Cleaning & Lubrication

Maintaining a BMX race bike: clean, lubricate, protect

A race bike takes in dirt, sand and a great many washes. Three families of product cover the essentials: something to clean with, something to lubricate with, something to assemble with. The rest is method — knowing what must never go where matters as much as the product itself.

Cleaning: degreaser and bike wash

Degreaser is for the chain, chainring, sprocket and tensioner: it dissolves old lubricant loaded with grit, which wears a drivetrain far faster than pedalling ever does. Bike wash, which is milder, goes on the frame, rims and finishing kit without attacking anodised surfaces. Work with a narrow brush between the teeth and a wide one on the tubes, then rinse at low pressure.

• Drivetrain degreaser, in spray form or by the bottle for a soaking bath
• Dilutable bike wash, free of solvents that attack seals
• A set of brushes and dedicated microfibre cloths

Chain lube: dry or wet

This is the single choice that changes a BMX Race drivetrain's life the most.

• Dry lube: a thin film that dries after application and stays barely tacky. It is the product for dry, dusty tracks, and the only one to consider on sandy soil, where a heavy lube turns the chain into sandpaper.
• Wet lube: far more tenacious, it survives rain and repeated washing. Keep it for muddy sessions and winter training, with more frequent cleaning.
• Wax-based lube: the clean compromise, a dry film that picks up little dust but needs reapplying more often.

In every case, apply link by link on a clean, dry chain, then wipe off the excess: lubrication happens inside the rollers, not on the side plates.

Greases, pastes and threadlock

At assembly, each joint has its own product. Bearing grease protects bottom bracket threads, an aluminium seat post and wheel axles. Anti-seize paste, often copper-based, suits steel-to-aluminium joints exposed to damp. Friction paste replaces grease on carbon components, where the aim is to hold at reduced torque rather than to slide. Low-strength threadlock goes on fasteners that vibrate loose, typically rotor bolts and cable guides.

These products go hand in hand with the torque wrench in your BMX tools kit: a greased thread needs less torque than a dry one, and a smear of grease on a seat clamp bolt stops it seizing over a winter.

Brakes: the products not to mix up

On a disc brake, the only product allowed near the braking surface is a dedicated disc cleaner that flashes off without residue. Never a heavy degreaser, never silicone spray: contaminated pads cannot be saved and will sing until they are replaced. The same logic applies to a V-brake — the braking track on the rim is cleaned with alcohol and nothing else.

Protecting after a wash

After rinsing, dry with a cloth then leave the bike in the air before relubricating. A protective spray on the frame and welds limits corrosion, provided you mask the rims and rotors. Avoid a pressure washer at close range: it forces water through hub and bottom bracket seals, the leading cause of dead bearings by the end of a season.

The BMX RACING advice

Tell us which track you ride most and how often you wash the bike, and we will point you to the right degreaser and lube pairing rather than a shelf full of bottles. Being multi-brand, we compare products on how they perform in BMX Race. Dispatched within 24 to 72 hours, you can spread the cost over 2 or 3 payments available, and the rest of the range in our BMX accessories.