having bought a second hand fs which shows corrrosion on some of the areas that are behind seals i have the following questions. what's the best way of cleaning a fs bike, that avoids the use of a jet wash, but will be sure of getting all of the bits of grit and sand that seem to cover a lot of the areas that i ride? how do you get in to fiddly places like the inside of the alloy spider on the cassette and behind the horst link.

Or should i just use a jet wash and look forward to replacing corroded bits every so often?

spray with hose (high pressure setting)

muc off

soak

brush

spray off (high pressure)

rinse (low pressure)

polish up any last bits with a kitchen towel (i can get away with this as the wife rides so our kitchen cloths are dual use 🙂 )

You need to wash inside of the cassette?

Anyway, I just use a fairly high pressure hose

i use one of the those hand pump garden sprayer things – cost about £8 and does the job nicely – not too powerful but shifts the sh1t.

we dont have an outdoor tap so i cant really use owt else.

Pedros toothbrush – the best £4.99 I've spent

I let mine dry get the hoover out put the brush attachment on and hoover off the mud.

I give the chain special attention and then lube it.

Done.

i'd "heard" that there is a link between mucoff and alloy corrosion/reaction particularly with spokes and nipple joins. is this tosh or any truth to it?

i'd be more worried about the corrosion of my bikes hanging in a damp garage

never had any problems but i'm not massively precious about shiny paint. If i was i would never EVER ride my bike in the peaks

I use a toothbrush and hose on low pressure. Sometimes she does complain about funny tasting toothpaste, but so far I have not been caught out. I do have to be careful that the toothbrush is back in the bathroom before the SO goes to do her stuff.

Spray with Much off, clean chain and rear mech with Jiza with a brush and chain cleaner, hose down with hot water (my outdoor luxury)then wash down with hot water with Turtle wax Zip wax by hand, scrub the tyres clean (also gives you the chance to check for tyre damage) rinse down with hot water again, wipe of with a chamee, lube chain with purple Extreme, little GT85 on F/R mech and fork stanchans/rear shock, wipe excess off, keep in warm place, Bike always runs a treat every ride, Site down and have a brew and a chocolate hobnob or 2, job done.

Never use a jet wash! They **** car wheel bearings up and they are probably of a slightly more robust nature!! Just use normal garden hose, good bike brush and old fashioned bucket of soap and water! Then allow to dry, dewater spray and place back in the dining room only for the wife to say, I see the **** ornament has returned!! 🙂

I'm liking your care jd boy. Treat her like one of the family. 🙂

use a jet wash but from long range so it doesnt blast into bearings etc, just enough to get the crud off. works for me….

Brushes and a bucket of water + fenicks – works and water efficent. I decant a bit of water into another bucket, with that and a big brush, get most of the muck off, then spray with fenicks and wash with brushes and rest of water

I usually do the drive train with chain cleaner and then re-lube when I get home from a ride, and let the rest dry and just brush it off. Sometime do the fork stanchions/seals too if they're clagged.

Strong mix of Fenwicks and a hosepipe. Not perfect, but gets 95% of the muck off without even a brush or a sponge.

Spray with Fenwicks or Pedros Green Stuff

Lighty wipe frame with microfibre sponge, drivetrain and controls then wheels with an Meguires alloy wheel brush.

Then lots and lots and lots and lots of water applied by hose on a 'medium' force using the hose sprayer.

Bounce the bike a few times, wipe down with a microfibre drying towel then leave the bike in the boiler room for a couple of hours.

i use one of the those hand pump garden sprayer things – cost about £8 and does the job nicely – not too powerful but shifts the sh1t.

the weed sprayers are great – plus you don't end up spraying more water than you need everywhere either.

leave to dry
bounce a few times to knock some of the crap off
quick once over with a brush to get most of rest off
sprayer and cleaner
brush stubborn bits
spray to rinse
dry and lube
beer/food/coffee/tea/etc

Very Quick – garden pump sprayer with clean water, fenwicks left no more than 5 mins, garden spray again. WD40/GT85 chain, cassette, cranks. Leave to dry.

Quick – as above but bucket of very soapy hot water and brushes after Fenwicks. Drive train with water soluble de-greaser after GT85. Brushes and rags on mechs cassette & chain. Hot soapy water followed by garden spray and GT 85 finish.

If you do these asap they are quick methods. Do before muck dries on. If you have travelled by car take the garden spray (mines a 5 litre so plenty of water) and gt85 with you to rinse off heaviest and get working on drive train before the drive home.

I see muck off are now selling a branded pump bottle. Save your money, B&Q or the net.

I use one of these :

I take it with me filled with water so when i get back to the car I can give the bike a once over. Normally the mud is still quite wet and so comes off remarkably well.

I just use a jetwash when I can be bothered to clean mine.

Did a quick clean yesterday and it involved. Spray with muc off setup jetwash and spray down. There are much better ways of doing it but they take time that I don't have. Replacing bearings isnt too much of a chore if you have the correct tools. I have done it with totally the wrong tools and it wasn't as bad as people make out.

Bucket of water and brush. Occasionally.

I leave a protective layer of mud on the frame, and clean the drivetrain with a stiff brush.

dirt worker whilst the mud is fresh. Then every now again when the chain screams for extra love, I use the chain cleaner machine thingy with some neat Fenwicks in it, or take the chain off and leave it soaking in the stuff.

Spray mine with Fenwicks in one of those 5 ltr garden spray cannisters, hose bike down then give it a brush with hot water and use various brushes to get into tight places rinse then dry off with old tea towels finish by spraying bearings etc with gt40 or bike spray, lube chain. Job done.

jet wash is bad for bikes….too powerfull they can knacker ya hubs too.
spray muc off on cassette leave for a few mins then i scrub cassette and chain with old toothbrush….. swill down with low pressure of garden hose and all clean agin. good stuff that muc off…

I use a combination of muc off and garden spray, ive used the dry and knock off method but the clay round here can take weeks to dry and when it does its rock hard so its better to clean off asap.

How do you clean yours?

I don't.

finish by spraying bearings etc with gt40 or bike spray

Oh no!

I use a hosepipe, a watering can or a bucket. Crazy.

Pressure washers are for really dirty cars / alloy wheels. Rest of the time it's not worth getting it out, the hose is quicker.

I use a hosepipe, a watering can or a bucket. Crazy.

Pressure washers are for really dirty cars / alloy wheels. Rest of the time it's not worth getting it out, the hose is quicker.

I tend to just put mine in the shed. Then every 6 months I take it out and tut and strip it completely, clean with petrol/D, and replace the bits that have corroded. Not the most cost effective method.

finish by spraying bearings etc with gt40 or bike spray

Oh no! [/quote]

I always spray seals with WD40 to take the moisture away, but then swiftly follow up with a proper lube when dry. It amazes me the number of people who use WD as a lube 😯

Coffeeking – you re-grease bearings?

or find a large puddle and thrash around

trying not to take an early bath 😛

Just pop mine in the workstand, then a big bucket of soapy water and a bottle of car alloy wheel cleaner or fenwicks/mukoff.

Hose the whole ting down toremove loose mud.

Take the chain and wheels off first, spray cassette with engine degreaser, spray bike with alloy wheel cleaner.

Spend some time cleaning the cranks/chainrings and mechs (the grubby bits) with degreaser. Otherwise this muck just transfers to the fame later on. Decant some of your soapy hot water into asmaller container and keep a supply of old raggs/towels/t-shirts handy for getting into hard to reach places.

Wash the frame and forks with lots of hot water and car wash'n'wax shampoo.

Attack the rims last as they tend to be grubby.

Then move onto the cassette. I use cut offs of an old towel and just run it back and forth between the sprockets. Rinse off with a hose.the remainder of the soapy water.

Just be sure to do mosr of your hoseing from the non drive side to avoid washing muck onto the brakes.

Usualy pick one thing to service after each ride, freehub, forks, BB, headset, finishing kit etc. Just dissasemble, make sure nothing siezed, apply oil/grease as nececary.

Bike lives in a warm ish garrage so no need to jump on it with the lube straight away, best to wait untill all the water has dried out naturaly.