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How often do you clean your bike?
I always used to wash it down after every offroad ride but don't get as much time for fiddling in the garage these days and probably getting a bit lazy too. So cleaning takes place on more of a monthly basis 😮
Please reassure me that I am not alone. Or should I be ashamed ?
i hardly ever clean my bikes
You really should be ashamed - if there was an RSPCB I'd report you.
ive cleaned my dh bike once since getting it in august hahaha
too clean to go messing it up by riding it !
Oh thanks, youv'e just reminded me of another job needing doing 🙄
Ashamed of what? I hardly clean them, they go over mud, rocks and sticks every ride. Never affected them one bit.
My road bike is immaculate
My mtbs arent too dirty but certainly far from immaculate.
Ah yes well my road bike is also mintly hanging up and hasn't moved since the last heatwave....but last year I forked out one hundred tenners on a lovely brand new malt4 and it just don't seen right leaving it mummyfied in a brown mudpack weeks on end. Shoulda got a brown one not white...
Just given my SS a full strip down, clean and service. Sparkling.
Normally only do so every 6 months or so really. Just brush the thick off after rides,. bit of lube on the chain, that's that. It donYES GET IN SUAREZ YOU LITTLE BEAUTY!!!'t really need any more than that tbh. Love SS for that. Simples!
my bike has been in the shed for... 8 days.. I WILL clean it before Friday..
Give it a wash down with my mobi after every ride, once a month I usually take off the cassette/chain etc and give it clean..
I wash all mine quite a bit,it's a leftover from MX/Enduro days.
You sometimes spot stuff while you are cleaning that could mess up your race or big day out.
I have had very few mechanicals.
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/46613883@N08/5395407921/ ]SCANDAL 005[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/46613883@N08/ ]timoreillyhalifax[/url], on Flickrore the ride!
After sundays ride!
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/46613883@N08/5404388216/ ]001[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/46613883@N08/ ]timoreillyhalifax[/url], on Flickr
I couldn't be bothered to clean it cause it will get dirty again at the weekend!
Is this lazy or just sensible?
I do clean my bikes well once a month maybe!
Never, sometimes brush the shit off when it driea, all I do is lube chain
Posh road bike = immaculate, doesn't go out in the rain
SS road bike = Permanently caked in filth
Geared MTB = brush down the drivetrain every ride if muddy, proper clean maybe once every 4 rides or so
SS MTB = only one ride old so far, will probably be a happy medium between the geared MTB and the Pompino
P.S. Thanks for the spoiler alert Elfin.
its not clean atall get it caked in mud on sunday comute 6 miles back from the woods what comes off comes off whats left will bounce off on the next ride when i fall off 🙂
My mountain bike is immaculate, and my road bike is covered in crud 😈
SS road bike is reasonably clean.
SS Inbred 29er is absolutely filthy, will knock excess dirt off before next outing.
Filthy with a lovely combination of mud and cow poo but it'll be clean enough to eat my dinner off again tomorrow. Not that I will eat my dinner off it - that would be weird - I'll use a plate.
big bike - covered in mud from last ride, in state of disrepair with sticky forks, wobbly back wheel and gears not working
hardtail - got cleaned couple of weeks ago at Cannock where there was a jet wash, first proper wash in about 9 months
road/ commuter bike - got jetwashed at the garage last summer, covered in road grime
.
I don't have easy access to bike cleaning facilities and I don't want to clean it in the street, so I don't bother. keep the drivetrain cleanish, but quite like the look of bikes that are used and abused.
Absolutely filthy- as usual. Currently covered with good Brecon Beacons filth from tonight's ride 🙂
I just brush the mud off when it dries. wax lube so no chain cleaning anymore.
I couldn't be bothered to clean it cause it will get dirty [s]again[/s] at the weekend
Corrected that for you tk46hal (looks clean to me)
😀
When they need it. In winter, after most rides. In summer, usually never.
I clean mine when I sell them . . . so that's monthly then 😉
6 bikes. 5 are imaculate and one is a real mess.
Commuter/hack bike (rigid SS so very little to go wrong) gets cleaned when I get some spare time, has been known to go well over a year between washes. Race bike gets a full 8-10hr strip and rebuild every ride. TT bike hardley ever gets grubby, DH bike hardley gets ridden 🙁 except for Scotland trip next month 🙂 Road bike and HT get 3-5hr clean when used, unless being used on consecutive days when they'll get done after the last one.
Race bike gets a full 8-10hr strip and rebuild every ride
seriously? you've got too much time on your hands...
ive cleaned my dh bike once since getting it in august hahaha
do you use it much?
I find my DH bike often needs 2 or 3 drivetrain jetwashes a day during a wet race just to allow the chain to work without jamming, and after 2 or 3 runs it'll weigh a good 10lb less if I give it a quick blast.
I only clean mine when they need cleaned!
Mates of mine were surprised to discover my Hemlock's white rather than its customary brown. So when getting the Mmmbop resprayed I chose a colour that looks good with mud on. I keep all the worky bits clean and well serviced but the frames etc can be as dirty as they want.
seriously, do you really, really think I have so little to do that I am actively gonna open a thread with this title and tell you how clean my bike is?! ha ha.
my bike is really really ****in clean buddy, you better believe it! and I am damn proud. do you know how long it took me to get it that bluddy clean? I'm never riding it again. I'm going down the LBS to get a custom made glass case...
now where is my camera..
Race bike gets a full 8-10hr strip and rebuild every rideseriously? you've got too much time on your hands...
Seriously. But that's around a dozen races per year.
Slight issue with a fork seal in a 24hr race in 2010 and had a chain jump behind the cassette in an XC race in 2009. No mechanicals in 2008. Wrecked a mech hanger and blew rear shock seals in 2007. Can't remember any further back than that.
Never DNF'd in an MTB race.
Wood is being touched right now!
[b]mamadirt[/b] - Member
I clean mine when I sell them . . . so that's monthly then
😆 Monthly? More like weekly...
Do any of them actually have time to get dirty??
couple of times or three a year at best
since I typed that, I checked my bikes, and I noticed some dirt in some nooks and crannies. There is nothing I can do, before getting the glass case, but strip the whole thing and put all the bits in the washing machine. looking after, photographing, and owning bikes is a right faff and carry-on! I wouldn't recommend it as a hobby.
Clean mine when something stops working or it has a new bit fitted otherwise every couple of months, if you spray it with silicon lube the mud falls off when its dry
Dirty.
I don't care if you are a right wing happy-bubbble-living robot follower or a lefty-towerblock-cynical-smash-the system-idealist. or normal. If I met you for a ride, and your bike showed an ounce of dirt. I would disrespect you forever more. 😆 😛
Wood is being touched right now!
You love that bike far to much.
inst that why most people here have a shed/garage/bedroom/kitchen full of bikes? so when one is too dirty you just grab one that's clean?
I have a reputation for my bikes always being cleaner now than when they were brand new. There have been occasional lapses but the rep generally holds true.
I tend to keep mine pretty clean, mainly becasue I equate a clean bike with a cared for bike, and I can't afford to not look after my bikes.
Cleaning is when I spot things that are wrong (Like dinged rims, a snapped stem bolt and a snapped chainstay....) and I've seen more then one person turn up for a ride with a bike that's obviously not been touched for a while and then have to start fixing it at the roadside before they can ride.
Regular cleaning of the drivetrain makes it last longer too, and also makes it easier to clean becasue it's not caked in weeks-old filth and oil, so a quick brush with some soapy water has it sparking again (This is also the reason I only use light oil on my chain, not sticky stuff: It's easier to clean)
It has to be said I've never had the slightest problem selling any bikes or parts on, either.
I'm not anal about it, and I'll leave it for a few rides if it's not dirty, but I wouldn't leave any of my MTBs caked in thick mud even overnight when 15 mins with a hose and a brush has it clean again
🙂
Depends.
After riding dry trails, it's just a quick chain wipe and fork seal clean and lube required.
After riding wet trails, you sometimes cant read the logo on the downtube so it get a hose and sponge down, with some more attention on the drivetrain and fork.
But it's never spotless.
Mine is washed after every off road ride, but to be honest i've got it down to around 1 hour now 😳 secretly i enjoy the cleaning, its all part and parcel of mountain biking to me. To be honest i've got things like a Joplin on my bike so i HAVE to be into maintenance 🙄
Conversley my commuter (cx bike) gets washed around once a month. It really should get better looked after as this is effectivley my main form of transport during the week. Yet it sits there in the shed, unloved yet totally reliable. 🙄
15mins? an hour? WTF are you doing with the hose? it takes less than 5 mins to hose off a bike, scrub anything that needs it and re-lube the chain. (or about 30seconds with a jetwash)
Mine gets a clean after most rides. Last ride was pretty much frozen solid so its only a bit splattered, so i didn't bother braving the cold to clean it, but usually its cleaned every week.
Fenwicks and a hose and it doesn't take long.
I too think its just part of looking after a bike, give it a wash and check over and make sure its ready for when you next want to use it. That way when time for the next ride comes around, you're not wasting time fixing things or getting filthy before you've even set off just putting the bike on the rack.
Hose down and lube after every ride. I'll give them a proper clean when they're really dirty.
Full clean, de-grease and scrubbing brush on drivechain then relube of everything after 2-3 rides, always gets a wash without fail when I get home. I paid enough for the damn things and I want them to last!
Whoa.. I'm amazed at this! Are you people really all that slack?
I ride ~ 3 times a week. My bikes are cleaned spotlessly after every ride, lubed, maintained and cared for. I couldn't do any less.
Perhaps its that they live in the bedroom that drives this, but still.
It IS all about the bike.. 😉
Mine's pretty clean right now (probably a few bits of filth in hard to get to crannies). Wash after every muddy ride, so every bleeding day right now. Frame's mud clearance sucks enough that if i don't then it is a right sod to ride and the front mech is so crammed with crud it won't shift. Plus i figure the drivetrain lives longer that way.
No hose or jetwash here, so brush and a bucket. FWIW green oil's clean chain degreaser is magical.