DIY How to clean a vintage bicycle

I LOVE cycling, I cycle to and from my studio every day, rain or shine. Since moving house my beloved bike has had to be kept in the outhouse (with it's front tyre sticking out). Although I use it every day, I really neglected it on the maintenance front.

On the Sheffield hills it was really dragging, making strange clicking noises & it was covered in rust. When I really looked at it in daylight, I was pretty embarrassed by how I had let it get. However, this is a story with a happy ending, with a bit of TLC I have brought my bike back to life and it's whizzing up and down the hills better than ever!

So what do you need? Surprisingly, not a lot.

- Selection of wire brushes

- WD40 (I was told afterwards that GT85 is less corrosive, but I had a LOT of rust to get through)

- Lubricating maintenance spray

- Lube (no tittering please)

- Multitool

- Brooks Proofide (if you have a leather saddle)

- Bucket of warm soapy water (washing up liquid is fine)

- Selection of clean but old tea towels, soft sponge, dish cloths

- Mr Muscle furniture polish (optional)

Ok, that looks like a lot, but most of it you will have lying around the house. 

I started by giving the chain & cogs a good spray with the WD40 so it could do its thing while I worked on the disgraceful wheels. 

Using the stiffest & medium brush I started removing the rust. It's a bit labour intensive, you have to scrub between each spoke, but you get a big payoff really quickly!

Next start scrubbing the chain and cogs with the brushes again. Once you have got the majority of the rust off, you can reapply some WD40 and start moving the pedals backwards while holding a tea towel around the chain.  This will help get even more muck off.

Make sure you are happy with the results of the rust removal before you start cleaning the frame, as it will just flick dirt all over you freshly cleaned bike if you go back to it.

With some hot soapy water and a sponge start working from your seat post and handlebars down onto the frame, clean the wheels and pedals, then do the gears and chain last. 

Dry it off with a clean tea towel, then apply the polish to the frame only! Don't polish your wheels as it will affect the braking power. 

Spray your bike maintenance spray on all the moving parts of your bike, including brake levers, inside the gear changers, pedals, cogs etc. 

Grab the lube and pop one drop on each chain link, then slowly turn the pedals backwards to help the lube soak down. If you have Sturmey Archer gears (built into the back wheel hub) there should be a little cap, open it and pop some lube in there too. 

Finally you can get the Proofide and using a soft cloth, work it into the leather. 

And voila! Your bike is road worthy again and you will be receiving glances for all the right reasons!