Cleaning your bike in a flat

ross_mcculloch

How do you guys clean your MTB when you live in a flat?

We're 2 floors up so running a hose isn't an option and there's no outside tap. I currently use a bucket and those pathetic hand-held 1L garden sprayers, it really doesn't shift the mud.

Any other suggestions?

supersonic

In the bath or shower!

Kyrotek

Baby wipes (think how well they perform in their field then apply to other mucky substances!) then a good rub down with a moistened cloth, then dry with old towel. Degrease where appropiate and lube up. Make sure you got an old tarp or some newspaper down first though.

Bikerbaboon

supersonic wrote:

In the bath or shower!

its going to cause a jam if you have any horses on a high fiber diet in the local area. :shock:

just try and explain that one to the plumber

.blitz

I've never lived in a flat but I've only ever used a bucket, watering can and a sponge to clean my bike. If it's really dirty I use Autoglym Motorcycle Cleaner - just spray it on, agitate with a paint brush and rinse it off.

lost-time

I live in a flat without hosepipes to use but do have a carpark so I use one of those 5L garden sprayers. That does the trick. Lots of towels and old t-shirts to wipe it down. I still clean it in the bath every now and again but you do have to watch the plughole...we've had to buy plenty of sink/drain unblocker in the past.

If you spray it with the 5L sprayers as soon as you get in post ride the muck should come off easily.

In the bath:

supersonic

Wahey!

Yeah, knock as much mud off outside first lol.

gthang

Bikes in the Bath! You guys must be either single or doing this when the wife or gf is out.

I live in a flat, I take a bucket of hotish water / detergent out side clean off mud with a sponge and brush ,rinse then degreese and lube, at most I only use 2 buckets of water.

lost-time

gthang wrote:

Bikes in the Bath! You guys must be either single or doing this when the wife or gf is out....

I say it's either ''in the bath or in the livingroom/bedroom''

Guess which is the prefered option!

It's getting harder though as I should use the 5L sprayer...

She can't mind that much as we've been together ten years and we're getting married next year.

gthang

lost-time wrote:

gthang wrote:

Bikes in the Bath! You guys must be either single or doing this when the wife or gf is out....

I say it's either ''in the bath or in the livingroom/bedroom''

Guess which is the prefered option!

It's getting harder though as I should use the 5L sprayer...

She can't mind that much as we've been together ten years and we're getting married next year.

I'd never get away with that sort of ultimatum! Though if I'm honest the thought of putting a bike in the bath / shower has never entered by head until now, I can see it would work, however the idea of washing dog / horse / cat sh*t off in the bathroom is not good one.

I can imagine one over exuberant scrub could see a small bit of sh*t flicking up and landing on a sponge / face cloth ready to be rubbed in your eye / ear next time you shower :shock: …..

cjw

lost-time wrote:

gthang wrote:

Bikes in the Bath! You guys must be either single or doing this when the wife or gf is out....

I say it's either ''in the bath or in the livingroom/bedroom''

Guess which is the prefered option!

It's getting harder though as I should use the 5L sprayer...

She can't mind that much as we've been together ten years and we're getting married next year.

You heap big brave man... I couldn't get away with that :shock:

Her answer to "which is the prefered option?" would be.... You're sleeping in the garage :twisted:

Chaka Ping

I pretty much gave up MTBing for the few years I lived in a flat (didn't help that it was in London).

I used to keep the bike at my parents' house and drive out to pick it up and go riding.

But if I'd had to keep it in the flat, I'd probably get one of those big garden sprayers mentioned (the kind you can pump up to pressurise) and keep it full of water in the car, then do it at the end of the ride.

Or take it down and do it outside if I was riding direct from the flat.

mcbazza

My flat is on the 1st floor, and there's not outside watertap.
So, I use one of these: Hozelock FlowerShower
Pop upstairs, fill it. Back down to bike. 10mins, and it's clean enough to enter the flat.

.... Then it goes in the shower for a proper clean.

Yes, I'm single!

batch78

Stop at a petrol station with pressure washer, or those dog cleaning sprays I've seen at some, stand well back though if using a pressure washer!!

Befriend a ground floor tenant.

ross_mcculloch

Excellent tips guys, I've been tempted to whack it in the shower but never tried.

Do those 5L flowershowers get upto a high enough pressure to blast the muck off the bike?

singlespeedexplosif

Stop at a petrol station with pressure washer

where do you live? I might open a bearings shop nearby

baggsy

buy a dirtworker

mcbazza

ross_mcculloch wrote:

Do those 5L flowershowers get upto a high enough pressure to blast the muck off the bike?

They're good. But, they're no Karcher(sp?)!!

1. Muc-off the bike.
2. Go get-n-fill the flowershower.
3. Pump it up until the pressure valve pops.
4. Your 5-10min wait (for Muc-off to kick in) should be up.
5. Start to clean bike with spray+brush.

I can get the bike mostly clean with one fill. But, my bike never really gets caked in mud from my rides around here. If I want the bike really clean (and thus avoiding the shower in the flat), then it can take another fill/spray/etc.

You (obviously) have to keep pumping it to maintain pressure. And as you run low on water you have to pump more & more - as there is more air volume, and less water.

mcbazza

baggsy wrote:

buy a dirtworker

Yeah, I meant to mention them. Ideal, if you have a car.
I don't, so it's no good to me. Shame it doesn't have it's own power source. I'd definitely buy one if it did.