As the title suggests, how many of you pressure wash your bikes and does it really do damage?
I live in a flat so have a Mobi pressure washer, always a bit wary about using it around any bearings/suspension but no other way to clean a filthy bike before putting it in my hallway!
Bucket+Spongey.
Its not the pressure washer that does the damage...its the idiot holding it.
I use pressure washer - just careful where I point my hose 
Just don't aim it at any bearings or the forks, should be fine.
Yes, with care.
Yes, as above just taking care around bottom bracket and fork/shock seals. Stand back a couple of metres until the pressure isn't so high. Never had a problem with it myself.
Yes till an inch of its life.(joke) If I had a garage or a house come to think of it I might use a sponge.
But to be honest I ain't got the time
Nah. Bucket and soapy sponge, with a standard hosepipe for rinsing.
I always go to the local garage with the bike on the rack after a run.
£1 gives me 1.5mins on hot shampoo and 1.5 mins of water.
The spray is pretty wide, the dangerous thing about a pressure washer is the narrow jet that can strip pant and get into bearings.
Works well for me. I hate having a dirty bike, i think not cleaning a bike does more harm than a jet wash.
Just add GT 85 when home.
Flip the bike over and aim the jetwash at the tyres, see how fast you can make the wheel spin. Strangely satisfying and fun.
...then spray the other side of the wheel to bring it to a halt 
No, mud is a protective coating. Only time I jet wash is if I'm selling stuff 
nope !!!!!! you will ruin your bike.... 
Jet wash it. Save loads of time, keep it spotless and do it in a min or two. You will find it very very difficult to jet wash the grease out of your bearings.
Think about it, unless you actually jetwash the bearings directly for ages you are not going to remove the grease from them.
But spraying the bike generaly will clean the crap off it in seconds.
Ive done it for 10 years and dont find I replace bearings. Using lots of Muc Off will remove grease, not jet washing.
Spray the mud n crap off the bike and go for light spray and brush round the bearings and shock
I personally, never risk it. I've worked on so many bikes that are destroyed due to jet washers.
Destroying a bike with a jet wash, maybe the jetwash from an F-15 Eagle but not a pressure washer.
I remember reading somthing where Santa Cruz ran 2 identical bikes which were ridden at same time in same conditions (when new VPP was released). One was washed after every ride the other just brushed off.
The bike that was washed required it's bearings/linkages replacing ahead of the other.
I still wash mine though (only with a hose mind)
No but then the only thing that gets cleaned on my bike are the drivetrain and the fork stanchions.
New rear gear cable, new bottom bracket, new headset bearings and full rear hub bearings. True story.
Don't do it, no matter what them goons say up there ^ it is no good for your bike.
If it's a mobi i can't seeing it doing any damage - not powerful enough
new bottom bracket,
How does one wash the grease out of sealed cartridge bearings?
Could I do a wee hijack please? How much water does a Dirt Worker hold?
Does the Mobi one hold more?
Thanks.
Don't use a pressure wash if you're a bit thick or a clumsy oaf, if you have a bit of common sense then you will be fine.
No need in my opinion. Watering can or a garden hose used carefully is all you need.
Hmmm...mixed response so far!
I'd rather use a garden hose but don't have access to one, and a bucket isn't massively practical since I have to put my filthy bike in the back of my car due to having a car that can't take a bike rack.
I imagine the Mobi on a lowinsh setting (it goes from 50-140 psi) would be ok, as long as I stay away from firing straight into the linkage bearings and BB, although ironically that exactly wear the mud all gathers.
And for the person who asked above, mobi holds 15 litres, does 2 bikes when a bit muddy, or 1 when its clogged with dirt.
Thanks for the responses!
I have one of the wee Mobi V15s and the power out of it is no more than I get from mains pressure at home.
c_g - as the man says, you'll get a couple of bikes reasonably clean with one tank full.
normally just use the hose but on occasion I'll break out the pressure washer, only takes a small amount of common sense to to frig the bearings, people can be a bit alarmist, it's only squirty water...
Get to b&q and get a length of hose and tap attachment...you then have a hose that goes on kitchen tap, out a window and to the bike.
Brush off the main mud and wash in bath/shower.
Bucket and sponge.
Jetwash is fine, just be prepared for more frequent maintenance and servicing.
nope - i just use a bit of muc off / degreaser and then the standard garden hose on a tight spray setting followed by a bucket and sponge/brush if needed.
A Mobi or Dirtworker isn't really a jetwash is it...I think you'd struggle to do any damage with it. Almost certainly less pressure a metre from the trigger than you would get from a garden hosepipe.
A 240v home jetwash or garage jetwash (shudders) is another story and aimed in the wrong place, would probably sort out any degreasing issues you have.
(thinking about it, I spent half a day getting filthy repacking 4 trailer wheel bearings before Christmas...should've just used the jetwash!)
MotoX riders have been pressure washing bikes for years. Better a pressure washed clean bike than a dirty one.
I think people are overestimating how powerful the little portable pressure washers are. Proper jet washers are a no-no, but riding through a big puddle will do more damage to your BB than a Mobi etc. They're no more powerful than a garden hose and you can vary the spray speed if you're really worried.
What about the jet washers you see at trail centres?
Given they're put there for that purpose do you think they're ok to use?
Most of the ones that I've used are on a spray setting rather than jet.
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