Sarennah wrote:

I do between 12 and 20 miles of commute/town riding in the week, and
sometimes longer rides at weekends (50 miles). The usual routes lie
on the roads, but at present a key section is closed, and the
alternative involves a muddy path across a field. The bike is a solid
frame MTB running on semislick tyres and without mudguards.

I have just worn out the entire transmission (?) - gears front and
back, chain and little diddy wheels in derailleur. And I have been
told what must be the third or fourth version of "How one should
oil/clean a bike". This latest one being that I should brush down
with soapy water after each ride, rinse and relube practically the
entire bike with light oil. Whilst I see the virtue in this, I fear I
am not naturally inclined to be that virtuous.

That's fair enough, you'd end up never riding the thing if you did that
every time! I am inclined to give the transmission a quick blast of
light oil (usually GT85 teflon lube) after any ride where there's a lot
of cack about on the roads at this time of year because it usually
includes salt and that does horrible things to the chain. Mud and cack
from offroad does wear things but at least it tends not to actively
corrode them, so a wipe will generally do for that.

I backpedal by hand to run the chain and spray on very generous amounts
of the oil onto the running chain, to ensure it works into the joints in
the chain. And I then proceed to rub most of it off again, so there
isn't a film of liquid for new dirt to cling to. Bit wasteful I suppose
but it doesn't cost that much and seems to do the job!

As long as the frame is painted properly the paint should protect the
frame from anything much in the corrosion line. It should also be
smooth enough that a wipe with a rag will take any such clag off. I
can't remember actually washing a frame for years, and mine seem to be
in fair condition so I wouldn't bother with that.

Beyond that main lube job I do is dropping 3 in 1 down the brake cables
on the Brompton (they turn up at the ends on that particular design, so
water can drop into them), or dropping a bit on stuff like the brake
caliper hinges. I Don't do that very often, only if it seems to be a
little reluctant.

If you're riding on the road then a decent set of mudguards with a flap
will stop a *lot* of crunge being thrown off the front wheel and onto
the transmission (stuff from the back tends to clear the transmission,
but just goes up your back instead...). A crud-catcher isn't as good,
but strategically sited my help matters. I'm always quite surprised the
amount of utility bikes in this country that have no mudguards at all,
they really are a Good Thing, both for you and the bike.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/