Regular cleaning of your bike......

[themidge]

If you stay on top of it there in no need for any water whatsoever.

Methinks they don't have dirt on the roads where you live.

[mattr]

But i never take a hose to the bike. If you stay on top of it there in no need for any water whatsoever. Mountain bike might get a water rinse with a small hand pump sprayer if its really mucked up.

One road ride of an hour round here will leave a load of dried on grit, road grime, sand and tar over the bottom half of any bike. Even with floor dragging mudflaps.

So yeah, water every time, or dragging that cloth over the frame a) won't get to all of the grime and b) will scratch the finish.

[TobinHatesYou]

Rain- Ill do the above procedure immediately after the ride. But i never take a hose to the bike. If you stay on top of it there in no need for any water whatsoever. Mountain bike might get a water rinse with a small hand pump sprayer if its really mucked up.

Lol

Sorry, I’m lazy and I’m carefully pointing a jet nozzle at this.





The weather forecast said it wasn’t going to rain. For the most part, the forecast was right...just a micro-cell on the mountain ridge that flushed some dirt onto the road. It was less than a mile of medium-fast descending through a thin layer of mud.

[bikeboy1tr]

I usually do a lubing every week unless its been a dirty, rainy or long ride then I will do it before the next ride. I hang my bike by the front wheel from a hook and use a spray bottle with degreaser to clean the chain with a terry cloth (old bath towel) wipe it and then apply chain lube. I use 3in1 silicone spray on the shifter cables and front,rear mechs and then I use Super Lube on the pullies and brake cables.
If its been raining I take the pedals off and clean then grease the pedal spindle and crankarm threads as dirt from the rain always makes its way into the threads. I will pull the wheels and wipe the drop outs and the axle where it sits in the drops. If there is any creaking noises after doing those parts then its time for BB removal and cleaning.

[nickf]

But i never take a hose to the bike. If you stay on top of it there in no need for any water whatsoever. Mountain bike might get a water rinse with a small hand pump sprayer if its really mucked up.

One road ride of an hour round here will leave a load of dried on grit, road grime, sand and tar over the bottom half of any bike. Even with floor dragging mudflaps.

So yeah, water every time, or dragging that cloth over the frame a) won't get to all of the grime and b) will scratch the finish.

Guess the roads around here are pretty clean then. But I'm not dragging that cloth over it. Using a quick detail spray. Faster and less time consuming then hosing it down. Just sharing what works for me. #noscratching

[jencvo]

What degreaser do you guys use? I've been using Finish Line Citrus degreaser but it doesn't feel like it's really doing a great job and it's expensive. I had purple power degreaser before but it stained some surfaces...

[TobinHatesYou]

For cleaning large amounts of crud off my bike as shown above, I just jetwash most of it off keeping the stream away from any sealed bearings. After most of the mud has been ablated away, I just spray a solution of Dawn (dishwashing soap) and water all over the bike, let it work for a couple minutes, then rinse. After that, tile sponges with water. After that, microfiber rags wipe down. After that an air compressor on fasteners, the drivetrain and other damp, hard to reach parts of my bike.

For most washes and I don’t touch a strong degreaser...it’s not necessary and you risk getting degreaser into components that should be well greased.

[mattr]

What degreaser do you guys use? I've been using Finish Line Citrus degreaser but it doesn't feel like it's really doing a great job and it's expensive. I had purple power degreaser before but it stained some surfaces...

Try your local automotive place. You can usually buy large bottles of tar spot remover, I get a large bottle (4l) of the eco version and dilute it 50:50 with water, its at least as effective as any of the commercial degreasers. Costs about 220 sek/£20/€25 And lasts me about 18 months. (I clean a lot of bikes, and use it on the car)

[mattr]

For most washes and I don’t touch a strong degreaser...it’s not necessary and you risk getting degreaser into components that should be well greased.

Which is one reason i dilute the degreaser, and use hubs/bottom brackets with actual seals.

Only time I've had an issue of getting degreaser into somewhere it shouldn't get was a mates hub that someone hadn't fitted a seal to. (LBS actually.) New set of bearings/seals and a good clean and it's still going strong today. Despite 6 months of running/cleaning/rain with no seal!

[TobinHatesYou]

Also hmm... 1 part degreaser, 1 part water isn’t very dilute. When I degrease new chains I use roughly a 1:5 ratio of Zep Citrus vs water.

[mattr]

Works well enough for me. Have no issues with grease getting washed out or contaminated.

[jones1991]

i commute in the UK so regulary ride in crap weather, Winter bike with full mudguards help keeps most of the crap off the bike so i dont have to wash at 8pm when i get home.

i wax my chains when new (after removing factory grease) and then once it starts to wear off ill top up with squirt chain lube, this means no more degreasing and drivetrain lasts much longer, im heavy for a cyclist and fairly powerful so used to eat through chains in no time when using oil or other lubes, just make sure to try your chain after a wet ride and top up with squirt, i use a compressor to do this but you could towel dry etc

[parajba]

How do I clean a new Venge which has a matte frame? Can I use my existing muc off and rinse with water like I did before with a glossy frame?

[TonyM]

How do I clean a new Venge which has a matte frame? Can I use my existing muc off and rinse with water like I did before with a glossy frame?

Matte paints need specific matte cleaning products.
Look for cleaning products for matte cars.
For example chemical guys havee some good products for that purpose like:
http://store.chemicalguyscanada.ca/Meti ... pi_995.htm
http://store.chemicalguyscanada.ca/JetS ... 203_16.htm
http://store.chemicalguyscanada.ca/Meti ... 995_16.htm
http://store.chemicalguyscanada.ca/Meti ... 995_16.htm

[spdntrxi]

I highly recommend Chemical guys and microfiber towels