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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    north woods of Wisconsin
    Posts
    1,110

    Bath and shower with your bike

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    Warm enough, today, to soften the ice on my trails enough for the studded tires to grab, so had a good hour of riding on the Norco Bigfoot. Also warm enough for the clear sections to turn into mud, so finished the day by giving the Norco a sponge bath.


    It reminded me of what I sometimes did in my Chicago apartment back in my commuting days when I got home and needed to clean the bike. Real problem in the winter getting all the salt off the bike and no way to hose the bike off outside sooo ... don't laugh ... I squeezed the bike into the shower with me and we both cleaned off. Yup, a girl taking a shower with her bike. How's that for bike love?

    Anyone else do something a little nutty like this with their bike?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Concord, MA
    Posts
    13,394
    Not me, but I know others, who have done that.
    2015 Trek Silque SSL
    Specialized Oura

    2011 Guru Praemio
    Specialized Oura
    2017 Specialized Ariel Sport

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Posts
    10,889
    A woman has to do what she has to do

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Traveling Nomad
    Posts
    6,763
    LOL! Can't say I've ever showered with my bike, but I have certainly taken my helmet in with me to wash.
    Emily

    2011 Jamis Dakar XC "Toto" - Selle Italia Ldy Gel Flow
    2007 Trek Pilot 5.0 WSD "Gloria" - Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow
    2004 Bike Friday Petite Pocket Crusoe - Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    california
    Posts
    1,232
    My other bikes would get too jealous if I showered with one of them…..they all occasionally get loving sponge baths on the patio though living in year round nice weather ftw!

    The beginning of a warm winter ca. salton sea desert day for you nwg

    with two aquatic birds too
    ‘The negative feelings we all have can be addictive…just as the positive…it’s up to
    us to decide which ones we want to choose and feed”… Pema Chodron

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Western Canada-prairies, mountain & ocean
    Posts
    6,984
    No showering with my bike. Neither would he do it: he's a neater person than me and most definitely wouldn't consider hauling a dirty bike into home. Glad some folks do it if nothing else is available. I've seen bike wash, even dog wash at the gas service station here in town
    My Personal blog on cycling & other favourite passions.
    遙知馬力日久見人心 Over a long distance, you learn about the strength of your horse; over a long period of time, you get to know what’s in a person’s heart.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    north woods of Wisconsin
    Posts
    1,110
    Thanks, Rebecca. I feel warmer, already.

    I actually started by putting the bike in the tub when I got home, then sponging it off, because the tub was the only place I could clean the bike and not worry about getting the floor or, even worse, carpeting, dirty. I then just figured, why not? Jumped in the tub with the bike and turned on the overhead shower. Okay, I didn't make a habit of it, just did it when the bike was a real mess. I'm only a little crazy.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Illinois
    Posts
    3,151
    Quote Originally Posted by north woods gal View Post
    Warm enough, today, to soften the ice on my trails enough for the studded tires to grab, so had a good hour of riding on the Norco Bigfoot. Also warm enough for the clear sections to turn into mud, so finished the day by giving the Norco a sponge bath.


    It reminded me of what I sometimes did in my Chicago apartment back in my commuting days when I got home and needed to clean the bike. Real problem in the winter getting all the salt off the bike and no way to hose the bike off outside sooo ... don't laugh ... I squeezed the bike into the shower with me and we both cleaned off. Yup, a girl taking a shower with her bike. How's that for bike love?

    Anyone else do something a little nutty like this with their bike?
    I *should* -- a little harder 'cause it's a cargo bike though... wiht big ol' bags... and it's an Xtracycle so longer.

    Last week I heard pinging in the rear spokes... stopped and could not find the source. Turned bike upside down and it was pretty grimy... one loose spoke but not broken... and my hair kept getting in the way (20 mph winds didn't help). Could not find the source... so pulled the wheel part of the way out and put it back in and shook it a bit... turned it back over... and rode slowly and felt the ping change so that it was only happening when the pedals were moving.

    So I rode home and turned it over and took the wheel off and gave it a reasonably good cleaning -- found a chunk of denim to use as 'floss' on the chain ringand used a ton of Tri-Flow.

    Much, much better now! Especially since I got a haircut

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    north woods of Wisconsin
    Posts
    1,110
    Yeah, I hate it when a bike starts making an unexpected noise, but I also know to stop and check things out. With all my trail riding, I pick up a lot of leaves and twigs and mud - all sorts of stuff. Interestingly, in all my years of riding in the snow and cold, though, I've never once had a derailleur or shifter freeze on me. That was never the problem on my winter commuting days. It was that darn salt they used on all those Chicago streets and that stuff would eat up everything on a bike. That's where the daily cleaning and sometimes a shower would come in.

 

 

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