Whether you'll be riding through the cold weather months, or the bike is ready for a long winter nap, it's probably not a bad time to spend a little time caring for your steed.
This is meant as a 'tune up' in-between annual professional care (depending on how much you ride each year and in what kind of conditions).
On a recent stop at my local bike shop, I picked up a copy of the "Bicycle Maintenance Guide" put out by Finish Line. It presents Finish Line products in a "how to" guide on cleaning and lubricating your ride.
http://www.finishlineusa.com/downloa...og_%202010.pdf
You might be thinking "Yeah, sure. They're promoting their products." True, but since Finish Line makes a complete line of bike care products it's a message worth listening to. Back when I was a kid we'd look through discarded cans of motor oil at the local gas station, find ones with oil still in them and liberally pour the liquid gold on our chains. Life isn't as simple as that anymore.
Three Finish Line products I can personally recommend. First is their Speed Degreaser. My only mistake buying this product was I should have bought TWO cans. Spray it on and the dirt and grease melts like butter in a hot frying pan. In about a minute the surface is clean, dry, and ready for lubrication. I would NOT recommend using it in a closed room, and I do wear eye protection and mechanics gloves. But this stuff saves alot of time and gets the job done. You can also use it to clean dirt and grit from your rims for improved braking performance with caliper and V-brakes. If you have carbon rims (or a carbon frame) you might want to check before using a solvent product.
Next tool I've used for years is a chain cleaner. If you've time to break the chain, clean and lube it off the bike then more power to you. But I've gotten good results using a chain cleaner, either from Park Tools, Pedro's, or Finish Line. Fill the unit with a cleaning fluid or a "one-step" cleaner/lubricant and start turning the crank. TIP: You will probably want to keep the bike as upright as possible, or cover your rear wheel to prevent the fluid from dripping all over your rim. You can also remove the rear wheel and stick a screwdriver across the dropouts to hold the chain in place.
Next, after my chain dried I lubed it with Finish Line's new Ceramic WET lubricant. Ceramic WET is a wet-style synthetic lubricant enhanced with nano-sized platelets of boron nitride and micron particles of fluoropolymer which builds a ceramic coating on metal surfaces. It is a full waterproof lubricant, so it can be used on any bike.
YEAH RIGHT. I read all that. Bottom line is I used it on both my road and mountain bikes, and I was surprised how quiet the chain and the entire drive train has gotten. It's actually scary.
I also cleaned and lubricated dérailleur and brake pivots, cables and barrel adjusters, brake lever and shifter pivots, and stanchions (on the MTB).
Finally, if you have a steel frame it's vital that you clean and inspect the frame for chipped or cracked paint. Once rust gets hold you're in for trouble. Touch up paint, as well as cleaning and applying a polish such as Pedro's Bike Lust or Finish Line Showroom Polish are good ideas. My road bike has a steel alloy frame. I've had it for twenty-five (25) years, and it's still rolling !
http://www.finishlineusa.com/
http://www.parktool.com/
http://www.pedros.com/