How do you give your bike a bath?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Likely we all have different types of road dirt because we ride in vastly different circumstances....but I find that by far the worst part of my bike dirt is the NASTY black stuff that develops on the gears and chain, both front and back. We don't have bike trails or clean roads here, ...all my riding is either on irregular asphalt high traffic roads along with the cars and trucks, or on back country dirt roads.

I found if I started out by soaping up my whole bike with a soapy sponge and hot water, the sponge gets some of that greasy black crud on it and just smears it on the other parts of the bike (plus it ruins the sponge for all time).
So my sequence is to use the strong citrus degreaser on the gear rings, cassette, and chain FIRST to get the black crud gone. Plus, I feel the citrus can do a better job of degreasing a DRY chain rather than one filled with water.
I know the citrus is not good to leave on the frame paint for more than a few minutes, so I saturate the chain first with citrus, scrub the front rings with a brush, then rinse the front rings, then do the back cassette with a long bristled brush I save just for that purpose, give the chain some more scrubbing with citrus, then rinse it all well.
Following that I get my hot soapy water and big sponge and start going over the whole bike- no black crud to worry about smearing around, plus the soapy water then removes any trace of citrus degreaser (which is basically strong orange oil) from where it may have splattered on my frame while scrubbing gears.
I wait for the whole bike and chain to dry before lubing the chain. Then i wipe the chain thoroughly with paper towels after lubing, so it won't have an outer film of lube that dust and grit from the road can stick to. Lube should be inside the chain links, not on the outside of the chain.

[SouthernBelle]

I've had a problem on occasion with that road film stuff adhering to my cassette. It's had to be scraped off even with me being a fairly regular bike washer. I found that spray on stuff you use on your car rims cleans that right off. I would only use it on the cassette taking the wheel off and laying it down.

[aicabsolut]

auto soap is really good for the frame. it won't harm the clearcoat (doesn't harm a car's paint, right?), and it is good at getting the bug goo and road grime off. I use one with rain-x in it. sort of like when i use Bike Lust, it helps me just wipe down the bike at other times. I don't use that on the gears though, and I have to re-lube the cables under the BB if too much of any kind of grease cutting soap gets down there.

i only wash it after some gross conditions. the rest of the time, it's just a wipe down with a wet cloth and then polish on the frame. I clean the rims with mild dish soap.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

auto soap is really good for the frame. it won't harm the clearcoat (doesn't harm a car's paint, right?), and it is good at getting the bug goo and road grime off. I use one with rain-x in it.

Auto soap, eh? that's a good idea- the SimpleGreen is just not doing it for me, even when mixed up in a strong solution with hot water.
I'll try the auto soap next time- thanks!

[Bruno28]

I use muc off which seems to work for me -

http://www.muc-off.com/webpage/bike_...aner_1ltr.html

wet the bike, spray on, give it a bit of a scrub, then rinse. The cruddy chain and other bits need a bit more focused effort but I think it does a pretty good job.

[Zen]

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

[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!

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Sarabeth]

If you really want to get down to the nity-grity:
Buy some pipe cleaners.
I went to the craft store (Jo-Ann Fabrics) and bought a package of long pipe cleaners and I use these to clean in tight places to get the gunk/grease out on the detailing of cleaning my bike parts. Q-tips too work in some places.