What do you guys use that preferably doesn't cost a lot!
I use a bucket and sponge etc, but a hose would be brilliant! Ive seen the pump up pressure things, but surely they wont give enough oomph, or water to blast wet mud off?!
Why can't you use a hose?
I attach mine to the kitchen tap.
Nomad (aka Dirtworker) or the generic copies all work very well. Suposedly you can get two bikes washed with a tank (I've never had to try). I have the an original DW and it's just the job, reasonable pressure but no pressure washer, you may need to use a brush to help get the worst sheep poo off.
Nomad offer great after market support, along with fact they "got there first", a definite reason to recommend them.
A pump up garden spray will do a p*** poor job in comparison, but is a hell of a lot cheaper.
PPL have made there own DIY ones up, if you do searches.
TBH if your only washing the bike at home, and have the possibility to fit one (you have a ground floor property, not a 1st floor flat), just get an outside tap fitted.. it'll probably be cheaper overall.
Hose attached to kitchen tap. Nozel on end of hose.
Mobiwasher.
Bought one when Wiggle were banging them out for £50...
Great bit of kit IMHO.
I live in a 2nd floor flat, no outside tap and the bike is kept in the living room. I bought a Mobi washer - excellent solution. The bike gets washed before it's put back in the car.
There was some p*ss-taking from mates when I bought it, but now they form an orderley queue after each ride to use it.
I tank of water does 2 bikes reasonably comfortably.
You shouldn't use the hose to [b]blast[/b] the water off, that's exactly the sort of thing which fills all the bearings with water.
@batfink's solution is a good one too, try and get most of the "big lumps" off before you return home. Then you can just do the sensitive stuff with more care at home with a bucket.
I hate dirtworkers. The pathetic power means if you actually want to shift mud with one you'll be there for ages and more than likely klll your bearings whereas a proper jetwash/hose on full power will shift mud quickly and if used properly won't
Bored GW?
Careful there banning ppl for pure trolling.
I've a Laser Tools washer, cheep dirtworker/mobi clone.
No battery (runs off the car)
No tank (25l jerry can lives in the car)
On the one hand those things are a dissadvantage, on the other hand I can go away for a week and the 'tank' lives in the rear footwell and provides drinking, cooking and bike washing water for a week easily. Using it a couple of times a week it lasts months.
Only downside is it only removes the mud, it doesnt really clean the bike. So the usual procedure is to spray on some cleaner, wash it to remove the mud, get home, spray with cleaner again, then dissapear inside to get a bucket of water and zipp wax and sponge to get it looking like new.
+1 for the Mobi washer. I have the one with the battery as well as the mains and car charger and it lasts forever. Plenty of pressure as well and will do 2 filthy bikes or 3-4 mildly grubby bikes
I live in a flat which means that the bike lives in the bedroom/lounge so needs a quick clean after most rides. I use a mobi washer which I keep in the boot of the car and the bike gets a quick hose down after a ride when muck is still wet and easy to get off. Gets it clean enough to keep the gf happy.
I use a Hozelock 7L garden sprayer.
Its manually pressurised so can't get too powerful to get into the bearings, etc. Its portable and unless its totally manky one fill usually does the job.
Used something similar for the last 15 years...
I use a service station jet wash after every muddy ride. I avoid the shock and fork seals - blast away from them rather than into them. I haven't had problems with other bearings - they all get blasted.
buckets of water filled from a water butt and a dustpan brush does most of mine, when i bother. sometimes some of those brushes you get from pedros etc. help to get in the awkward bits.
no way i'd be taking water from the tap to wash my bike, though i suppose some people can literally afford to throw money down the drain...
+1 for a Mobi washer.
I've got the slightly smaller one (15 litres?) and that does 2 bikes easily unless they're really filthy. Power this with the external battery pack (and torch) and it works a treat - no messing with extension leads.
No zippy. Dirtworkers ok for trail centre puddlespray but not proper mud.
Del, I'm all for saving water but on a meter, 10L costs about 2p. And you aren't throwing money down the drain, you are spending 2p on a sufficient quantity of water to clean your bike.
Even if you wash your bike once a week, that's only cost you £1.04 in water per yr...
that's only cost you £1.04 in water per yr...
oh how the other half live.. there's children starving in africa
you have a ground floor property, not a 1st floor flat
Depends. When I lived in a first floor flat the water supply came in through the communal hallway and I had a tap fitted outside the front door spurred off that (with a shut off valve inside). Hosed the bikes down on the pavement outside before putting them away.
GW, dirtworker plus brush (or selection of). Problem solved.
Not found any wet mud that combo won't shift - it just means you have to actually brush a bit, rather than just squirting the jet of water at the mud hoping it will fall off.
Dirtworkers ok for trail centre puddlespray but not proper mud.
Nonsense.
Plenty of proper natural muddy Scottish riding and my cheapo CRC pressure washer copes just fine.
Bucket of warm soapy water and selection of brushes and sponge + watering can filled from water butt normally does the job unless really filthy.
Yunki - I previously used unicorns tears, but the last unicorn died earlier this year...
The expensive bit with tap water is running 10L of it through the Brita before allowing it near the bike...
My old man had this a hose type thing that he put into a water carrier, like a JML type of contraption, used a brush adapter on the end and worked a treat. In my old flat before I bought a hose pipe I had one of the garden sprayer, only cost a few quid and did a good enough job even in the dirtiest of conditions.
I had this problem at uni and I left a bucket and sponge and a cheap jerry can full of water outside under the hedge. LEft it on the way out full up and then washed and cleaned on the way back in.
Plenty of rags help too as wiping with a cloth is good for getting the last bits off where normally you'd rinse with a hose.
If you leave it long enough the dirt dries up and just drops off
ASDA petrol station water hose thingy (next to the air) gets really wet mud off. the rest of the ride home dries the bike a bit.
failing that, one of those manual pressure weed thingys with a brush, if i'm feeling the love for the bike.
Just use a bucket & sponge, however that is a road bike. Mountain bike fortunately lives at my parents where I have access to an outside tap & hose.
Stick the bike in the shower. That's what I did when I lived in a flat.
I used to work in a hotel,the best method I found was to put it in the bath in one of the bathrooms,I didn't run a bath though,just used the showerhead.a quick rinse of the bath afterwards and then dry the bike with a towel.i found shampoo worked better than showergel.
all this at about 4am,obviously.
Why not think of yourself as a portable bike cleaning solution and just Wee on it...
Probably takes a few sessions to really those shift stubborn lumps of mud, but as a positive nobody will steal a bike that stinks of piss, Double Bubble!
You must have either a bath or shower. So just take the bike in with you next time you go for a ride....
meh. i wear orthopaedic shoes. 😳
i still reckon you underestimate how much water you use on a hose. flow from a tap runs about 20L/min?
anyway, a quid is nearly a bottle of ale, and water falls out the ****in sky, so i ain't paying to wash me blinkin bike, alright!? 😀