Cleaning Routine

[clarousel]

Would like to know how you clean your bikes. I'm wondering if the wash and lube method is sufficient :o I've been reading up online and there are so many views on this!

[Susan]

I use a bucket of warm water and dish soap and a brush (meant for cleaning cars). An old toothbrush for tricky areas. I remove the wheels if I want to clean very throughoutly and wash them seperately. It's also easier to clean the jockey wheels this way because the chain is loose.
Then I dry with old towels, polish the frame with a little bike oil and lube everything.
I wipe and lube the chain regularly with an old cloth.

On my mountainbike I clean the discs with degreaser too.

[Norse]

After almost every ride, unless it's 20 miles or less and not sloppy, I very lightly on a low nozzle and water flow setting hose my bike off. Wipe dry and apply lube. Some would say this is a no-no, but I have done this for years on all my bikes and they are all going strong (even the LBS guys comment on what great condition they are in). Sometimes I get ambitious and degrease the chain and cassettes, but not often. I take them to the LBS 1x in the offseason for a thorough cleaning and tuning.

[marni]

because I often ride on roads with quite a bit of debris I routinely wipe off and check my tires for cuts,scrapes and embedded thorns and glass after each ride. I wipe my rims and wipe off the break pads, wipe off the jockey wheels and the chain. I also wipe off inner tire, spokes and frame for surface dirt. I also lube the chain and grease the points e very 200 miles of so. That is sort of daily maintenance.

I do a big clean, about e very 750-1000 miles, including cleaning the chain and gear stack, rinsing the frame with warm soapy water, finishing with pledge and relubbing the chain.

The only other time I do anything extra is if I ride in the rain, I make sure the bike is entirely dry and wiped down.

marni

[ny biker]

I clean and lube the chain every 3-4 rides.

I clean the frame every couple of months. I use pink bike cleaner that I got at the LBS.

If I get caught in the rain, I dry it off as soon as I'm done.

[clarousel]

Thanks everyone for sharing! I heard that if possible you should refrain from degreasing the chain?

[HillSlugger]

I've gotten into the habit of wiping down my tires and braking surfaces after almost every ride.

The whole bike gets a cleaning every few rides, depending on how dirty it is (it's in desperate need now!): low-pressure hosing down, spray with 409 cleaner and brush with a soft dish brush, hose off the cleaner; rag off the chain and re-lube later when dry.

After a wet ride I always redo the chain cleaning and lube, even if I don't get to cleaning the whole bike.