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Recently I went for a ride, and it was a very muddy one. I blatantly misjudged the depth of a puddle and submerged half of my bike (and myself) in muddy water, including the chain and front/rear disk brakes.

The brakes started squealing and the chain started "sticking" to the front gear, causing the the pedals to seize up.

I cleaned the bike as best as I could and left it in the garage for about a week, after that I took out the brake pads, cleaned them with isopropyl alcohol and did the same with the disks.

The chain seemed to have rusted a bit, so I cleaned it with a wire brush sprayed WD-40 on it (and I know that might have been an error).

Now all the noise stopped, but I feel like I can't brake with the same force as before, and I feel like I messed up something.

Should I change the brake pads & chain? Any other steps I need to take?

If that happens again, what are the correct steps to take?

The bike is a Whistle B-RACE a7.1 E-bike

Here's an illustration for the stickage problem:

enter image description here

Weiwen Ng
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Yeeter
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  • I don’t think cleaning the chain with WD40 is an error per se. I would recommend relubing it, not with WD40, at first convenience. Surface rust should be ok. Changing the chain would seem to be an overreaction. Can you clarify what sticking to the front gear means? E.g. you can’t shift the front derailleur, the chain doesn’t want to disengage from the front chainring, etc? – Weiwen Ng Dec 06 '21 at 12:27
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    Spraying with WD40 might have contaminated the rear brake. – Carel Dec 06 '21 at 12:32
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    @WeiwenNg I added an illustration, hope that helps – Yeeter Dec 06 '21 at 13:32
  • @Carel That was my worry too – Yeeter Dec 06 '21 at 13:34
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    The phenomenon illustrated in the figure is called "chainsuck". It can be caused by a dirty chain, by an unlubricated chain or by a chainring whose teeth have worn too much. – juhist Dec 06 '21 at 13:34
  • @juhist So it might have been caused by mud right? – Yeeter Dec 06 '21 at 13:36
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    Very likely. If you still have chainsuck, after lubricating the chain well, the cause was probably worn chainring, so you'll need to swap that to a newer one. – juhist Dec 06 '21 at 13:54
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    Chainsuck has a brief description in the terminology index! If any of you write an answer that refers to it, can you consider linking the terminology index? To the OP, thanks for the illustration, it helps considerably. https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/244/terminology-index-a-list-of-bike-part-names-and-cycling-concepts/56029#56029 – Weiwen Ng Dec 06 '21 at 14:22
  • Yeeter, if you don't mind, I've edited the title to include a reference to suspected chainsuck, as this is what we think you have. You can revert the edit if you don't agree with this. My intent is to make this more easily searchable. @juhist You first referenced chainsuck, so would you consider writing this as an answer? – Weiwen Ng Dec 06 '21 at 19:07
  • All - I was about to write an answer and I was checking the OP's bike specs (link added). If the specs are right, their bike has a 1x drivetrain. I was under the impression that chainsuck occurs when you shift the front chainring, which the OP should not be able to do. Does this fact change the theory about what happened? – Weiwen Ng Dec 07 '21 at 15:52
  • @WeiwenNg No problem for the edit. Also i confirm that i have a 1x drivetrain on the bike – Yeeter Dec 09 '21 at 09:01

1 Answers1

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Bikes are made to be ridden through water and get wet so don't worry!

The biggest risk is that you've contaminated your rear rotor with WD40 and this has been transferred to the brake pads.

I would clean the rotors and brake pads again with isopropyl alcohol and lightly sand the brake pads. Once that is complete I would run through a bedding-in process just to make sure they're good.

Brakes often feel like that after getting wet. Personally, I would just ignore the squealing and allow any water or mud to burn off.

In terms of your chain, WD40 is not a lubricant. You need to use a good wet weather lube if you're riding in places with puddles. There are lots of products about but select one that is for both mountain bikes and wet weather like Finish-Line Green. WD40 is the 40th formula iteration of a Water Displacement spray. Great for cleaning and degreasing but it only leaves a small amount of thin lubricant which isn't thick enough for a bike chain.

DWGKNZ
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  • I'll try and let you know! – Yeeter Dec 06 '21 at 13:34
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    WD40 makes a great chain cleaner, so a good first product in this case. Needs follow up with a lube. – mattnz Dec 06 '21 at 18:43
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    The lesson to take from this is that it's ok to clean a chain with WD40, but avoid spraying it near the disk, where brake pads will soak it up and lose traction. Hold a rag behind the chain while spraying the chain in a direction away from the wheel. Afterwards wipe it to prevent drips and apply some lube when it's dry. – Rich Moss Dec 07 '21 at 00:09
  • I did every step and now the bike seems back to normal, so i will accept your answer – Yeeter Dec 09 '21 at 09:00