Edit: I’m adding this edit, months after the bike has been completed. I’m leaving this post in here because it was part of the original story. But I no longer feel I can recommend this idea.
What I didn’t realize at the time was this method caused many of my rubber parts to swell and no longer fit. They felt pliable, but the dimensions had grown.
RESTORING RUBBER
All of the rubber bits in this bike were hard as a rock. I have already replaced some items, but then I decided to try something. I have searched online for rubber restoration tips. A lot of bad ideas out there. One seems to really work. A solution of alcohol and pure wintergreen oil. I’ve seen some pretty convincing results on YouTube.
HOWEVER , I went my own way. I’ve not seen this technique done by anyone and I think the results are pretty impressive.
My little crappy Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner and Simple Green again. I threw a bunch of rubber parts in there , ran them a couple times with heat, rinsed, dried and threw them in a zip lock bag and sprayed them liberally with silicone spray. Sealed the bag and forgot about them for 36 hours.Today I took them out and wiped them dry and here are the results. All of these parts felt like hard plastic before this.
No flex or give in any of them, just felt brittle.
Now they all look and feel like new rubber.
I’m a little amazed to be honest.
Check it out.