Winter cleaning

[madscot13]

I have been cooped up to long. This Minnesota winter shall not keep me down! Biking in this weather won't break me to pieces, but it might hurt my bike. I bought a used bike, love it, and want to keep it around for a bit longer. But snow and sand on it? how do you guys clean off your bike without making a mess?

[equus123]

you do make a mess. you just clean it up afterwards.

[equus123]

I made this silly thing a few months ago for our team's manager because he couldn't believe that I actually cleaned my bike in the bathtub. What else can you do if you live in an apartment?!?! He and my teammates got a good laugh out of it.

[DebW]

While the shower may get the bike nice and clean, be careful with high water pressure around the bearings. Even "sealed" bearing are not impervious to water at pressure. And check that water is not getting inside your frame tubes. Try pulling out the seat post after a shower to check for internal moisture. Maybe it's fine, but would be good to know for sure.

[Triskeliongirl]

Deb, you have raised some important issues about washing steel bikes. I normally put mine upside down, and do use a gentle stream from a garden hose for rinses. Do you always recommend removing the seatpost to check for internal moisture? If you find some do you just let it air dry open like that? Do you think I should uncouple my coupled bike? I just don't want my beutiful baby to rust. With my titanium bike I don't worry about it.

[DebW]

Deb, you have raised some important issues about washing steel bikes. I normally put mine upside down, and do use a gentle stream from a garden hose for rinses. Do you always recommend removing the seatpost to check for internal moisture? If you find some do you just let it air dry open like that? Do you think I should uncouple my coupled bike? I just don't want my beutiful baby to rust. With my titanium bike I don't worry about it.

A trickle or gentle stream should be all right, but avoid any more water than necessary around the bottom bracket or headset. Headsets are shaped so water stays out of the bearings when the bike is upright and rain is falling downward. I've never removed my seatpost to check for moisture, but I seldom ride in the rain and don't wash it with water. Someone on this site reported lots of water in their tubes after riding in a hurricane, so it can happen under rare conditions. For equus123, I'd recommend removing the seat post or bottom bracket after one of her bike's showers just to be sure that water isn't getting in. If one or two checks confirm that water isn't penetrating, she can rest easy. Otherwise she should find a gentler way to wash the bike. The other situation I'd worry about is with a bike on the roof at highway speeds in a heavy rain.

When I'm worried about water penetration, I open the bottom bracket and headset and repack them, since I don't have sealed bearings and the grease can get contaminated or washed out. If you find water inside your frame, you'd be much better off to open the seatpost, bottom bracket, and headset to get air circulation through the frame and dry it thoroughly. If you have couplers, I'd open them too. You can buy a spray can of frame-saver for steel frames to prevent rust. It's recommended annually for modern steel frames which have thinner tubing walls than the older frames.