How often do you clean your bike...?

Fender76

After every outing...? What do you use..? How do you get into all the nooks and crannies...?

Lashed

I usually give it a clean when it gets dirty. Not trying to be smart but if you go out on a dry day and the bike comes back exactly as it went out whats the point?
When I do give it a clean I use turtle wax shampoo.
Then give everything an oil or grease as required.

markcroninbsc

i wash mine once a month. bucket of hot water good squeeze of fairy liquid and a half a cup of bold washin powder. then i go mad with the spray 3 in 1 oil.

ashleey

Get a good chain cleaner. Use a brush and washing up liquid on the cassette and chainset. Then use a lube for the chain. The rest of the bike just needs a wipe with a soft wet rag if dirty. You'll notice the smoothness. I can recommend Finish Line products. (I now use the wet lube as the dry lube is not as smooth)

markcroninbsc

oooh i forgot the chain!! use white spirits for that. all these bike cleanin products are just a cod. too expensive and usually useless. wash the chain off with the white spirits then wash the whole thing down with sudzy water and a quick spray of 3 in 1

CramCycle

Like my hair, my bike self cleans every three months or so if properly ignored.

Lumen

markcroninbsc wrote: »

oooh i forgot the chain!! use white spirits for that. all these bike cleanin products are just a cod. too expensive and usually useless. wash the chain off with the white spirits then wash the whole thing down with sudzy water and a quick spray of 3 in 1

White spirit leaves a residue that will break down the lube you put on afterwards.

You're better off with a water-soluble degreaser, that way you know it's all off before you apply the lube.

Also, white spirit pollutes the water supply.

ashleey

Degreasers and a chain cleaner get the grit out of the links. A rag won't. And all those annoying ticks and clicks are gone after a good clean, dry and lube. The downside is that the tiny grit particles stick more in wet lube than dry lube.

markcroninbsc

Lumen wrote: »

White spirit leaves a residue that will break down the lube you put on afterwards.

You're better off with a water-soluble degreaser, that way you know it's all off before you apply the lube.

Also, white spirit pollutes the water supply.

i say put on enough lube that it doesnt matter if some gets broke down and i also feck the water supply

mloc123

Lumen wrote: »

White spirit leaves a residue that will break down the lube you put on afterwards.

Did not know that, I use it all the time.. time to look around

peterk19

markcroninbsc wrote: »

oooh i forgot the chain!! use white spirits for that. all these bike cleanin products are just a cod. too expensive and usually useless. wash the chain off with the white spirits then wash the whole thing down with sudzy water and a quick spray of 3 in 1

as Lumen said white spirits is useless use water soluble engine degreaser and
3 in 1 oil is pretty useless for bike chains its way to thin to provide proper lubrication get some specific chain lubricant like finish line

for the rest of the bike warm water and washing up liquid works fine,

dont pressure wash as it flushes the grease out of the bearing and pretty soon your Bottom bracket and wheel bearings will be making a grinding noise also avoid covering the same areas with degreaser it will disolve the grease having the same effect

markcroninbsc

peterk19 wrote: »

as Lumen said white spirits is useless use water soluble engine degreaser and
3 in 1 oil is pretty useless for bike chains its way to thin to provide proper lubrication get some specific chain lubricant like finish line

for the rest of the bike warm water and washing up liquid works fine,

dont pressure wash as it flushes the grease out of the bearing and pretty soon your Bottom bracket and wheel bearings will be making a grinding noise also avoid covering the same areas with degreaser it will disolve the grease having the same effect

i have to disagree with the dont use 3 in 1 oil thing. its great suff, a can of the spray 3 in 1 is about a 5er andit'll last for years. and a small spray on the chain can easily get you to the next wash without a squeek.

markcroninbsc

if you want to do it the proper way tho you could probably follow barry mehans (www.worldwidecycles.com) tutorial http://www.worldwidecycles.com/s-11-bike-washing.aspx

seamus

I usually give it a "dry" clean, get a j-cloth and wipe everything down without water. I don't have the room to be getting water everywhere. If there's anything particularly stubborn, a quick spray of WD40 is a great degreaser. The J-cloth is great for getting into nooks and crannies - do it like an old bootblack. Just thread the jcloth through the tiny hole and then move it back and forward.

Depending on the weather, I'll usually get a chain cleaner tool to the chain and remove the cassette and scrub that in washing up liquid + water.

manwithaplan

I use a foaming degreaser (bit like oven cleaner) on the chain and cassette, a good scrub with an old toothbrush, a quick rinse and dry and a drop of cycle oil in each link (not the spray stuff). Drop of oil in the shifters too. Some teflon spray for bolts and stuff. I do this maybe once every two or three weeks.

I don't clean the rest of the bike all that thoroughly. Just a quick wash with warm soapy water.

DirkVoodoo

A full clean after every outing? Is it a mountain bike?

I used to clean it a lot more, but it takes time to do it properly so I normally just clean the brakes and wipe the chain down.

DaveR1

Fender... Best thing to do is go out tonight in the rain. Cycle through every puddle you can find.
Then when you get back, dry the bike with an old towel. It'll be all shiny. Then some oil on the chain. Job done. 2mins

ashleey

DaveR1 wrote: »

Fender... Best thing to do is go out tonight in the rain. Cycle through every puddle you can find.
Then when you get back, dry the bike with an old towel. It'll be all shiny. Then some oil on the chain. Job done. 2mins

Only if you want to get sprayed in cow sh@t. You must live in a different Ireland.

gman2k

markcroninbsc wrote: »

all these bike cleanin products are just a cod. too expensive and usually useless

+100

Saw a 5L bottle of Muc off today in a store for €38 :eek:
This stuff is the exact same as any power washer detergent which can be bought for around €5-6 (except they are not pink) If you don't believe me, then just read the ingredients on the bottles! that's what I use now, and it does the exact same thing!
The same goes with greases, degreasers, lubes etc etc.
Even tools for feck sake! buy a set of spanners or allen keys under the Park brand, and you are paying some premium for the 2 wheel exclusivity:rolleyes:

ashleey

Agree with the sentiments about muc off. It's the chain cleaning though that has to be done right.

abcdggs

gman2k wrote: »

Even tools for feck sake! buy a set of spanners or allen keys under the Park brand, and you are paying some premium for the 2 wheel exclusivity:rolleyes:

I have to disagree on the tools front. the park tools stuff is of a much higher quality than generic unbranded stuff. if you're going to be using the tools for anything but the most basic work it would be worth investing in decent tools

gman2k

abcdggs wrote: »

I have to disagree on the tools front. the park tools stuff is of a much higher quality than generic unbranded stuff. if you're going to be using the tools for anything but the most basic work it would be worth investing in decent tools

My point is that a set of branded tools for car use is much less than the bike branded stuff.
And tbh, even a lot of bike shops won't pay the premium for Park tools for their own workshops, Icetools are just as good.

markcroninbsc

abcdggs wrote: »

if you're going to be using the tools for anything but the most basic work it would be worth investing in decent tools

any work on a bike is the most basic work

abc_xyz

Was told that baby wipes work for cleaning a bike. Didn't believe it till I tried it - work great and save getting water everywhere. Not sure I'd ever use them on a baby though!

fasty

I use a citrus degreaser on my chain and other working pretty regularly but don't clean the rest of the bike too often. I want it to be ignored when it's seen locked to things!

I did pick up a bottle of that Muc Off stuff last weekend though so I think I'll give it a proper cleaning this weekend.

gman2k

fasty wrote: »

I did pick up a bottle of that Muc Rip Off stuff last weekend though so I think I'll give it a proper cleaning this weekend.

fasty

gman2k wrote: »

Well it wasn't €38!!! (But it wasn't 5L either.)

Single Malt

gman2k wrote: »

My point is that a set of branded tools for car use is much less than the bike branded stuff.
And tbh, even a lot of bike shops won't pay the premium for Park tools for their own workshops, Icetools are just as good.

Branded tools for car are even pricier, the equivalent being Snap On
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/catalog.asp?tool=hand
Icetools are nowhere near the quality of Park, and any decent shop will use Park for the important tools

kumate_champ07

gman2k wrote: »

+100

Saw a 5L bottle of Muc off today in a store for €38 :eek:
This stuff is the exact same as any power washer detergent which can be bought for around €5-6 (except they are not pink) If you don't believe me, then just read the ingredients on the bottles! that's what I use now, and it does the exact same thing!
The same goes with greases, degreasers, lubes etc etc.
Even tools for feck sake! buy a set of spanners or allen keys under the Park brand, and you are paying some premium for the 2 wheel exclusivity:rolleyes:

I tried some washing powder to degrease hubs and headset parts and it worked better than anything else Ive ever used. just mixed the powder with warm water in my sink. worked great on some old spokes too, got them back to original new&shiny condition.

abcdggs

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

I tried some washing powder to degrease hubs and headset parts and it worked better than anything else Ive ever used. just mixed the powder with warm water in my sink. worked great on some old spokes too, got them back to original new&shiny condition.

Before i moved out of my last apartment i shoved all the greasy stuff in the dishwasher. worked a treat. wouldn't fancy washing my dishes in it after though...