How Do Team Mechanics Wash and Lube Pro Bikes?

Imagine degreasing, washing, drying, lubing ten or more pro bicycles every single night. This after you’ve spent the majority of your day stuffed in the backseat of a sedan with racing wheels at your sides and on your lap while you follow the peloton. At times, you jump out of the car, Zipps in hand, change a flat in seconds, and are broadcast on national TV. Or maybe you adjust a saddle while hanging out of the window of that speeding car.

OK, actually, that sounds kinda awesome.

All the glamour aside, if you’ve ever wanted to know how the pro mechanics wash and lube team bikes every night after a race, prepare to be stoked. Team Katusha has released behind-the-scenes footage of their staff mechanics (they have two) knocking the nitty gritty from team bikes a heck of a lot faster than we can.

http://youtu.be/FeSNv0dDx70

What do you think? Are pro mechanics ruthless? Efficient, for sure.

Part two in Katusha’s short series shows the drying, lubing, and preparation process. Feeling better about the pressure washing before? We know those bearings are probably doing just fine now.

http://youtu.be/gHV4ols-Jsg

If you’re curious what the mechanic is dripping and spraying on the chain, derailleurs, and brakes, well, we couldn’t get a terribly straight answer out of them. Might be the language barrier. The real spelling of Team Katusha has a lot of letters in it we’ve never seen before. So we’re not blaming anyone here. But we do know that they’re exclusively using Morgan Blue lubes and cleaners. Plenty of pro teams swear by Morgan Blue.

So what’s your take? Willing to let the fellas at Team Katusha have a crack and cleaning and maintaining your bike? Let us know what you think, and maybe add a few tips from your bike care routine. We’d pass them along to the mechanics, but we’re pretty sure they’d say something in another language about minding our own business.