It’s worth mentioning that proper mudguards make a huge difference to BB life.

A couple of things I carry bike IN car and I never use Muc Off !

I carry my car on a towbar bike rack. Often on long motorway trips (50 miles plus) and for some reason it very often seems to be in the pissing rain. Is this having a negative effect on parts & is there even a practical solution ?

Putting the bike in the car isn’t practical. Makes the car filthy & creates an additional cleaning job. The amount of cleaning work that Mountain Biking adds to my life is already beyond a joke.

What to use instead of Muc off ? Or just have a bike that never looks very clean ?

Usual routine is wet it with the Mobi Pressure washer, spray Muc Off everywhere, then immediately blast it all off. All done in 5 minutes. Only job left to do when I get home is clean the chain with a rag & degreasing foam and then put some chain lube on.

I will be looking at getting some proper mud guards after Summer or Autumn depending on when it starts to get muddy again.

If you are having to travel by car and can’t put the bike inside then I reckon you can expect some additional “wear”. FWIW, I mostly let my bikes dry, then just brush off the mud. This is very dependent on soil types though. Some just won’t let you do that.

I do think that many bikes are over-washed though.

I always have to travel by car. 3+ times per week. Normally 50 mile round trips to get to/from rides (I choose to live near work and travel to my rides, rather than the other way round).
The bike always goes on the towbar rack. The last thing I want to do is put it in my car. Just the thought of it would be a big ‘put-off’ from riding altogether.

Just think how much sooner you’d knacker your car if you tried to clean all the suspension, engine and transmission thoroughly after every drive through the countryside. I think I’ve washed my full-sus about 5 times in 2.5 years and 2000+ miles. It’s had a new BB (original Shimano one rubbish) and the frame bearings changed once. My older set of Hope hoops still have original bearings after 5 years and about 5000 miles and my older Hope BB has done even more riding than that (it’s on frame no. 3) and has only been regreased once.

Water wrecks bikes when it hangs around moving parts. Doesn’t matter whether it’s clean water or dirty water, both corrode equally.

I keep the chain and stanchions clean and lubed. The rest is under a protective layer of mud or dust most of the time. 😉

Best to wash if its dirty. Especially the drivetrain as you dont want to be grinding away your gears when its full of grit

Do you not clean the front mech area ? That area always seems to collect crud especially bad

I think the problem is my bike the Camber looks really bad when its muddy due to it’s colour (bright yellow) which is what encourages me to keep cleaning it. I’m sure it was designed for dusty trails in the USA rather than muddy English woodland & moorland.

Bells and whistles innit.

IME the lowest maintenance bikes have the fewest features and components to be damaged by the environment you use the bike in and/or overzealous cleaning regimes…

The answer to the OP’s issues is a rigid SS of some sort… Obviously it’s not the ‘right’ answer, but if you really wanted a MTB that will manage year round use in the UK, that’s the starting point.

Every additional bit of gearing, bounce, uppy/downy post or other gadgetry inevitably adds to the list of “stuff that will probably fail one day”

Not that I am against toys, but you really have to factor at least an idea of failure rate into your decision about buying them, and after a while a “winter bike” can start to look like a rather sensible N+1 justification…

The answer to grit and so on destroying your bikes moving parts is mudguards.

It’s just the shock and fork you’re miffed about then?

I’ve had more problems with suspension units recently than I had in years previously, but usually covered by warranty and performance is mostly better than it used to be – so it’s not all bad.

Scratch on air shaft? Cheap part to replace even if they don’t side with you on warranty.

My theory is that it’s less about washing, but more about storage

Over the years, whenever my bikes have had to live in sheds or garages I’ve had no end of problems with bearings, suspension etc. Whenever they have lived in the house I have had fewer problems.

Frame bearings get it worse than hubs etc because of the limited rotation, meaning they get pitted. Factor in twist forces too and they get a hard life. They’re a consumable as is any bearing. Uk and in particular Mendip conditions are harder on seals. That’s just a fact of life.

Oh and can we please stop that bullshit “not fit for purpose” thing please?

I think the bike market is now so large and apparently has so much money available to spend on it that manufacturers have decided to build and sell kit with shorter lifespans. I’ve got stuff that is still being used from early 90s…that was built to last, stuff these days doesn’t. The kit costs a lot more than then (even factoring in technology and improvements, cost of living and inflation, etc.) but it needs replaced sooner. Us mtbers seem happy to spend the cash so the manufacturers aren’t going to change materials nor price…captive audience.
Less washing and trying to make sure the bike is dry tends to help keep things in much better condition – irrespective of cost.
The bits work well, but longevity isn’t one of the things that is a requirement now (or so it seems).

The kit costs a lot more than then (even factoring in technology and improvements, cost of living and inflation, etc.)

I wasn’t convinced by this so I checked out a couple of inflation calculators, expecting to show that modern bikes are actually relatively cheaper.

What I found was that a high-end hardtail is about the same now as 20 years ago, allowing for inflation (and for the additional cost of a suspension fork and disc brakes).

Might look into this further when I have less other stuff to do.

That being the case then it just highlights my point…kit these days don’t last as long (I’m doing considerably less riding now than I did then and the kit now isn’t lasting as long)…

And of course you’re doing the same sort of riding as 20 years ago at the same speeds as 20 years ago on a bike that weighs the same as 20 years ago

I hate the idea of grinding a FS through the mire of the Chilterns winter when I can train at least as effectively on a HT with rigids and probably single speed at that.

+1

OP: buy an Orange and use mudguards.

Measuring life in miles is pointless, a 50mile summer dust ride is different to a 10 mile winter slop fest.
In terms of reliability I’m really happy with modern stuff though I choose carefully. My hope bb and headset have been fit and forget along with the hubs. The multi bearing vpp suspension has grease ports and has only needed 2 bearings in nearly 3 years, the sram x9 lasted until I wanted gx11 and that is going strong.

Shimanos external BB’s are awful yes not fit for purpose. Poorly executed chrome stanchions a disgrace to the industry and plastic pivot components on low end mechs that warp with use are just taking the piss.

As for other parts it varies so much depending on whether the bike was assembled correctly in the first place, maintained reasonably and the level of use/abuse/crash damage/rock strikes meted out. Have been surprised how well most perform for the amount of battering they get.

Scotroutes…sadly, I am…my abilities haven’t moved on and my mileage has dropped considerably…infrequency has meant the confidence, fitness and skill isn’t there – I walk more these days…
My bike weighs 2lbs more…I weigh about 2.5stone more, so that might have a difference but I doubt it’ll be significant enough to reduce life of kit that much. Perhaps the infrequent use has a larger impact…

Bloody modern walking boots don’t seem to last as long as the old ones….mutter, mutter, mutter…….

My stuff seems to last pretty well.

I usually change my chain and cassette each spring as a matter of course.

When I lived in Sheffield, winter riding used to really muller stuff like gear cables and brake pads. Never had an issue with suspension bits even with Fox and their supposed chocolate stanchion coatings. I try and clean my bikes sympathetically and will bring them in the house in the winter after a clean to help dry then out.

As for the OP, could the scratch my a manufacturing defect? A friends Vivid shock had some pretty bad score marks internally when it was tweaked up TF after only a handful of rides. Apparently, they’ve seen a few RS shocks suffer b

cookeaa – Member
…The answer to the OP’s issues is a rigid SS of some sort… Obviously it’s not the ‘right’ answer, but if you really wanted a MTB that will manage year round use in the UK, that’s the starting point…

It is the right answer. It’s brilliant having a bike you just ride. 🙂

How many miles in the dust is equivalent to miles in Winter mud in terms of wear ?

It is the right answer. It’s brilliant having a bike you just ride.

Very true, having done very little to my 1×11 sram geared, multi pivot fox suspension bike it’s how I feel good modern components are….

As for dusty us etc. Have you been? It rains it gets muddy etc.