Bike Cleaning

Drivetrain - Wipe/brush crap off chain. Nylon and Soft brash brush to clean cassette/Chainrings. Nylon brush to clean crap out of any random places, derailuers, bottom bracket area, etc. Lube chain, wipe off any excess lube.

If my chain gets super funky after a muddy race/ride, I sometimes soak it in a citrus degreaser. I also took apart and cleaned/lubed my bottom bracket once this summer. I'll occaionally wipe down the fork stanchions if they have buildup on/around them.

I dont do anything more than that. I don't care what my bike looks like, I just want it to run good.
 
Brush down the drivetrain and run the chain thru a towel that I put some degreaser on... I follow that up with lubing the chain

I don't bother with much else after every ride
 
I usually just brush as well. I avoid using a hose, even at low pressures because it can drive out some of the grease in the nooks and crannys of the bike.

After that, I sometimes use a degreaser or bicycle polish to clean the frame if appropriate.
 
I'm a little nuts about bike love but I think it's time well spent. Familiarity with your machine will allow you to spot potential problems before they become disasters. I rode all the H2H races this season, the DH 40, and countless miles either training or just for fun. I didn't have any mechanical problems. Just the other day while cleaning my bike, i noticed a link was not folding properly. upon further exam, I decided to replace my chain. I'm a 180 lb rider and I've been known to put some torque on components. I ride a 3X9 full squish 29er.

wipe down a dirty frame and wheels with "wet wipes". remove the moisture residue and any lingering dirt with a soft shop towel.
Drive train, gets a series of brushes, the best I've found is from Spin Doctor. the bristles are long and stiff enough to get between all the rings (front and rear).
Chain- stiff brush, best applied on the chain in between the rear derail pulleys. you can hit all 4 sides of the chain without the wheel on and still have ample tension to use the cranks to spin it thru.
nooks and crannys- i use a toothbrushes, rags, and my personal favorite...an air compressor. Never water. NEVER WATER! and if I'm still interested after all that, I'll hit the frame with a waterless shine polish. The entire process can take less than hour or as many as 3. it depends on how many beers I plan on drinking.

Keep it clean, it'll work when you need it.


I always check each spoke and nipple and I try to remember to check each bolt and bushing while I'm doing this.
 
Wash and Wax, all my bikes. So when they do get dirty like this.
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With very little effort it looks like this

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I like to use simple green and a nylon brush on the drivetrain. Comes out sparkly clean. Whatever you do make sure you ride it around right after cleaning and dry it out good.
 
After a ride I use a brush on chain, cassette and chain rings. Wipe off all dirt/mud from stanchions on fork/shock w/paper towel.


When it is time for a real good cleaning I use odorless Mineral spirits on chain with chain cleaning device. Take off entire cassette and clean each cog with old tooth brush and mineral spirits. I don't have to take off chain rings to clean unless I am going to sell the bike :D. Using an old rag dipped in spirits takes off most of the stuff.

I used to use simple green but spirits have less smell. SG used to give me headaches :drooling:

Rest of the bike I use bucket of water w/little bit of soap and old rags/paper towels.
 
mr.chainsaw said:
wait till my homie Lou sees this thread.
Click to expand...

what I used to do is keep a bottle of White Lightning Wash & Shine in my car if I needed it... and kept gallons under my sink (yes I am excessive)... anyway... after each and every ride I would use an entire bottle and spray down everything (I cleaned my rotors with acetone after the bike was cleaned so that wasn't an issue but if you don't plan to do the same I would recommend not spraying directly on the rotors)... about half a bottles worth... let it soak in for 15-20mins... get the hose ready and spray the next 1/2 of the bottle and wipe the bike down, brush the cassette, pedals (if clipless)... I didn't use a rag much... I mostly wiped it down with my hands... yes my hands... this stuff is so awesome that I even ran my chain through my hands to clean it and I was not all greasy... get in every nook and cranny... tires and all... all by hand... top and bottom of bike (remember to turn it over too - I usually start with it upside down then flip it over and continue)... hose the whole bike off (important to remember not to hose off with any kind of pressure at all... (of course you could wipe it down with a clean bucket of water which is how I initially did it but I found myself hosing it off later anyway because the water is being recycled and not really clean so now I just hose it off)... you don't want any pressure in the hubs or particularly in the BB... you'll find that this stuff is so awesome that everything just washes away anyway... spin the wheels... dry her with a towel (chain is a separate towel)... lube the chain and she's brandy new...

if you keep doing it after every ride it gets easier and easier to clean... much like RonC posted above... I will warn you that this stuff is expensive to use a bottle or even 1/2 bottle per cleaning but you'll be spoiled once you do it... I ran out last month and have been going the bucket of soapy water and hose and it sucks in comparison... trust me...

I'm off to order 2 more gallons now... happy cleaning...
 
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leave it on the roof when it rains. my bike is squeaky clean right now.

Doing anything more than what Chris mentioned is unnecessary IMO.
 
single-speeds make it easy: wipe down chain at the end of each ride, add a little oil (every 2 rides or so), wipe again before next ride. Other than that, wipe down frame and wheels with a wet/dry cloth every now and then at the trail head. Seems to work.
 
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