Maintenance and car
e
HP
Velotechnik
41
The best things to clean your bicycle with are
warm water and a soft cloth. If your bicycle is
very dirty first take a wet sponge to soften the
dirt and then remove it. In case of bad grease
or oil stains you should use a special cleansing
agent for bicycles in addition.
While cleaning your bicycle check it for any
cracks, scratches, deformations, damaged parts,
loose spokes etc. If you are in doubt please
consult your local bike shop.
In case of small scratches at the surface of the
powder coating of the frame or the surface of
the seat you can simply polish them away.You
can buy a special polishing agent for epoxy
resins at a specialist dealer for boat building.
Do not use a polish for metal!
After cleaning the trike, dry it and treat the
paintwork and the metal surfaces with wax.
You can purchase this wax from your local
bike dealer as a convenient spray.
The wax passes moisture and flows into tiny
gaps and pores.After some minutes the sol-
vent evaporates and leaves a dull and glutinous
film. Now polish the waxed parts of your bicy-
cle with a soft cloth to make it real shiny.
Do not only wax the frame but also the
spokes, hubs, screws and nuts etc.You can also
conserve the chain with wax spray after lubri-
cating it, see also the chapter on "Chain",
page
28
.
The frame has small holes for ventilation that
prevent condensation in the frame.These
holes must not be sealed. However, moisture
may enter the frame through the holes.
Therefore protect the inside of your frame by
applying wax spray through the holes.
Protect the parts where cables or chain tubes
may scratch the frame.You can buy special
stickers at your bike dealer or extra strong
transparent tape at your do-it-yourself-store.
That way you avoid scratches in the powder
coating and coating coming off.
Caution!
Do not use any cleansing agents
that scrub or are chemically aggressive since
they affect the paintwork. Before using any
cleansing agent please test it at a part of
your bicycle that is not immediately visible.
Caution!
Do not use any high-pressure
cleaner.The strong jet of water goes through
the seals of the bearings, blows away the
lube and causes corrosion of the bearing
parts and the chain. In addition to this it may
damage stickers.
Caution!
Any damage of the paintwork has
to be cleaned from rust and repaired imme-
diately, else the damaged part in the frame
gives way to corrosion that nests in the sur-
rounding paintwork.This can result in dam-
age of the frame.
Caution!
Take care that after folding the
trike there are no parts rubbing against the
frame.This may damage the paintwork.
