started to dawn on me that the people in my local club reguarly turn up with dirty bikes.in fact i have yet to see a clean one unless its rain in past 48hrs...i love my new steed and so had been avidly washing and lubing it AFTER almost every ride.this now appears to be incorrect and i am breaking as secret social and moral code of the xc rider.
and yes, before the back lash i ride it very reguarly and get it very dirty!
Which would you rather be doing? Riding your bike or washing it?
I make time for washing my bike in the same way as I make time for washing my clothes or doing the dishes - when things get really grubby. 
ps should read hardcore not harcore. 
upto you really, however if you turn up with a shitty bike, and the gears don't work because of the build up of crap you aren't going to be making many friends.
Ah, you found the rule book 
If you want to wash yours then do it. I have a bike for crap weather (my SS which has plenty of nice kit on it) but the whole point of it is that it's bombproof so doesn't need a proper clean each ride. Some rides I do it anyway, other times, it gets put away dirty. Doesn't make any real difference on the next ride other than it looks nicer for about 5 mins at the start of the ride.
Haven't cleaned my PA for a year since I built it up and ride it every weekend. I just brush the dried mud off. Will probably give it a clean and overhaul when I send the fork in for service in November.
depends - a properly cleaned and maintained bike will last longer. i'm talking in regards specifically to the drivechain. as clubber said, this is why i also have a SS.
It's a bit like dragging your fur coat along the floor behind you as you walk.
It shows how cool and wealthy you are
Personally, since I've upgraded my bike with expensive and pointless components, I have made much more effort to clean the sh1t off it after a ride.
Clean bikes are for try-hards and show-offs. Real men get on with riding them.
http://picasaweb.google.com/LasVegasInstituteofSport/CheddarBikefest2008#5251193265186258786
(then stop when their knees blow up, and man the BBQ with a bottle of ale or two)
Mine gets cleaned when the gears stop shifting properly.
Mine has been slowley getting muckier and muckier, now after ride in t'peaks it is well and truly needing a wash. For that entire ride the lowest gear I could get was grannyring and 4 on rear...made for climbing fun 
Having said that my cross bike was taken out 2 weeks ago and got ditched. Still not been cleaned yet...
I reckon too much cleaning prevents the bike bedding in properly. My bikes ride best and are at their most reliable when i don't clean them too much and don't try to tinker with them.
I clean the chain with an old pair of pants, wipe down fork stanchions, and pick off the bigger chunks of mud.
Last time I properly cleaned my Charge, it resulted in a dodgy drivetrain that still isn't quite right, and a creaky BB which didn't creak before. I think the accumulated layers of grime and old oil were holding everything together and filling in all the little gaps.
maybe not the best approach for drivetrain longevity but the best approach for just-getting-out-and-riding (sorry, i hate the phrase too...)
My bike is mostly clean. Takes about 20 minutes to go from filthy to mostly clean, and as I spent a not inconsiderable sum buying it, I want to look after it. Everything tends to last longer unsurprisingly. Don't mind it getting dirty, but I tend to put it away clean.
what is that thing you people talking about... Mud what is it what does it look like?
I reckon too much cleaning prevents the bike bedding in properly
What a load of bilge!
Reminds me of someone (Who shall remain nameless) telling me dirt protected car paint, as I was trying to help them sell a newish 50,000 mile car that had the worst bodywork I'd ever seen. It sold for 30-40% less than it was worth at the time......
FWIW I keep my bikes fairly clean because I equate 'clean' with 'cared for' and a look after everything I own. And when I sell it I get a good price as a result.
Also, that's when you discover the broken bits: I've found a snapped stem bolt and a badly cracked chainstay under mud whilst cleaning. Both of which I have no doubt saved me from a very big off.
It always seems to be those that turn up on caked-filthy bikes that then spend 1/2hr quickly repairing them before they can ride....
If you clean your bike you are more likely to spot damage to your bike, (cracks in the frame, worn tires etc)
99% of people who refer to their bikes as "steeds" clean them I find...
While i think the bedding comment is rubbish, I do (coincidentally) always seem to have problems with my driveline AFTER I've cleaned it, not before!
So... you disagree with the comment despite evidence which would seem to back it up?
I'm just recounting personal experience, perhaps the infrequency with which i clean my bike just makes it a bit of a system shock when i do. Either way i stand by what i said. 
Oh, and to answer the original question, I don't clean the bike largely out of laziness, but use hardcoreness as a handy excuse.
I must admit I did clean the ol girl after this but anything less serious and she goes to bed dirty..... 
Try to guess what tyres I'm using????
I enjoy cleaning my bike.
sometimes it gets cleaned more than once between rides.
its like building wheels.
a bit mindless, a kind of meditation.
mine at LEAST gets a wash, and a squirt of GT85 after the ride, and a relube before the next ride.
not uncommon to get a few threads greased, a dribble of lube down the cables (full outers) and dquirts of lube on the bushes on the mechs.
even my mud plugger single speed gets a rinse and a squirt of lube after every ride.
it doesnt take 30 seconds, and makes it a happier bike when it goes out next!
Meh, thats just wheel clag, ride through a puddle or two and it'll be fine.
[chuckles at Dave]
If you clean your bike you are more likely to spot damage to your bike, (cracks in the frame, worn tires etc)
This is why you should never clean your bike.
Mine get cleaned rarely, any dried mud usually just brushed off then the chain lubed. Did a summer ride once where the mud was worse than in that photo. The wheels just refused to turn, and a thirty-two pound bike doubled in weight. Fifteen minutes with a stick got the wheels turning, just, and a hose at a stables a couple of miles on got most of the clag off. There were no puddles, just thick, sticky west country mud. Next time I got the bike out of the shed I found the rear mech seized, 'cos the sealed bearings were full of mud!
The only bits that get cleaned on mine is the suspension shiney bits and the drivetrain, i do have the luxury of a degreaser tank as well so cassette and rings are always generally clean etc. chains though are a small problem... i am going to stop cleaning that for a while as i am getting through them awfully quickly indeed. on my 3rd this year and it needs replaced for a 4th. it's daft. no idea why either... stumped.
water lets dirt into seals and bearings. just leave the mud where it is - 2 benefits... bearings last longer and your bike weighs more so you get fitter!
wait til it drys and use the Dyson brush head to clean it off.
Mine gets a quick hosing down after rides to clean the worst off. Will give it a good clean when I decide to regrease everything when I'm really, really bored midweek and can't get to any trails
A friend of mine used to religiously clean his lovely new bike. No matter how muddy the previous ride had been, he would always show up for the next ride with it gleaming like new.
First the bottom bracket went. It turns out you don't need to polish the inside of the BB shell after each ride.
Then the hub on the rear wheel went, about 20 miles from home, and made the most excruciating noise I have ever heard from a bike. It seems you don't need to strip down and relube the bearings after each ride, and if you are going to, you should really count the ball bearings back in.
The final straw was when the 9 month old headset bearings rusted to bits from being sprayed down each week.
Personally, this is just one more reason to have a rigid SS.
I clean the drivetrain pretty religiously, just because chains cost money... Everything else just gets washed by coincidence as I'm flailing around with the hose trying not to get my feet wet.
I get comments from riding buddies because my bike is always showroom clean. My bikes are like this for a number of reasons, most already covered.
It's mine and therefore I look after it.
If it's clean, it works better
If it's clean it makes less noise
If it's clean, it will last longer
It serves as a low level inspection so I can find damage before the bike has chance to let me down in the middle of nowhere.
I find cleaning and tinkering with the bike quite theraputic
I might have read too many Mint Sauce cartoons when I was younger but I think there's a certain karmic element to it. if I look after the bike, it will look after me.
What pants for bike cleaning?
if male pants - boxer or y front?
if female - silky or lacey? lacey help pull the dirt off better perhaps? 
i try to clean and look after my bike as much as i can,i work a crappy low paid job to buy my bike things and my bike is my way of getting out and enjoying myself and forgeting that i have a crappy low paid job.
I clean my bike thoroughly only when I strip it down for servicing..
Generally, during summer time rides its a rare event.. basically chain clean, stanchoins cleaned and then general lubing.
Winter rides mean a higher frequency of wash downs due to transporting the bike inside my car..
Round my way (sandy and salty) if you didnt clean the bike religously it would dissolve into a pile of rust and aluminium oxide.
i dont clean mine enough but i do try and keep the drive train clean it just makes life easier
dunno, but at the club back home if my bike wasn't polished and waxed i felt I was letting the group down!
I clean mine fairly often, but if it's just a coating of muddy spray then there's no point.
In the winter when it gets proper cakked up I try & make sure I always have the Dirtworker in the car.
10 mins spent post-ride in the car park means I can just stick it in the shed when I get home knowing it's clean (and lubed) for the next ride.
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