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Bike cleaning and detailing...How do you clean yours?

7K views 68 replies 51 participants last post by  azhu 
#1 ·
Hey I'm wondering how everyone cleans the dust and road grime from their bikes? How do you keep your bike looking new? I was wondering if automotive cleaning supplies would work? Or are car paint and bike paint too un-similar
 
#2 ·
1) Baby wipes - they clean pretty well, and I have plenty on hand for the time being.
2) For polish: pledge and a microfiber rag. Seems to keep the dust down a little

Automotive stuff should work, but the thought of waxing around bottle cages and derailleurs seems like too much work.
 
#6 ·
I use automotive detailer and a terrycloth rag on the frame and wheels. The chain gets the toothbrush treatment with the occasional automotive brakeclean on a rag to get the tougher stuff off. My bike seldom see water and soap, but sometimes it may be necessary. I use leather cleaner on the saddle.
 
#8 ·
How do you keep your bike looking new?
I don't. My bikes aren't new. They don't look new. They look used, and well-maintained for function. Parts where dirtiness affects function (chain, derailleurs, cables, brake pivots, pedal cleat mech) get cleaned often enough to keep working well. Parts where dirt can get on me or the surroundings and be messy (cranks, wheels) get wiped off when they look messy. Parts where dirt has no functional significance (nooks and crannies of the frame) get wiped off if I notice the dirt when I'm working on something else.

I like riding, and I enjoy working on bikes. "Detailing" doesn't do so much for me.
 
#11 ·
I detail my bikes a couple of times each month.

the process gives me a chance to closely inspect things for wear and possible mechanical issues.

and the end product of a clean, well-maintained rig enhances the enjoyment of riding.

a couple of the guys I ride with have bikes ranging from $5-7K which are usually filthy...not just dirty, but saddle covers held together with electrical tape and ratty, tattered bar tape...just seems like a lazy mindset to me.
 
#12 · (Edited)
degreaser and soap/water. since i work for a team the bikes can never be dirty. now that i'm in the habit of washing the team bikes every time they're ridden, it's no big deal to wash my personal bike every couple of rides. if it never gets very dirty, it's always easy to clean it. i have a couple of brushes that only touch drivetrain parts, and some others that i use on the frame/wheels/brakes/bars etc. this is the way most team guys wash bikes. for soap i use blue dawn dish soap, for degreaser i use simple green or some citrus degreaser. wash, dry, lube. done. it rarely takes more than 5mins per bike.

this is my drivetrain after a few rides...just wiping the chain after. been probably 3 rides since washing. i've been using francis' chain l, and i'm liking it.



 
#16 ·
I graduated from the JCavilia School of Bicycle Hygiene. The obvious grunge gets wiped off when it becomes, well, obvious; whatever accumulates in the less obvious nooks and crannies gets taken care of when I'm working in the area. A bicycle doesn't have to be pristine cosmetically to be sound mechanically and functionally.

When I do clean, I apply a VERY small squirt of dishwashing liquid to one of those heavy-duty blue shop paper towels, wet it, wring it until it is almost dry, and then wipe down the bicycle and its components.
 
#19 ·
I like it too. And with my approach, it lasts a long time. I've been working on one bottle for about 10 years ;-)
 
#21 · (Edited)
I use a damp kitchen sponge and follow it with a rag to dry it. Only takes a few seconds and gives me a quick inspection of the bike. I wipe the chain with a piece of a paper towel. About every 200 miles I remove the chain and drop it in an old laundry soap bottle with some Casterol Super Clean. Swish it around for a few minutes then rinse throughly. Gently bang the chain against a few sheets of newspaper to knock off most of the water, wipe with more paper towel, then dry with a hair dryer, get it hot enough to completely dry it. Wipe the chain rings, floss the cassette. Then re-lube.
 
#22 ·
I wipe my bike down with a damp cloth.. Sometimes I add a splash of 90% rubbing alcohol to cut some of the nastiness.. I like my bike staying clean. I used to use armorall but it leaves a film that I don't care for. Same with bike lust.
 
#24 ·
I put a plastic grocery bag over either side of the bars to keep water out of the shifters. Then a quick, low pressure rinse with a hose, then a bucket of warm, soapy water & a sponge. Dry it, lube the chain.

Once every three months or so I'll wax the frame & hit all the campy with simichrome, put some proofhide on the Brooks.
 
#25 ·
The plastic grocery bag is a good idea. I'm going to have to try it because I use generous amounts of warm, soapy water too. After I dry it, I use furniture wax (apply to rag and wipe down bike).

For the drive train, I use one of the mechanical chain cleaners that you add degreaser liquid to it's wet sump area. I think it is all Spin Doctor stuff. On the gears, I use a spray on degreaser (I think it is Finish Line), but I am careful not to get it on the frame or in areas where it might seep down into bearings. For instance, when I do the back gear cluster, I hold the wheel so the gears are pointed downward. Then I wipe everything with shop towels and use the edges of the towels to floss between the gears.

One final thing, when I relube, I use the tri-flow in the squeeze bottle on the hinges of the derailleurs and on the contact points where the wheel axles rest in the forks and stays (or whatever the rear area is called).

I probably don't have the best method as I have a lot to learn, but I try to be thorough and not screw anything up.
 
#27 ·
One final thing, when I relube, I use the tri-flow in the squeeze bottle on the hinges of the derailleurs and on the contact points where the wheel axles rest in the forks and stays (or whatever the rear area is called)..
Dropouts. No need to lube there. That's not a moving joint. In fact you want no movement between the axle locknuts, dropouts, and quick-release.

I will agree that drip-bottle Tri-flow is excellent for derailleur pivots. Also brake pivots and quick-release cams.
 
#30 ·
Pop the wheels off, pop the crank arms off, use a $1.95 can of carburetor cleaner to blast everything and rub it down with a large rag. The cc has a lot of force behind it that will blast off grease and dirt. Obviously don't shoot the bb directly nor the saddle. Then squirt lube back in the places it is needed - derailleurs, shifters, brake calipers; clean the wheels and you're done.

My best strategy is to just not ride in the rain.
 
#32 ·
I love cleaning my ROAD BIKE... my Mtb is a different story.

I use wet whips on my road bike, easy for getting dust and such off. Sometimes I wipe it down with a dry rag after.

I find it relaxing :)
 
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