What's your bike cleaning routine?

petemadoc

Just wondering how much bike cleaning everyone does, I'm finding this a real chore

Chain cleaning, de-greasing and lubing isn't such a big deal. But how often do you clean jockey wheels, spokes, mechs and all those fiddly bits that need to be taken apart so you can clean them.

What products do you use, de-greasers, cleaners etc

Are there any cheats, short cuts for lazy people

SimonAH

Yup, lazy tip No1 is ride a belt drive FGSS so it can be made sparkling by waving a handkerchief at it.

Tip No2 (if 1 is not applicable ) is spend some quality time giving your entire frame a really good silicon based polish so that crud doesn't really stick.

Tip No3 is do both 1 and 2 above so that you don't even need to be near the bike when you wave the handkerchief

cjcp

Bike cleaning? Not something that, ahem, detains me much at the moment. It's got to the stage where a power-hose might be best way forward...

veronese68

I need to take a look at my wheel bearings, clean, grease and adjust. But, the bike is filthy. So I thought I'd clean it first.
I put the bike in the stand, looked at it and thought for a moment. Then I shut the garage and went in for a cup of tea. That was 9 hours ago. There's always tomorrow. CJ, do you have a power hose?

cjcp

Blue Meanie

1) Pre-Wash Bike (bucket of soapy water and an old loo-brush (unused!))
2) Chain and cogs (wheels off, chain off)
3) Wash properly (old toothbrush technique)
4) Reassemble and lube and polish (with beer, not for the bike...)

If your ride home is wet, throw a bucket of water over the bike before it's put away to rinse off worst of grime.
Branded degreasers and detergents work well, but so does soapy water.

phy2sll2

My top tip - make sure you've cleaned and rinsed the really dirty / greasy bits (usually chain, brake pads and brakes for me) before you start on the frame. Otherwise, the greasiness tends to spread - doesn't look good on a white frame!

rolf_f

SimonAH wrote:

Yup, lazy tip No1 is ride a belt drive FGSS so it can be made sparkling by waving a handkerchief at it.

This only works if you live somewhere drearily flat and dull

I just give the bike a quick clean down each time it gets mucky. Usually takes about 15 minutes to get it looking pristine again - fresh cack tends to drop off quite quickly. If you keep things fairly clean in the first place (eg spokes), they are much easier to keep clean.

Jockey wheels can be done quickly with a back spin and a bit of kitchen roll, rear wheels cleaned more frequently than fronts, mudguards reduce the need to clean the front mech so often. Mechs are easy enough to clean using kitchen roll twisted into a floss.

petemadoc

I'm not too worried about my frame getting dirty but if I leave the drive chain for more than a week or so and the weather's been bad then things start to get really manky.

After pulling my bike to pieces the other day some bits were really really bad, inside the mechs were full of all kinds of weird immovable grime and bits of debris. I have used a muck off de-greaser in the past but I'm paranoid about it stripping grease from bearings, it did work bloody well though.

I guess the holy grail would be a de-greaser/cleaner that you just spray on all moving parts, then hose down, dry off and just re-lube everything. Can this be done without pulling everything to pieces?

suzyb

Even after one ride my drive chain seems to ge really manky. I've tried wiping off excess lube but it still gets dirty.

Which means it only really gets cleaned when the weather is warm and dry enough to spend an hour sitting around outside scrubbing it.

PeteMadoc wrote:

I guess the holy grail would be a de-greaser/cleaner that you just spray on all moving parts, then hose down, dry off and just re-lube everything. Can this be done without pulling everything to pieces?

I like the sound of that.

andyrr

Main thing I do when the roads are cack is to dunk a sponge in a bucket of soapy water and at least run that around the wheels. All I do is to squeeze the sponge around the rum and wheel the bike round the drive a couple of times, reduces the grit/pad noise although my rear wheel rim is suffering quite badly from grit etc and it's pretty badly worn for 12 months use.
I've been pretty lazy with wheel bearing maintenance and if a bearing feels like it needs some TLC then do it asap !
Front is quick, loosen cones, pack with grease. 5 - 10 minute job. Rear is messier and takes longer as it means cassette/freewheel off before the cones are accessible and the same as done for the front is carried out but really it should be 20 minutes tops to have wheels that spin nicely again.
Headset also should be done every so often, do it before it gets rough and it's another 5 - 10 minute job as long as the ball bearings don't exit the cage and bounce off out of sight.
Geared bike (I run SS) will appreciate you shifting the rear into the biggest sprocket then, without pedalling, shift to smallest rear to give slack at the cable where it enters the rear mech and a quick douse in spray lube into the outer housing keeps it running smoothly.
Check the lights are bright - any that are dimming get taken off to have their batteries recharged.
Pinch tyres to check they aren't getting soft.
Look at the tyres - are they getting worn - better to bin a tyre a few miles before it's time than run it until the puncture protection is reduced, fixing a tyre in the cold/wet/dark is not a joy.

clarkey cat

1. affix full length mudguards
2. thats it.

itboffin

I just buy a new bike :roll:

dhope

itboffin wrote:

I just buy a new bike :roll:

And more Rapha & Castelli rather than a washing machine

itboffin

dhope wrote:

itboffin wrote:

I just buy a new bike :roll:

And more Rapha & Castelli rather than a washing machine

natch!

rolf_f

dhope wrote:

itboffin wrote:

I just buy a new bike :roll:

And more Rapha & Castelli rather than a washing machine

In white so you can tell when it needs replacing more easily!

phy2sll2

clarkey cat wrote:

1. affix full length mudguards
2. thats it.

1. (b) Stop wheelsucking and stay at the front of the group.

wyadvd

1.buy blue park tools book
2.read it
3.follow chapter on bike cleaning.

decent mudguards extend cleaning interval considerably, but tbh concentrate on the drive chain and wheel rims. all else is just window dressing really(especially if you are Ti). I have two chains and swap them every 500miles (degrease and relube). new chains and cassette once a year.

Fireblade96

My commuter is a singlespeed with full mudguards - cleaning doesn't take long.
Spray with hose to loosen grime.
Wash with soapy water.
Dry with old cloth.
Wipe chain, re-lube.

Takes all of about 15-20 mins.

That said, I haven't even looked at the bike since before Christmas. I feel slightly guilty :oops:

roger_merriman

When the guilt gets too much, first make a pot of tea, very imporant this step!

then put bike on stand and with warm soapy water drive chain and brakes, It's a single speed doen't take that long.

The MTB is washed after every trip but then it's the nice bike, and it comes back covered in mud and grit.

mtb-idle

suzyb wrote:

Even after one ride my drive chain seems to ge really manky. I've tried wiping off excess lube but it still gets dirty.

Which means it only really gets cleaned when the weather is warm and dry enough to spend an hour sitting around outside scrubbing it.

I find that using dry lube rather than wet lube prevents too much muck sticking to the chain.

as you say, wet lube, one ride and the chain and cassette is black with muck and bits of crap sticking to it.

dry lube and the chain and cassette stay that nice aloo-minum colour (although you need to apply it more regularly in wet weather).

mudcow007

*gets prepared to be flogged*

i use a jetwash on all of my bikes - i spray them standing about 4ft away so the water isnt under high pressure when it reaches the bike.

when its clean i spray the frame etc with GT85 an let it dry - keeps the bike sparkling an smells nice too


chain gets removed an dipped in kerosene washed n lubed

SimonAH

Dr Zoidberg the CAADX was filthy this morning from some canalpath shenanigans yesterday.

The morning commute's combination of howling wind, sheeting rain and some nice flooded bits have washed off all the mud for me