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what's your bike cleaning routine (for a really good clean)?
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racefaceec90Full Member
i haven’t ridden my duster offroad for nearly a year now,but would like to relight my mtb fire.
would like to give my bike some tlc.
am planning on taking it for a service,but would also like to give it a proper clean (as i have “cough” left cleaning it for a while 😳
how do you all go about giving your bikes a good clean?
esselgruntfuttockFree MemberNip round the garage & jet wash it, making sure the BB area is clean & the hubs are too.
dai21tFree MemberChain off, cleaned and re-lubed about once a week. Cassette removed and cleaned probably once a month. Same with crank. Wheels off, rear shock removed and general check on pivots every month or two, depending how often its been used and the weather its been out in. Used to change the front bearings in the standard roval wheels every 2 to 3 months as they didn’t seem to last but now have superstar wheels and they’ve been good so far. Think that is about it.
scaredypantsFull Memberfor a really good clean I leave mine out in the rain before bouncing it on the patio once or twice and putting it away
😳
JAGFull MemberDegrease the drive train and chain with Paraffin or similar.
Then soak the frame/wheels with water, followed by a liberal spray with Muc Off followed by a brushing on all the mud and then a rinse.
Then spray Muc Off onto the chain and drive train and work in with an old toothbrush or similar. Then a rinse off.
Finally spray the drive train with GT85 and leave the bike outside to dry off 8)
Malvern RiderFree MemberDepends:
The post-ride spritz: (Just take the wheels off)
1. Bucket of warm suds stiff bristle brush, do wheels and tyres finish with sponge.
2. Clean frame and a components with wet rage and toothbrush to get behind cables, cogs etc. If have hose then hose hard in murky places to shift stubborn crud.
3. Wipe off suds with dry rag. Give chain a wipe. Re-lube if required.
4. GT85 spray bits and bobs ie any steel bolts, exposed cables. Usually spray onto oily rag to conserve then use rag to apply where desired. Sometimes use a chain cleaning device/bath to fully degrease.Going Deeper : (couple of times a year, usually about now, and again in Autumn)
1. Remove wheels and cranks. Remove cassette. Clean both with special tool or toothbrush and bit of card/plastic. Sometimes clean cassette while on wheel if feeling lazy or lock-ring is too tight 😉
2 Change chain and clean derailleurs. Take special time stripping and cleaning jockey wheels. Enjoy that GT85 stank.
3. Buff/re-polish shiny stuff, take a long Sunday afternoon admiring and buffing, fettling etc. Drink at least 3 cups of coffee or 3 bottles of ice cold lager.
4. Fit something (anything!) new. Admire and adjust. Repeat 3 (see above)
5 Reassemble and index gears, check brakes, service/clean if required.
6. Wipe whole shebang with slightly oily rag, keep stepping back and tilting head. Repeat 3 if required.Edit *with wet rag.*
‘Wet rage’ sounds so awesome I kept it.
bwfc4eva868Free MemberSilly question but how often should I be washing my bike? Obviously I got a new full suss and have heard stories of them being more maintenance intensive than hardtails. So I was jetwashing after every ride, drying off at home then gt85 on pivots and frame and lubing the chain. But I got told jetwashing or washing too much is a bad thing.
I don’t have access hose at home. Should I just jetwash and lube every other week?
JoeGFree MemberToday, I bought a small electric leaf blower. I didn’t buy it to blow leaves with. I plan to use it to dry my bikes after I wash them! 😳
roneFull MemberA few tips: use one sponge/brush for frame and another for greasy/oily bits. Don’t mix the two. Once you contaminate your frame it will start to look rough.
Also, use a nice drying cloth such as the one from muc off. Every few washes use a polish on the frame if clear-coated/glossy.
I also turn the bike upside down (but do this on grass) and wash from underneath too as you will miss stuff from doing it right way up all the time.
mikewsmithFree MemberSilly question but how often should I be washing my bike? Obviously I got a new full suss and have heard stories of them being more maintenance intensive than hardtails.
You have only a couple more moving parts than a HT. Your bearings and pivots, if it’s made by somebody who thought about it then they should last well and be well sealed.
If you get the crap off the moving gear then thats all you can do, in many ways when it’s say in the garage nothing is moving or rubbing or wearing. If you ride in crap/slop/grinding paste the riding will do the damage.
I don’t go for those over zealous strip and clean stuff.benjiFree MemberBeen really pleased with the Duck Smart Earth Mover, followed by an afterwash spray of Mud Slider. Filling my little washer with warm water seems to help the muck come off without too much need for scrubbing. Chain through the chain cleaner, and job done. Relube and ready to play again.
The cross bike takes no more than one fill of the washer the fat bike is 3 to 4 fills, it’s huge when you come to wash them.
chiefgrooveguruFull MemberObviously I got a new full suss and have heard stories of them being more maintenance intensive than hardtails. So I was jetwashing after every ride, drying off at home then gt85 on pivots and frame and lubing the chain.
Aarghhhhhhhhhhh!!!
Jetwashing it will drive water into places it would almost never go when riding, so past seals and into bearings on BB, hubs, headset and pivots. GT85 contains solvent which will dissolve grease inside bearings (like at the pivots) so they’ll end up running dry and/or corroding. If you were to keep on doing that you’d knacker all the bearings so much more quickly than if you gave it a light hose and wipe down after rides where the bike has wet mud on it and ignored it after all drier rides (whether muddy or not). Just clean and lube chain and fork/shock stanchions after each ride and all the bearings will last far far longer.
wobbliscottFree MemberI’m not a great fan of washing bikes. All that water mixed up with abrasive sand and dust flowing around washing over your drive train and pivot bearings can’t ever be a good thing. I’ll wait for the mud to dry, knock/break the worst off with my hand and wipe them down after a muddy ride, with a dry cloth then maybe with a damp one to get the really grimy parts out. By keeping it dry means you can use a brush (old toothbrush or something) to brush out the dust and particles from the nooks and crannies and give the drive train a good wipe down with lots of GT85 and re-lube.
I’m not too precious about my bike so not bothered about it looking pristine.
molgripsFree MemberJetwashing it will drive water into places it would almost never go when riding, so past seals and into bearings on BB, hubs, headset and pivots
This is not true, if you are sensible and careful.
I’ve been jetwashing my bike for 15 years. The current set of three mtbs and one road bike is 8 years old, and in that time I have replaced 2 external bbs, two frame pivots, and three sets of shock bushings.
I use a cheap low powered jet washer, and I keep it a foot from the bike when pointing it near the sensitive bits. I put it right up against the chain though to clear all the crud out
timberFull MemberEvery so often I use some road film concentrate from the jet washer. Rinse bike, spray on the cleaner with a hand spray and rinse off. Bloody sparkling, no effort. Do wash the bike upside-down, no idea what it could do to the fork seals for the way it cleans so easily.
dannyhFree MemberAs above, if everything is well made and sealed, there’s not much to do. I don’t mind cleaning my bike, but it’s not something I fret about either.
I tend to ride twice a week, but one of those times is a night ride, so a full wash after that is not really on the cards, so…….
After a night ride I tend to wipe down the fork stanchions and seals, same with the dropper. Then dribble some finish line wet on the seals, cycle them a bit and wipe down. Chain is back pedaled through an old towel to get the worse off, then sprayed with water disperser (GT85 or WD40).
After my weekend ride I do a better job. Brush worst off frame. Hot soapy water in a bucket and brush or sponge all over. Run the chain through a chain cleaner with the same water. Do a good brushing around the drivetrain. Re do soaping as required. Then I rinse the whole lot down with cold water (no hose), then shake off the excess water and leave to dry (or a quick towel down). Again, lube seals and wipe down, also lube onto chain.
The night ride job takes five minutes. The weekend clean about twenty, depending on the muddiness.
For me the key is to concentrate whatever time you have on the bits that cost the most to replace. That’ll be suspension first, then dropper, then drivetrain. Most of the rest is optional from a cleaning point of view, maintenance is a slightly different matter.
choredFree MemberFor a really good clean I reduce the bike to something like this and clean everything individually:
thegreatapeFree MemberRinse with hose (no nozzle so it’s just the same pressure as the tap).
Bucket of warm water with some Hope bike wash stuff in.
Cloth on the frame/forks/bars etc.
Brush on the drivetrain and wheels.
Park chain bath thingy.
Rinse with the hose.
Dry with a tea towel.
UBS on chain.
Fork Juice on stanchions and dropper.
Put away.
Receive bollocking for state of tea towel.15 mins.
6hoursFree MemberI’m with Malvern Rider apart from the hard hosing.
Oh and I will give the coffee a miss – hideous stuff.During the winter I have to use his twice a year routine on a weekly basis, which is a bit of a chore after 2 or three hours riding in the mud and rain when the wind chill is ripping the heat from your hands, but warm water and rubber gloves make it bearable.
The chain is often coated in brown gloop (semi-liquid Lincolnshire Clay) with little evidence of lube remaining so I just wash it in hot water, wipe it down, spray with WD 40 and leave it wrapped in a rag till next weekend. Unwrap, re-fit, lube and ride. The bike stays in the back of the car for a day or two to dry out whilst I travel to work and back, but if you have a Shimano HT2 Bottom bracket make sure you spin it every day as they seize up if you leave them wet for more than a couple of days.Definitely No Jetwashing and None of that Muc Off shite.
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