Cleaning Routine

[clarousel]

Would like to know how you clean your bikes. I'm wondering if the wash and lube method is sufficient 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.