Cleaning!

mattie007

Must admit I havent cleaned my bike once over the winter! Probably whjy the brakes and gears have seized!
Whats the best way to wash bikes? I find oil gets everywhere and makes it difficult to clean!

Hercule Q

water, soap and a brush

RealMan

The best way..?

mattie007

That is the best way!

I probably should of added a bit more to my original post though. What do people use to clean up and get rid of road grit on gears/chains etc?

phoebian

I usually just get the hose pipe out and brush it down whilst spraying water on it. Clean my chain separately put it back on the bike and oil it.

MacAndCheese

mattie007 wrote:

That is the best way!

I probably should have added a bit more to my original post though. What do people use to clean up and get rid of road grit on gears/chains etc?

what I do (not saying it's perfect but it seems to work well for me):
brought a powerlink so I can take the chain off after a gritty ride, once the chain is off wipe the excess dirt off with an old rag, I then put it in one of those shallow takeaway food plastic tubs and spray with WD40 (away from bike as WD40 wrecks brakes) you can then either clean with a rag there and then or leave it soaking in the WD40 until the next ride...either way clean the wd40 off with a rag before re attaching chain and lube with a proper bike lube.

Thewaylander

I would buy a new one mate.. bike that is

submityournentries

i hose down my bike when it gets muddy, and then once its dried i bought a chain cleaner thingy from halfords that just clips onto the chain, and its filled with degreaser and cleans the thing as u pedal backwards. then i spray GT85 and some pedros loob on the chain and use a small screwdriver to get any shite outta the derailiers. then once done all that i spray a crap loada disc brake cleaner on the discs, and voila, all done

nipper9

hi
this aint my tip as i got it off here somewhere but its the muts nuts
take ur chain off put it in a container like a jam jar or plastic milk bottle ( my way ) put a small bit of turps / white spirits in there seal and shake vigourously repeat if necessary then hang chain up to air dry
a 10min. job with immaculate results
lube as u prefer i just use halfords 3 in 1 oil and work into all links lasts ages and really easy to do for little money

cheers paul

Swannster

Hose your steed down, liberally spray on Muc-off (or any other surficant), get busy with a brush, spray down (repeat if necessary). I'd suggest getting a small stiff-ish brush for the cassette and a chain cleaning tool.

There are some very effective degreasers out there which will sort your chain out.

With hindsight you're probably wishing to have given your bike a quick clean at some point over the winter!

Anonymous

Power washer
Lube cables
Redo gears

If you dont have a power washer

Bucket, Soap, Sponge and loads of different burhsed, i use bike specific but you can use a tooth brush if you dont have anything else
then you lube cables
Redo gears

mattie007

Thanks for all the advice.
Stripped the bike down and gave it a good clean at the weekend.
My dad had some autoglym motorbike cleaner and that worked a treat! Looks like new and rides smoother aswell.
Couldnt believe how much grit was on there!
Is there an easy way to get the chain off as thats the only part that isn't 100% grit free....

Thanks again