Bike washing - how long?
badly_dubbed
Posts: 1,350
How long does it normally take you to wash your bike after a fairly muddy ride?
just spent the best part of 2hrs cleaning mine, and seriously its worse than when i started.... :roll:
i need a hose i think cos using a watering can is rubbish!
just spent the best part of 2hrs cleaning mine, and seriously its worse than when i started.... :roll:
i need a hose i think cos using a watering can is rubbish!
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I have a 2 of those pump bottles from B&Q that were a couple of quid each and hold about 2 litres of water each as a hose is not an option for me where we live.
As for bike cleaning about 20 minutes for a good clean from muddy to sparkly in the winter but I do this pretty regular & make sure the drive train is well cleaned & the frame gets a good polish up so makes cleaning later a synch. I can easily make the clean up an hour or two though if I want to go nice and slow i.e. not be in for the other half to mention yet another job she wants me to tackle.Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.0 -
20mins! i must be doing summin wrong!
:shock:0 -
I just spray with 1 bottle first to get rid of heavy mud & make sure the whole bike is wet. Leave for a minute or two then brush off the worst of it. Give it a quick spray with muc off (or whatever your brand of choice is) whilst thats doing its thing give the chain a run through a chain cleaner & the rest of the drive chain a scrub with degreaser. Then back to the rest of the bike which can then get a good sponge/brush off apply the 2nd bottle to wash it all down, quick pat down to dry the frame, lube/GT85 the working parts inc the chain to get the water out & lube the drive chain. Polish takes a few minutes tops.
Guess I just don't mess around when cleaning the MTB but it takes plenty of abuse and gets pretty covered so regular cleaning inc the drive chain & the frame polish do make for an easy job each time to keep on top of it.Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.0 -
5 minutes to hose down 2 bikes and a quick squirt with gt85. Once every few weeks I use a brush & some Muc Off and the time doubles.0
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Every ride, wipe stanchions & shock with oily rag, 30 seconds.
Every two (or more) rides, depending on mud content, a full clean / oil, takes about a half hour.
If you're taking two hours, what the bejeesus are you doing man?0 -
Bike onto bike stand on back patio. Squirt of Muc Off on worst areas. Hose off. Clean chain with rag. Dry bike with old towel. Squirt of WD40 where appropriate. Relube chain. 40 mins tops. I think cleaning your bike after each ride is also a good idea as you spot maintenance requirements as you go...rather than discover them on the trail and waste riding time repairing on the hoof!
Corners.0 -
Depends how muddy your bike is I guess, it's taken me an hour or two before on occasion, if I've been on a stupidly muddy uplift day and the mud has been sort of gloopy/sticky and just clung to the bike. Usually it takes 20 mins-half an hour though. Just use a brush and a bucket of water.0
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5 minutes with a hose jet and some muc off.0
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Bike was left from a previous ride as get home at 5pm started work at 6pm so the diet was dried in.
So, my process is/was
Remove wheels/out bike on work stand
Brush off the worst of the dried crap
Spray entire bike with orange degreaser
Soak for 10mins while I fill up watering can/get stuff out etc
Soak cassette with degreaser
Rinse degreaser and loose mud
Brush frame/forks with soft brush and car shampoo
Rinse
Scrub chain/mechs/cranks with stiffer brush
Rinse
Brush wheels/all spokes etc hubs
Rinse
Fit wheels
Dry (not today)
Lube/tf2
Polish up any missed bits etc
Takes ages!0 -
Not needed. It is an MTB, it will just get dirty again. Just wash the majority of the crap off and clean the stanchions with a sponge then maybe dab some chain oil on the seals.
Once in a while clean the chain and maybe the cassette but again not really needed every ride. I never dry my bike as such either, it will dry if left alone!
My technique just involves a ton of muc off and a garden hose with a gun on the end which is powerful enough to shift dirt off the bike without any mechanical abrasion of its own, yet too weak to ruin bearings.
Really what is a bit of dirt going to do if left on your bike? It's hardly going to corrode through the components. If the drivetrain works then it is clean enough and the frame, well just make it look nice, it won't be damaged by dirt.0 -
It must be my roadie roots that it has to look clean lol0
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badly_dubbed wrote:Spray entire bike with orange degreaserI don't do smileys.
There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda
London Calling on Facebook
Parktools0 -
I just use a hose pipe and that doesn't take long.
I did think to use pressure washer on bike but I thought it would be too strong and damage something.
Has anyone used fenwicks bike cleaner is it better than muc off ?0 -
cooldad wrote:badly_dubbed wrote:Spray entire bike with orange degreaser
why not lol0 -
Because it will wash the grease out of literally everything...0
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badly_dubbed wrote:cooldad wrote:badly_dubbed wrote:Spray entire bike with orange degreaser
why not lolI don't do smileys.
There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda
London Calling on Facebook
Parktools0 -
hasnt really affected my 7 current bikes....one of which has 10,000 miles+ on the original chain and running gear lol
jus sayin...0 -
I bet you a million pounds it has.0
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well nothing i have noticed....0
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But if you do it to all your bikes you wouldn't notice.
I can go years without having to grease or replace bearings but i bet you can't if you're slathering it in degreaser. Unless of course you don't mean degreaser and actually mean detergent...0 -
Am all new to mountain biking but my 1st wash took 30mins and il admit i did do alot of futterin around lol..
1x Hose
1x Muc off
Few brushes and a sponges
Sorted ....0 -
badly_dubbed wrote:well nothing i have noticed....0
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im not asking advice on how to wash a bike....lol im not thick.
was asking how long it normally takes everyone, out of interest0 -
badly_dubbed wrote:im not asking advice on how to wash a bike0
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might just do that...seems to be a fair few experts on here0
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I think it takes as long as you want it to, most of the time I give mine a quick blast with muc off and a rinse but every now and then when I can be bothered ill strip it right down and spend a couple of hours on it. But only when he weathers good (that one time)0
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Throw it in river.Many happy trails!0
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the local trails where i live have seriously sticky mud, takes around 20 mins to get it off properly from the drivetrain and re lube etc0