How do you give your bike a bath?

[GraysonKelly]

I know this is a stupid question, but I never considered it before. I mean, if I ride when it's really wet and muddy, I use a cloth to wipe off the water and mud so that my bike doesn't get all crusty (but I must admit I love it when my mtb is all dirty...gives it character). But, how would I give it a bath? I live in an apartment so I don't have access to a water hose. In the past if I've been out and gotten it really really dirty, I've stopped by a car wash and used the sprayer to spray it down then rode it home to drive it off.
How do you wash it? Do you wash everything? Do you wax it? Do you use some special kind of soap? Do you re-lube everything when you're done?
I know these are probably dumb questions, but I'm curious. because of the knee, I can't ride my bike right now but I could probably clean them up if I knew what I was doing.
Gray

[jobob]

I suppose everyone has their own way of going about it, but this step by step guide with pictures might be a good start:

http://www.teamestrogen.com/content.ep?file=asa_happy

[Running Mommy]

Didn't go through the entire article, but did notice they used a hose.
At the shop we clean bikes all day long, and we never use a hose. And we see some pretty dirty bikes. Of course we have a solvent tank for the crusty bits (cassettes, chains ect) but I tell people to try not to use a hose.
We've had more than a few bikes in with cables rusted, and bearings messed up from the backyard hose. The only thing I would hose off, and would be careful about it is the chain.
It's funny, some people think they are doing us a favor by hosing off the bike before they bring it in. But it's kind of gross to find stuff dripping out of the bike frame- and not know what it is??

[SadieKate]

I've used a hose on my mtb for 20 plus years with no problems. Plenty of shops do the same. You just cannot use ANY pressure at hubs, bottoms brackets, seat collars, etc. so the hose at car washes are a HUGE no-no. I will do this to a road bike only when the entire bike has been soaked with salty fog which is corrosive, otherwise I tend to wipe them down with damp rags and Bike Lust.

I know some folks do it in their shower.

One thing that article doesn't mention and is very important. Do not get degreaser on your disk brake rotors or pads. You'll can gum up the pads with residue. Just clean the rotors with alcohol.

[gnat23]

I know some folks do it in their shower.

The lesson I learned with this: Take the wheels off first!

Either that or I need bigger shower.

-- gnat! (how does one get rubber marks off tile?)

[Becky]

Hose nozzles are bad news! They'll blast water past the bearing seals.

I use a plant sprayer hooked to the garden hose when I wash my bike. Very low pressure, and it's got an on/off switch to conserve water.

[Aggie_Ama]

My LBS uses a hose. But they have the same sort of thing I have on my hose, a little gun nozzle. Mine has about 10 settings. We leave it set on "mist" for bike washing. No pressure hitting anything just a gentle mist to aid in cleaning the frame.

Road bikes only get bathed once or twice a year. No sea spray, no winter weather and I don't take her out to play in the rain. My mountain bike has yet to have a bath, she is begging for one though.

[Sandrider]

My excellent bike mechanic told me that in Europe the cyclocross people dunk their bikes in a river to clean them. Not being in Europe etc. she told me to use a very small spray of very low pressure water from a hose on my mountain bike. I ride on fine sand and it gets into everything and coats the bike [and me ].

I use a soft sponge to wipe the bike off after the water, then cloth or paper towels to dry it and ream out all the grit I can reach that has not been removed by water. After that I use Bike Lust and then Pedro's extra dry on the chain.

One place I can't reach to clean is the inside of the front fork bushing, because of the way the fork is made. Is there a long flexible brush out there that I could use to clean the grit and dust off the bushings?

What do those of you with mountain bikes to do maintain your forks on a regular basis?

[papaver]

My excellent bike mechanic told me that in Europe the cyclocross people dunk their bikes in a river to clean them.

Yes and no. The mechanics do that sometimes during the race when it's so muddy the cyclist has to change his bike every round or every half round even.

After the race they almost completely dismantle the bike to clean it.

This is a rather normal race in Belgium:

[Sandrider]

Yes and no. The mechanics do that sometimes during the race when it's so muddy the cyclist has to change his bike every round or every half round even.

Thank you for the education and for the great photo!!