Is a clean bike REALLY a faster bike?

[Melalvai]

I remember an argument on Car Talk where a woman called in and asked that same question about cars because her husband claimed that dirt makes it less aerodynamic and slows it down.

[OakLeaf]

I remember an argument on Car Talk where a woman called in and asked that same question about cars because her husband claimed that dirt makes it less aerodynamic and slows it down.

OTOH, on a car, dirt refracts laser beams and makes it safer to go faster.

[Catrin]

OTOH, on a car, dirt refracts laser beams and makes it safer to go faster.

I LIKE THIS - justification for the very rare occurrence of a bath for my car (that hitch rack = manual bath). It does get maintained and tires rotated properly though...

My bike probably would like a nice bath though, and she will get one this weekend. My fitter/mechanic always tells me how clean she is but I know that is relative to many of the other bikes he sees.

[Becky]

Oh, the stories that I could tell about working on other peoples' bikes, both excessively dirty and excessively clean.... My own bikes are not spotless by any stretch, but I do regularly de-gunk the drivetrain, wipe the rims/rotors, and lube the moving parts. They all get periodically bathed as well, just to facilitate integrity inspections.

[OakLeaf]

I'm not the best about cleaning my bike, but I try not to take it to the shop dirty. I once had a mechanic tell me mine was the cleanest bike he'd ever worked on. I think one reason cleaning is such a chore for me is that I hate doing anything half-@ssed.

[Raddogz]

Mechanics love to work on clean anything. I think the gunk is distracting for them

[kris7047th]

This Dolce Sport was put up on ebay a few weeks ago.. great pics until you do the zoom on the cassettes .. would you pay what the seller wants after seeing this?

"2011 Specialized Dolce Sport Compact Womens Road Bike Gently Used Shimano Gear"

scroll over the second posted pic and zoom in on it ..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-Special...vip=true&rt=nc