS in the sun. the coating is JUST like a car, including clear coat. Therefore it must be treated as such. The clear coat needs wax, and cleaning, just like a car.
You can’t fix matte finish. Once it’s rubbed to the point of being shiny, it stays that way. My road bike commuter with almost 20,000 miles has a few shiny spots on the matte finish. Just have to live with it.
I always use a small dash of washing up liquid in a bucket to wash our bikes. I don’t think it damages the paintwork as much as you say (maybe because Fairy don’t sponsor GCN ?). I also use a detailing brushes for awkward areas on a bike. They’re also used on high end cars so your argument seems wrong. High pressure hoses are a real bike killer. Isopropyl alcohol on discs, rims etc cleans them well. As for lube, I always say that if you can see the lube on a bike it’s not doing anything, apart from attracting dirt. It’s internal, metal to metal where it’s needed.
The argument has been raging for years in the car world, the issue is with an electrostatically attracted, super high pigment, robot controlled, uniformly baked on factory paint job, applied to a brand new near sanitized surface it will have near zero effect unless you are using way too much. On a respray or aftermarket clear coated finish it will overtime "attack" the paint/lacquer as its just not as chemical or abrasion resistant. Back in the day bike frames where stove enamelled and later powder coated usually after being "dipped" in a strong solvent to remove contaminants, this gives a final finish with similar properties to a factory car finish. However modern carbon can't be prepped or coated with those methods and the final finish is more akin to a car respray and more susceptible to damage. I suspect this is why we see a lot of matte/satin/semi-gloss finishes on modern frames as "dull" finishes can use more pigment an require less prep/finishing work to be pleasing to the eye.
Having said all that a cap of washing up liquid in full bucket of water isn't gonna do much, if any damage.
@@chris1275ccvery good explanation 👌
I think he was referring to using a hard bristle brush.
Added tip, when putting lube on it is better to drip it on the inside of the links not the outside as shown in this video as rotating the chain will throw the lube off if on the outside, preventing it from penetrating the links whereas putting in on the inside of the chain will drive it into the link more.
Thankyou, that makes good sense. Will do that next time I lube my Avanti chain.
I put wax on both sides
Yep that’s how I do it. I use Triflow with the tiny straw and apply one drop to each roller along the bottom run of chain. I do the whole length between chain ring and cassette, then rotate the crank backwards to the next section of chain and keep going round.
@@Patrick94GSR
Makes a lot of sense, thankyou Patrick.
Chains & cassettes are costly.
Greetings from Melbourne, down under in the big brown country.
Literally nothing as divisive as "this is how you wash your bike RIGHT!" Every time y'all do this kind of advice there's like 50 comments saying something different. So I still honestly don't know how to wash your bike proper 😂Use Muc-off, don't use Muc-off. Use wax, don't use wax. Cover your discs, no need to cover your discs. Don't use a pressure hose, it's fine to use a pressure hose. All I know is that I'd rather have a clean bike than a dirty one. You should have some kind of bike washing competition on your bike festival and have them judged by professional bike washers or something.
Si’s advice back in the old days 😂.
Little naive Si 😂
No he was not naive… just not sponsored by all the fancy brands. At that time GCN was authentic. Now its a sponsoring show
So basically ignore everything Si ever told us about cleaning and maintaining your bike😂
i dunno, i've use mild dish detergent on my bikes for maybe ten years now.... and it works just fine. and no, its not too powerful for your bike. glossy bikes, matte bikes, everything in between. maybe if you're using it straight up undiluted. who knows. but just a quick squirt into a big bucket of water. more than enough to clean everything.
@@chickenpoodle Washing up liquid contains salt. That's why its not recommended for cars. I use car wash.
You should thoroughly clean your drivetrain at regular intervals, and only apply new lube when it's totally spotless; completely agree. Obsessively avoiding brake rotor contamination is also a very good idea. Dish soap? I don't agree with that one; it's not going to damage anything on your bike if you don't use ridiculously hot water. If it doesn't scratch porcelain, it's not going to scratch a powder coated bike frame.
I particularly don't agree with the bike bag rant. It's a bike, not a museum piece; it's meant to be used, and that involves a certain degree of wear and tear.
Love that fact that all of Oli's rants are about GCN tech videos (granted from back in the day) he wasn't involved in. Either he's in need of some personal release in his life or he has brought an increase in the quality to the tech channel?
I think they all have a fun. You just can't be serious when talking about bike cleaning.
Hahaha yeah but I'm sure Chris ain't to thrilled about being in it.... but who knows
Bit of both maybe 😉
Riding a bicycle wears it out, it this advised or should we preserve our bicycles in temperature and humidity controlled environments?
That’s what I was thinking too :)
As an adult onset roadie, I picked up some bad habits from my BMX and inner city fixed gear days. Went literally years without maintenance 🤷🏻♂️if it pulls and stops, I'm good 😂
A lot of people are complaining about audio levels. To whoever is editing the video there is often presets for TH-cam loudness in your editor. In Davinci it’s in the fair lite tab towards the right when you click on the dots above the metering. Select TH-cam and this should help you adjust the audio levels to stop compression when uploading. But the most effective change would just be ducking the audio when Ollie speaks. You can also widen the stereo separation of the music to make more room for Ollie’s voice on a mono track as well as using the EQ on the music track and lowering it on the frequency Ollie’s voice sits at to make more room for him again. Hope that helps :) 👍🏻
Thanks for the advice! Please show us the proper way to clean and wash bikes with disc brakes.
Also, what cleaning supplies are used?
They will just ask you to buy muc off products.
Here's a tip: if you don't want to get royally reamed by bike companies marketing you 10 quid bottles of bike wash that they buy by truckloads of IBCs (1000 litres for a couple of hundred quid, then bottle & mark up 700-1000%), use wool wash detergent. It's about the same chemical composition, give or take. Even the off-brand stuff won't affect your paintwork nor the lube on your pivots or bearings. 1 cap per bucketful is plenty.
I liked the bit at 4:28 when Ollie mentioned putting lube in the wrong places, then the editor followed it by showing a clip of someone putting lube on top of the chain.
It's all in the details 😉
Nobody with a life would drip lubrication one drop at a time on each of the chain bearings
@@jeremynorth I do it. Fight me.
@@jeremynorthJust let it drop into the rollers as you slowly rotate the cranks. Done in a minute.
@@andrewmurray5542 or spray the hell out of it with WD40 😁
Good music with bike tips playing in background
Ollie has lost it over this one, lol, and some contact with reality. That reality is: 90% of people don’t have custom paint jobs on 12k+ bikes with premium racing components.
Most of us ride a second hand sub 1k bike with calliper brakes, using an old 105 that’s been already scratched and we don’t care how we lean it and and how we clean it - as long as we clean it lol
That aside, only valid thing I’m guilty of sometimes is too much lube or putting it right before a 100k+ ride rather than night before…
Ollie, need your opinion. I wash my bikes by filling a bucket of warm water, to which I add a cap full of car wash, applying with a 50 mm soft paint brush (used soley for the purpose of)
Then allow the bike to dry by the sun. After that I bring bike into garage, to cool off.
Sun can be very hot here in Aust.
With my carbon frame bike, I then apply motor vehicle wax over frame/fork.
Is that ok ? Just trying to preserve the carbon material.
This only proves that we need more videos of Ollie going on rants. Absolutely hilarious!
No it doesn’t. He’s easily the most irritating and of the presenters. This video is borderline unwatchable. Tbh I rarely watch GCN on TH-cam these days. Has gone downhill badly and videos such as this are a prime example.
If all these things can damage a bike so easily, actually riding a bike must be inherently unsafe. I better just mount my bike on the wall of the living room as a piece of delicate artwork with a sign that says, "look but don't touch." Of course the hangers to display it will likely also cause structural damage. Maybe manufacturers could build them like they did in the old days. Almost indestructible.
100% on the tips (gripes?) and grab one of those car mitts which make cleaning easier. But I’m going to stick up for dry lube - less expensive and less faff than wax.
I use all the same products for my bikes which are for my cars, such as automotive schampo, wax, wash mits etc.
Nonsense -a capful of dishwashing detergent in a gallon of warm water. is perfect for the job. It contains the surfactants that you want -just like the overpriced products "designed" for the job. The *method* of cleaning is what causes issues, and Ollie is spot-on there. No power-washing. and no brushes on the paint.
Awesome rant Ollie. Totally concur.
Greetings from sunny Tasmania.
Anything you think Ollie should rant about next? 👀
the 3M tape for bags is very helpfull, thanks Ollie
Agree about the background music, far too intrusive.
Gmbn also guilty of this, they use loud rock music 🎵 when showing bikes racing along tracks/descents. It detracts from what is excellent video content…..rant over!
Use washing up liquid because its great for degreasing my chainset. No problem with my frame paint yet.
Olie thank you. Seen it all in the bike shop - as a 69 year old commuter (hypster😂) I rather enjoy wearing my bike out. My 20 year old Bianchi castro Valley with leopard seat saddle(fake) has about 90,000 miles on it. Its got three layers of stickers such as “bike thieves suck”. My pretty bike is reserved for sunday best rides. Love your channel.
I will never buy a bike so expensive that I should worry about bike bag causing paint damage.
8:11 we are not hipsters (ok some of us are...) But what else are you gonna do if a bike is your only means of transportation and you have to carry stuff? 🤷
I suspect learning how do clean your bike will involve yet another (expensive?) product. For those of us who don’t have a bottomless pit of cash, hot water with a small squeeze of dishwashing liquid, topped and tailed with the garden hose jet nozzle does the trick perfectly well. I also use a very soft brush from from a household brush and pan set, once the initial hosing has been done. My disc brakes are cleaned with rubbing alcohol, cheaply available. 6 years on, my beloved beast still looks brand new.
No and NO! Car wash liquid is cheap enough and infinitely better than dishwashing liquid. Dishwashing liquid actually contains abrasives that can destroy your topcoat. Ever see those cars where the top coat is peeling?
@@kevinc9528 fair enough, I’ll give that a try and if it does the job, that will be the new approved method in my house 😎
@@kevinc9528 when you say "dishwashing liquid" are you referring to the stuff you put in your dishwasher appliance, or the liquid soap you typically put in a sink with hot water? The former does contain abrasives, the latter does not.
@@treyquattroliquid soap used to clean pots and pans. Is basically a degreaser. It works very well, as good as a dedicated degreaser oil.
I love this video….it’s hilariously presented! A true bike nerd going down a rabbit hole. Good on you mate. Thank you for the video!!
I loved it tooooo
Can't believe it took almost 5 minutes before 'grinding paste' was mentioned. You guys just can't resist that one
Man, here's an old-timer who learned to work on bikes when 7-speed cassettes were the thing. When I recently bought a twelve speed carbon bike I wish some young guy at the bike shop had dope-slapped me and said, "lookit, Pops, there's stuff you need to know about 12-speed drive trains and disc brakes and all this wonderful new stuff.
And now you have dope-slapped me. Thanks.
Nice video. Could u guys make an updated bike cleaning/maintenance video? Because I was using the old advice.
The old video is just fine. The good old bucket of soap us just not sponsored... 🥲
So happy to see you are using Silca Super Secret chain wax!!!
What's up with the music in this one - way too loud causing distraction
How can a humidifier help? Sweat is salt + water. You're talking about removing the water leaving err....
#askgcntech please investigate what happens to a frame used in an indoor trainer.
People sell bikes "only used indoors" but I think it might damage the frame, especially when standing up and sprinting
It is very hard on the frame, only crashing is harder. That is why I became a Spinning instructor so I could create an indoor ride for training days and the cold months that is "cycling correct". Tear up the gym's spin bikes instead of your own and interact with fellow humans in person rather than avatars!
😃👍🏻
People sell bikes described "Used two times since purchase" with photos telling one of rides was from Alaska to Patagonia.
A dedicated smart trainer is expensive but can save you in the long run on wear and tear on your outside bike...cassettes, chainrings, chains, bottom brackets, jockey wheels... A good dedicated smart bike is driven by a massive chain or belt system that can go 10's of thousands of miles with no maintenance.
I was just thinking it’s been too long since we’ve gotten a bike wash video. Thanks for delivering!
Bollocks! I understand that you now need to boost overpriced Silca bike wash liquid but you have a degree in chemistry, so please name the SPECIFIC chemical ingredients in dishwashing liquid that are good enough for car paint but will destroy the lacquer on your bike?
washing up liquid is a detergent just like the bike cleaning stuff (differing concentration) so yeah its not going to destroy anything.
it's fine, just use in moderation. A small squirt in a bucket is all that is needed.
@@magicknight8412 TBF you should not washing you liquid on a car ether salts in will take the wax off but since i rewax it wont matter
you DON'T use it on car paint. it strips EVERYTHING from the clear coat.
@@meneldil7604 not that i do of course !
Been washing my bikes with washing up liquid for umpteen years without any problems at all.
I've heard the salts in it errode the lacquer over time.
@@mrflaxtv81 As long as you rinse the bike with clean water after it'll rinse off the salt.
@@mrflaxtv81 It's a tiny amount of salt. A few CC of soap in a pail of water -- even if the soap was pure sea water, the resultant mix wouldn't be that salty. And of course the soap is mostly NOT salt; a small amount is there just to adjust the viscosity. It's an insignificant amount of salt and pales in comparison to the mineral content already in your tap water. So unless you're washing with distilled water there's no practical difference.
@@BixbyConsequence I meant ammonia and bleach salts, rather than a common sodium compound. Combined with UV from sunlight exposure it can weaken and crack the top coat protecting paint, then dull the paint etc. For the sake of a few quid, I'll stick to Muc-Off to wash the 3k steed...
except you are slowing eating away the clear coat on the bike frame ...
Ollie: screams at me for 10 minutes for destroying my bike
Also Ollie: "Love you! Bye!! 😊"
Hahahaha that's Ollie! 🙌
Indoor trainers....I wonder if the frames where ever made to be loaded like that. Looking at how the rear and front section gets bent....not the same as with wheels on
Lol, I’ve definitely used washing up liquid on the advice of Simon 😂
Simon would like to issue a formal apology 😂
I only ever saw Sye wash a clean bike.
Agree, I have also been following that tutoria from Sil...I guess prior to Muc Off sponsorship 😂
You are very entertaining….and the GCN, content is awesome 👏 😊
I get all my bike cleaning advice from 2014 Si. Liberal use of WD40 (as lube also, of course) and Washing up liquid 😅
2014 Si didn't know what he was talking about 😂
I always wondered why he would advice to use WD40 when everbody else advised AGAINST it 🤔
why in God's name would you put WD40 on the frame ? it's not even good on chains.
As a mechanic of almost 30 years, I seriously doubt that just the oils from your fingers will affect your brakes in any way. I can see it if you’re handling your brake rotors with greasy fingers though.
background music is a bit loud in this, isn't it? feel like it's competing with Ollie's advice
I would maybe suggest that the brief video showing the chain lube being applied is "wrong" too. I was always taught to apply it on the lower run of the chain, that way you are applying it to the inside, and centrifugal force will assist the lube push through the chain and reduce fling...
I think its easy to talk about the last topic when you are commuting on bike friendly places or not even commuting with the bike. I hate the fact that I have to lean in places that is in contact with my frame, but when I do, I have no choice! 😅
In bike friendly places the bike racks are better designed so I can lock my bike to.... my frame & tire. Which means metal against my frame.
City commuters are going to get scratches. No way around it. And today in a less friendly place, I had to lock to a metal rail fence. Yep.... leaning my frame against hard metal. So that last point he made is pretty preposterous for any ride where you have to lock up and leave your bike somewhere unless it is a pristine vault, which most of us don't have.
Ha! Brake rotor surface contamination. That advice is expected from a kick ass power climber! When you are hauling ass down a mountain NEVER give up free speed! If you are braking hard enough for that switch back the rotors will burn that contamination off and sing from heat dissipation.
Easy fix for indoor training sweat concerns. Ride outside.
How about?
Leaning it on the bars/hoods when windy could be a bad idea a little wind gust is enough to move your bike forward and your fresh new bar tape/hoods levers or even the back on the saddle can be scraped or worse your whole bike dropping to its side and scratching paintwork and more components -id just lay it on its left side.Another very important tip id say using too much degreaser (like wd40) around the cassette when not fully removing of the wheel and cleaning it ,the degreaser gets into and eats the bearing and hub body grease which results in broken back wheel if not serviced often enough.When using a high powered high pressure washer watch out spraying into chipped paintwork especially carbon as you may chip it even more-or your favourite wheelset stickers may come off from the high pressure-lower the pressure or use it from further distance 👍
#askgcntech Can you do a how-to on cleaning disc brakes? Best practices to clean and maintain rotors, as well as your favorite product(s)? Thank you!
Isopropyl alcohol and a microfibre cloth is perfect for cleaning your pads and discs, I do the discs at least weekly (or if a squel starts) and the pads probably bimonthly (or if a squel starts) this is also a great time to check for wear and tear, if you are just wiping the discs off you don't even need to take the wheels off and this also works for rim brake bikes.
@@toastie1648 this might sound silly but is isopropyl alcohol... Surgical spirt?
@@kegalormoon No
Household dish washing liquid is made to be safe for human skin. It's not as powerful as a stripper as Ollie seems to think. However, the powder detergent for dishwashing machines is not made to be safe for skin and should be avoided. Same with laundry detergent, either powder or liquid. If it's for use inside a closed machine don't wash anything by hand with it.
Why the music over Ollie speaking? We don't need loud distracting music in videos.
THANK YOU for finally addressing but using dish soap for bike washing. I comment this on as many bike wash videos as I can that say to use it. It's not good for the finish and will eventually cause finish issues which can be even more detrimental to carbon bikes which rely on that to protect the glue from UV and other external threats. There's a reason car guys don't use dish soap on their cars.
If some of this is so bad, it'd be great if GCN didn't recommend it to people (and especially beginners) in the first place 😂
I got some of the film! It's for cable rub. Thanks for the tip. (I ordered it from my LBS - shop where you ride!)
I always clean my bike with salt water and an abrasive brush before giving it good wipe down with wet lube and WD40
😬 Ollie's nightmare!
Any tips on how to lock your bike without the frame touching?
Why don't you make a new video on how to properly clean & oil the parts of your bike. This would be an updated video that is badly needed.
Dishwashing liquid has worked very well for me for over 15 years with zero negative effects on my clear and matte finished bikes. I clean my bike(s) every 3 rides, which means about 40 times every summer... are there better products? Sure. Do you need them? That's another question entirely.
nope. you are stripping the clear coat. You can't see it with the naked eye, but you are stripping it without a doubt.
@@TanManFixes how does dishwashing liquid dissolve a clearcoat? Certified chemist here. There's nothing in there that attacks finishes. But let's say for argument's sake that you're right. I have a 2005 giant tcr czero that has been ridden hard and washed over 40 times a year since I bought it and it looks as shiny as the day I got it. The "damage" caused by the mild soap I'm using is clearly negligible if it can't be seen after all those years and hundreds of washes. Marketing is not a reliable source of information, especially scientific information.
ok this was good but Oli now needs to do a thorough bike clean demo
On it 👀
Better make no mistakes - he’s set the bar - the cleaning pedants will be out in force :-)
Great suggestions... Thanks! I love how wound up he gets.
3:10 background music way to dam loud, turn that noise down. 👍🏼
This is a similar experience to my Late 1980's Gardin, SL chromoloy tubing, C-record, now Campy/Tiagra/Tektro/Chinese searpost mix, vs. Cannondale Synapse 105 Aluminum bike. I find great comfort o the Gardin and getting slowly used to the Cannondale. There is nothing like a good pair of rubber caliper brakes compared to the modulation of the disc brakes (non hydraulic). Also, the down tube shifting makes accurate choices fast. We bring in new tech, often concentrating on proprietorship, instead of other more important factors. Thanks for your cool review. I really do not see why Giant took a giant blow. It's a bike that needs a human to power it.
Another mistake people do is when they put lube on the outside (on top) of the chain like in the video
I'm a green horn at biking. Learning all the things. Argghhhhh. TY Mate!
In the 60's, 70's and 80's, we did not have to worry about all this! Retro!
yes and my chain lasted years as well i think we over clean theses days
Exactly. If normal stuff like soap or a bike bag, or leaning against a fence is actually capable ruining your bike, I'd question the bike.
We know so much more now though! Perhaps ignorance is bliss? 👀
I use dish detergents on bikes my whole life. Never caused any issues. Those were always cheap bikes though. If i had machine with the price of a car i probably wouldn't dare.
There's always one Ollie on your group rides, and if you don't spot one it's probably you.
Guilty. I feel actual pain when I hear dirty drivetrains and squealing brakes.
We can't spot Ollie on our group rides as he's dropping us all the time 💨
@@ynie1 Squealing brakes are an odd combination of embarrassing and useful. Useful because you needn't use a bell or shout to make people ahead aware of your approach. Just squeak your brakes a bit. 🤪
YES! The leaning the bike against a top tube!!!!!! Party foul for sure. How about flipping the bike over on to the saddle and bars to take a wheel out….?
#aaaaaaahhhhhh...😆 nice to see some evolution since Simon's cleaning tutorial
Ollie, one of your best vids of simple tips, though your ammusing 4 year old tantrums are over done a bit.
You did miss that other sin of pressure washing the grease out of your bearings.
Never the less good advice.
I hadn't thought of the sweat one so its out to the shed with the cleaning materials after 30 in 30 turbo sessions.
Something to mention about paint protection film, removing it (when a corner was peeling) also removed part of the paint on my head tube. Appears that this might have been user error, but wanted to warn others.
When removing protection tape always heat it up with a hair dryer so the glue is softened a bit.
One thing you'll spray without knowing is tyre sealant, when you let air pressure out the tubeless valve can release sealant with a blast of air towards the disc.
Ollie screaming priceless!