How to: Protect & Maintain Your Wheels
Riding in wet, gritty, or salty conditions is unavoidable, but how you clean your bike afterwards plays a major role in how well your components hold up over time. Effective bike wheel maintenance starts with choosing the right cleaning products. When it comes to cleaners, the safest option is always a pH-neutral bike cleaner. These are far less aggressive and help slow down corrosion caused by winter road salt, coastal air, sand, and general road grime, making them ideal for bicycle wheel care in winter.
Wheels are particularly exposed. Axles, end caps, freehubs, hub shells and spoke nipples all sit low to the ground and take the brunt of spray and contamination, which is why regular bicycle wheel maintenance is so important. In almost all instances, a hub assembly combines steel bearings with aluminium axles and hub bodies. Although we do what we can to treat detail parts and assemblies, moisture and salt can still trigger galvanic corrosion if left unchecked. This is one of the most common causes of premature bike wheel and hub failure, be it bearings or axles seizing to mating components.
When cleaning, less is more. Excessive product or high water pressure does more harm than good when it comes to bike wheel cleaning and long-term maintenance.
A good approach is to rinse the bike first, all over. Apply a light mist of bike cleaner and let it dwell before rinsing again, before going in with a wash mitt. Start with the rims, spokes and tyres, then wring out your sponge or mitt so it’s damp rather than saturated. Gently wipe the hub shell, rotating the wheel as you go, taking care not to flood the bearing areas with water or suds. Lightly rinse again to complete this stage of proper bicycle wheel cleaning.
Drivetrain degreasers deserve special caution and are typically designed to cut through oil aggressively. Try to avoid any overspray onto your wheels. If you’re doing a deep drivetrain clean, removing the cassette allows you to use stronger products without risking premature wear to hub internals, freehub parts, or wheel bearings.
Routine Servicing & Long-Term Maintenance
As a general rule, it’s worth checking or servicing your freehub every six months or every few thousand kilometres as part of regular bike wheel servicing, and always before a major trip or event. If you regularly ride or race in poor conditions like cyclocross or gravel, servicing may be needed far more frequently, sometimes even after particularly wet or muddy events. This level of attention is essential for bike wheel maintenance during colder months.
A freehub service is straightforward and focuses on inspection, cleaning, and re-lubrication as part of long-term bicycle wheel care and maintenance. Start by removing the drive-side end cap. In most instances, this will simply pull off by hand. Once removed, the freehub body can be slid off the axle. Take your time, especially where Scribe Inception & 365 pawl’d hubs are concerned, as the small parts are easy to misplace during bike wheel servicing.
We took a long time optimising limits, fits and hub sealing to produce an efficient and reliable assembly. In many cases, especially if you ride mainly in dry conditions, you may find everything inside looks clean and well-lubricated. If so, you can reassemble and carry on riding. If you notice dirt, moisture or contaminated grease, it’s worth taking a few minutes to clean things properly to protect your bike wheels and hub internals.
Use a clean microfibre cloth to remove old grease and debris from inside the hub shell, keeping the bearing surfaces spotless. With the freehub removed, lightly clean the ratchet parts, the pawls and their pivots using a small amount of degreaser. This is also a good opportunity to check how smoothly the freehub bearings and wheel bearings rotate.
If bearing replacement is required, this is best handled by a professional mechanic or local bike shop unless you have the correct tools and experience. Poorly fitted bearings often cause more issues than worn ones, and the long-term reliability of your bike wheels and hubs is worth doing properly.
Once everything is clean and dry, apply a small amount of grease to the pawl teeth. In some cases, a tiny drop of light oil on the pawl hinge helps ensure fast, consistent engagement. Avoid over-lubrication as excess grease can slow engagement and attract dirt. Refit the freehub, reinstall the end cap securely, and your bike wheel service is complete.
Winter Bike Wheel Protection & Preventative Care
For that added layer of protection in the depths of winter, a small drop of lubricant on the spoke nipples can go a long way toward preventing corrosion and premature failure. Other products like a “Silicone Shine” or “Protect & Shine” can be applied all over (omitting disc brakes) to aid protection, making future bike wheel cleaning and maintenance easier as well as enhancing the aesthetic of the wheels.
Simple, effective maintenance like this goes a long way toward keeping your wheels running smoothly, quietly and efficiently for years to come. Whether during winter riding or as part of bike wheel care for all seasons.
...and as always, should you have any queries, questions or concerns. Contact us! We’re available 24/7 for technical assistance.
