I spent this morning cleaning and fettling my bike, and wondered what other people do with their bikes after a ride. Given that we’re well into winter I figured it might make a half decent thread (sorry if one already exists).

I’m not talking about a full strip, just a ‘good enough that I can put it back in the shed til next time without worrying about it’ clean.

I rinse the worst of the mud off, clean my forks and shock then spray them with ‘fork juice’, use a Park chain cleaning tool to get my chain shiney then lube that, and make sure the worst of the mud/leaves etc are clear of my cassette, chain rings and brake calipers.

Anyone else care to share their day to day cleaning ideas and such?

MTB:

Open garage door.
Chuck bike in.
Close garage door.

Chisel worst of grime off next ride year

Fixed:

Prop up against wall.
Hope for rain.

Road:

Half arsed wipe.
Lube.

day to day cleaning

WTF?

I use squirt lube so chain cleaning just not necassary.

If i reckon the chain is wet, remove chain, hang over radiator, put bike in garage.

If the bike is particularly clarted up or its a while since I last did it, hose it down and remove chain, and hang from a radiator, put bike in garage.

If its my v nice bike that lives indoors, hose the worst off, drip dry in the Downstairs, air dry in the front room, turn cranks to ensure chain dries, shove in spare room.

Take the bike out of my car and pop it in the garage to dry. If its lucky I brush off the worst of it for the next ride.

leave until the ice melts and all the mud falls off in a nice little pile on the hall floor.

Finish ride. Dunk bike in lake (briefly) lube.

There’s a nice deep hole by the bank of the river I cross coming back to home.

Lob bike in there and give it a quick waggle.

Hose the chain/gear bits, brakes and the forks (and shock on the FS) when I get back after a mucky ride. Put a bit of oil on later that night once it’s dry. Brush off the dried in muck on the non-moving parts before the next ride and a bit more lube on suspension and chain if needed.

I don’t go for dedicated bike cleaning stuff. 3 in 1 oil and WD40 does the job for lube and car/dog shampoo – whatever is lying in the shed – does for the bi-annual bath 😀

1) Stick the heater on in the shed
2) Hose down and quick brush
3) leave to dry whilst hosing shoes (and if necessary, longs)
4) Relube chain, GT85 mechs & Pedals, Fork Juice stantion.
5) Chain up in warm shed, whilst drinking coffee and eating recovery bars / cake .

Done.

once i get back home and the bike is muddy (my duster mtb),i look at it,purse lips then think to myself, “i’ll just have a coffee first” 😉 bike still not clean months later 😳

as for my new road bike, i’ve had to clean the bladdy thing everytime i’ve ridden it (3 times so far,YES 3 TIMES! 😯

i was hoping getting a road bike wouldn’t mean that i would have to clean it at all 😯 😮

just throw it in the garage. Probably oil the chain just before I go out the next time

1) Let it dry
2) Brush off most of the mud
3) Reapply lube if required

Ironically the road bike actually gets washed, because of road salt

zero

My bikes occasionally get washed.

Because at this time of year they live in the house…(mainly because the shed door swells up with the damp and won’t shut.. great excuse eh?)

Hose the worst off
Hot soapy wash
Rinse
Chamois dry
Dry the chain and re-lube the day after.

In for tea and toast (that’s me not the bike)
Start to finish takes about 10 minutes for the SS.

I must be the only one then:
full strip, chain split, clean & de-grease, fresh lube etc, re-build after chain has spent 24hrs drying with new Ice wax.
Wax polish frame, forks & rims.

6hrs ride = weekend cleaning duties. Both of which i love doing before i get criticise!!

😉 🙂

couple of bunnyhops in the carpark/road after ride to remove some of the mud.
wipe fork stantions and chain with an old towel.
lube chain every 3 or 4 rides.
wheels off and decent clean every 10 or so rides.

My summer Sunday best road bike is cleaned every ride as I can’t afford to neglect the parts. My winter bike is hosed down and scrubbed every couple of weeks. MTB gets washed as and when depending on the mud.

finished ride, scrape off as much mud as I can whilst bike is still wet.

next time I’m using the bike, chip off all dried mud from drivetrain, re-lube and clean chain, clean stantions and seals.

ride bike

repeat.

Couple of times in summer I might wash the bike.

Wet bike (if not already)with hose
Spray with Muck-Off
Sit and have brew
Go back into dark, cold garden and hose down.
Few hours later or next day(once bike is dry) oil / lube

Simples 😀

sub 10 minute routine for when bike is wet :

remove from roof
prop up on small steps
spray with muc off
hose on sprinkler setting, agitate with muc off brushes
run chain through park chain cleaner with neat muc off
wind up hose reel
dry off bike with old towel
roll into garage
fork juice on fork (and shock if FS)
gt85 into cable oilers and over bolts, mechs and chain
3 in 1 silicon spray on brake levers

leave for 24 hrs (integral garage so nice and dry and not too cold) then lube chain

if bike is dry when I get home – nothing. I don’t think it is any good for a dry bike to get washed

Quick hose down if it’s wet then dry the chain with a towel and re-lube.

Apply Muc-Off while bike still muddy.

Use hosepipe and brush to wash off the bike.

Damp cloth to take the final dirt off

Polish

Polish some more

Use tooth pick to get wee bits out of nooks and crannies

Lube chain

Spray suspension with silicon

Wipe down

Set brakes

Check indexing

Go to bed.

If not just thrown into back of van

quick spray of muc-off
hose down with mobi washer (if not frozen) or bucket of water and sponge
run chain through chain cleaner
quick dry off
quick spray of GT85 around mech and chain
lube chain
quick spray of fork juice on fork

goes and eats cake.

leave in the corner of the kitchen to dry..

when I get a minute over the following day or so, take it out in the garden to brush the dried mud off the drive train

lube chain

once per month brush all the mud off everything and take chain off for a soak in some Gunk

lube chain

Hose off in garden, wipe down with old tea towel to dry and get rest of the mud off. Takes all of three minutes.

The hose is out and waiting when I get back. The bike goes straight in the shed and I have to hose myself down before I’m allowed in. Clothing is either dried in the line if its sunny or bagged up and taken to the local laundrette

just leave it – mud easier to get off when it’s dry.

Singlespeed -> shed, chain gets lubed in putoline once in a while.

Pitch -> only comes out to play in the dry or DH, either way the washing doesn’t get done too often, when it does it usually gets dirtworker’d before going back in the car then the usual muc-off, bucket of warm water, sponge, lubes, etc.

Road bike -> monthly proper clean and lube in the summer

Commuter-> oil on chain and a bit of lube on moving parts

Day to day cleaning only happens for the first week or two of owning a new bike doesn’t it?! Bikes get cleaned on the weekend. Mid week the chain will get Gt85 sprayed on it so it doesn’t rust. Jobsagoodun