How do you give your bike a bath?

[Sgritn]

I take a bucket of water to it after every ride. I wash down the tires, spokes and the pedal areas..anywhere I find sand and dirt.

[spindizzy]

I put on some Teddy Pendergrass, draw a warm bubble bath, light some candles, and gently lower the bike into the tub.
Wash it with a soft bath cloth, not a sponge

My bike wants to come to your house! Today!

[OakLeaf]

I use a hose whenever I ride the beach road. VERY low pressure and never directed at anything with bearings or a frame opening. There's so much salt that it permeates my saddle, seat pack and handlebar tape and reeks like fish for 2-3 weeks and that's with the wash. I had salt air eat a brand new pair of polished aluminum hubs years ago before I could even finish the ride and wash the bike, so I'm figuring the salt will do more damage than a slight risk of water.

Otherwise, bucket with diluted Simple Green and soft rags for the frame, stronger Simple Green for the brakes and rims, Park Tool Citrus Chain-Brite in a cleaning machine for the chain, more of it brushed around the derailleurs and sprockets (wear nitrile gloves), finish up the brakes, rims and derailleurs with a paper shop towel or two.

[bikerchic]

I put on some Teddy Pendergrass, draw a warm bubble bath, light some candles, and gently lower the bike into the tub.
Wash it with a soft bath cloth, not a sponge

LOL @ Zen!

Yeah what she said.......who knew washing a bike could be so difficult?

Okay before ya bite me I know, I know everything has it's learning curve and bikes are special and need xtra care with all those moving parts.

Just be sure to dry well and avoid using bath powder, a little oil for the squeeky bits will help though.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Took my nice sparkly clean bike out for a 20 mile ride today but the roads were wet and it seems there was a lot of earthworm 'partying' last night on the roads.
When I got home I had to do a lot of "jerky and prosciutto" removal on my bike. Bleeeaaaahhh!

[OakLeaf]

"jerky and prosciutto"

It seems like every time I ride damp roads I wind up with a dead slug stuck under my bottom bracket

[fidlfreek]

Gray, I'm another apartment dweller, and I give my bike a wash and blowdry whenever I've ridden in the rain. I take off my front wheel and put it in my bathtub. I spray clingon degreaser and let it sit for a few minutes. Then I use my handheld shower massage to gently rinse away the filthy road grime. I also use a sponge and a little soap to get at the frame when it needs it. Afterwards I towel dry, turn the bike over and take off the rear wheel and clean the cassette etc making sure to dry all the parts thoroughly using my hair dryer. Seriously. Its clean and shiny and ready for grease

This may seem crazy but it works. Oh, and it give you a great excuse to clean the tub! Might recommend a cheap rubber bathmat in the bottom of the tub so the front fork doesn't scratch anything. It also catches the worst of the gunk.

[fidlfreek]

FYI today my dad got a special blowdryer for his harley. Its called a "Cycle Dry", is pretty high powered, and looks like a very small leaf blower. Super cool. So if you can blow dry a harley I guess you can blow dry a bike

[RoadRaven]

I only treat my bikes (as per Zen's style) when they have been particularly responsive and worked hard for me.

Otherwise I give them a less "intense" (though still loving) bath...

No hoses, scrubbing brushes or anything remotely harsh...

Warm water with a few suds, old towels ripped into rags and a soft toothbrush. Takes a while, but I get all the nooks and crannies and its worthwhile.

[fatbottomedgurl]

A good pastewax or liquid like Mother's wax will help keep your paint nice. And in between you can keep things sparkly with lemon Pledge.

[Sarabeth]

Check out my blog post and photo on how I use one of those pump-up garden sprayers to to a quick clean up of my bike. www.bycycletrips.blogspot.com

Sarabeth
www.bycycletrips.blogspot.com

[Kalidurga]

I recently got one of these, except mine is a garden sprayer from Lowe's:



If I bathed my bike on a regular basis, I'd probably go with something bigger that provided a bit more pressure for the fine spray (like Sarabeth's). But for a once or twice a year, serious frame cleaning, it worked nicely. I took the bike out on my patio, sprayed it down, used a bucket of soapy water and sponge to wipe off last year's dried mud, then used the sprayer again to rinse off the soap. I used the finest spray near the bottom bracket, and then adjusted it to get a harder stream into spots like the inside of the fork.

Very handy if you're short on space like I am, and a deal at $10. I can even imagine throwing it in the trunk of the car and using it after a muddy ride. It'd also work in the bathtub scenario that fidlfreek described if you don't have a handheld shower head.

[tulip]

I was recently on a bike vacation and the organizers provided buckets of soapy water with a soft long-handled brush after the rides to clean off our bikes. It was a great setup, just brush the wheels, tires, and frame with the soapy brush. Takes a few minutes tops, and the grime is gone. I'm going to keep a two buckets--one with soapy water and one with plain water (each with a soft-bristled long-handled brush)--in my back yard and wash down my bike after my rides.

[papaver]

First I wash my chain with a special detergent and a sponge. Then I take a bucket of warm water with some dishwashing detergent in it, and I clean the rest of my bike. Then I take a second bucket of water and I rince my bike. After that i dry it with some cloths and I put a little oil on the chain. Then i take my bike for a little spin and there you go. It takes me 10 mins tops.

but I have to admit the pledge whipes was a super tip! Especially after a ride on clean dry roads.

[Trek420]

I put on some Teddy Pendergrass, draw a warm bubble bath, light some candles, and gently lower the bike into the tub.
Wash it with a soft bath cloth, not a sponge

Then I wrap my bike in a big fluffy towel to dry off and give her a nice massage with some scented oil.