Cleaning your rims is the least glamorous bike maintenance task, but will improve braking quality, prolong the life of your rims and brake pads, and keep your bike looking great, especially during the rainy season. It’s also a great opportunity to inspect the rims and brake pads for wear or damage. Rims should be cleaned when you notice a build up of brake dust and grime on the top of the rim. There are plenty of ways to clean your rims, but for the scope of this post, we’ll cover two basic methods; “make it look better” and “make it look new.”
First let’s just make it look better. For this you’ll need a clean (oil and grease free), soft, dry rag. The easiest way to do this is right after a wet, soggy ride, as it will loosen up a lot of grime. Take your rag and wipe the brake surface until you see a nice silver color return. That’s it!
To get them really clean here’s what you’ll need to do:
1. Find a clean rag, basic cleaner (household cleaners such as 409 and Simple Green work well), and rubbing alcohol. For really dirty rims find a Scotch-Brite pad and an old toothbrush too.
2. I find it’s easiest to clean wheels with the bike off the ground. If you don’t have a stand you can put the bike upside down on its seat and handlebar(be careful not to damage your seat or brake/shifter levers). You can take wheels off if you like, but it’s not necessary.
3. If they’re really dirty (your silver rim looks uniformly black) start here, otherwise skip to step 4. Spray the rim with your cleaner of choice, scrub the top surface with an old toothbrush, and braking surface with a Scotch-Brite pad. Once all that grime is loosened up, wipe the rim with the clean rag.
4. Spray cleaner on the rag and wipe both the braking surface and the top of the rim. Depending on how dirty the rim is you might not get them clean the first pass.
5. While you’re wiping take a close look at the rim and brake pads. Make note of the rim profile; does it feel flat or concave? Look closely at the spoke/rim interface; do you see any tiny cracks? How do the brake pads look. Can you still see the grooves in the pad? If the rim feels concave, looks cracked, or the brake pads have worn past their grooves, something could be worn and should be looked at by a mechanic.
6. Repeat step four (4) until the rim looks clean. When you’ve cleaned the big stuff off find the cleanest spot on the rag and wet it with rubbing alcohol. Give the braking surface one last wipe down to get the solvent residue off the rim. (Residue on the rim encourages brake squeal).
You’re done! I bet your hands are really dirty too! Don’t worry about that, brake dust washes off easier than grease. If you have any questions or want a more hands on lesson stop by our bike shop and speak to one of our friendly mechanics.
Spray the rim with your cleaner of choice, scrub the top surface with an old toothbrush, and braking surface with a Scotch-Brite pad. Once all that grime is loosened up, wipe the rim with the clean rag. 4.
The rims can be cleaned with a clean rag and any mild degreaser such as Windex®, Simple Green®, or 409®. You can also use Acetone or Isopropyl Alcohol. It is recommended to wear safety glasses and rubber gloves. Make sure your work space is well ventilated.
Dirty rims and wheels can take the joy out of any ride. Thankfully, Dawn® cleans everything from baked-on to braked on messes. So take a quick pit stop to clean your brake dust and make those tire rims and wheels shine like new.
Find a clean rag, basic cleaner (household cleaners such as 409 and Simple Green work well), and rubbing alcohol. For really dirty rims find a Scotch-Brite pad and an old toothbrush too. 2. I find it's easiest to clean wheels with the bike off the ground.
Get rid of road dirt, grease and tar by using a degreaser and cleaners like dish detergent and baking soda! Mix your dish detergent with equal parts water and clean your rims using a soft cloth. Then sprinkle baking soda on the rough side of a sponge and go over your rims again, and finally rinse off.
Never lean it in such a way that it can roll and fall on its side or slam into anything. For example, don't rest the seat or frame against a pole and think it's safe (no matter how gently you placed it there), because the bike might move letting the frame crash against the pole, which could easily damage it.
The lifespan of carbon wheels depends on a variety of factors such as usage, maintenance and the riders weight, but a well-maintained set of carbon wheels can last for years. This makes carbon wheels the best option if you want to enjoy wheels for as long as possible.
The Cons. + One of the downfalls to using carbon rims is that they are not safe to use when damaged. Compared to an aluminum rim, once a carbon rim cracks or is damaged, it should be taken off and replaced immediately. With an aluminum rim, when it is dented or flat spotted, it can still be trued, tensioned and ridden.
Grab your bike, your handy can of WD-40® Multi-Use Product, a wire brush, and a couple of microfibre cloths. Firstly, you're going to want to coat the entire affected area with WD-40® Multi-Use Product, using the wide spray nozzle setting to achieve a full coverage.
To use these to remove rust, spray the vinegar over the entire rusted segment of the rim, and then scrub it in. Next, spray more vinegar onto the rim, and then wait for half an hour. Once the time has passed, use a garden hose to rinse the vinegar away.
Then you could simply use water but if you haven't cleaned your wheels in months, perhaps the water will not have enough cleaning power to dissolve the brake dust. You can also use regular car soap to clean your wheels.
Spray one wheel at a time with an aluminum wheel cleaner. A few examples are SONAX Wheel Cleaner Full Effect, Detailer's Pro Series Wheel Cleaner, and P21S Gel Wheel Cleaner. These cleaners are non-acidic in order to clean effectively without spotting the wheel. Use a soft bristled wheel brush to agitate the wheel.
First up on the exterior wash "hit list" are the wheels & tires. You'll want to clean these before the paint because they're typically the dirtiest part of your vehicle. Plus, if you wait to clean them until the end of your wash you'll run the risk of splashing dirt & brake dust back onto the clean paint.
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Find a clean rag, basic cleaner (household cleaners such as 409 and Simple Green work well), and rubbing alcohol. For really dirty rims find a Scotch-Brite pad and an old toothbrush too.
your seat or brake/shifter levers). You can take wheels off if you like, but it’s not necessary.
Scotch-Brite pad. Once all that grime is loosened up, wipe the rim with the clean rag.
profile; does it feel flat or concave? Look closely at the spoke/rim interface; do you see any tiny cracks? How do the brake pads look. Can you still see the grooves in the pad? If the rim feels concave, looks cracked, or the brake pads have worn past their grooves, something could be worn and should be looked at by a mechanic.
6. Repeat step four (4) until the rim looks clean. When you’ve cleaned the big stuff off find the cleanest spot on the rag and wet it with rubbing alcohol. Give the braking surface one last wipe down to get the solvent residue off the rim. (Residue on the rim encourages brake squeal).