Bike cleaning
06-30-18, 08:46 AM
#1
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Bike cleaning
Hi all,
Not too sure if this is the right place to put this so apologies if not.
I've recently bought a road bike and wondered how best to clean it, what cleaning products to use, etc? Is there any advice or do's and don'ts that you guys adhere to please? I've bought a couple of Muc-Off products for the MTB, wondering if they'd be ok for the road bike too?
Sorry, may seem like a silly question but worried about damaging the road bike
Not too sure if this is the right place to put this so apologies if not.
I've recently bought a road bike and wondered how best to clean it, what cleaning products to use, etc? Is there any advice or do's and don'ts that you guys adhere to please? I've bought a couple of Muc-Off products for the MTB, wondering if they'd be ok for the road bike too?
Sorry, may seem like a silly question but worried about damaging the road bike
06-30-18, 09:11 AM
#2
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You've opened a previously opened can of worms. Do a search on the topic and you'll find more information...and differing opinions...then there are bicycles.
Bottom line: Use whatever you like. Bikes aren't delicate. I use a car wash for those occasions were I want the bikes look spiffy. I don't use oily lubricants on the chain so I never have to clean the drivetrain. YMMV.
Bottom line: Use whatever you like. Bikes aren't delicate. I use a car wash for those occasions were I want the bikes look spiffy. I don't use oily lubricants on the chain so I never have to clean the drivetrain. YMMV.
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06-30-18, 09:25 AM
#3
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Several coats of your favorite automotive wax will help tremendously. Dirt will wipe off with a damp cloth.
Some matte finishes can't be waxed but even so, 99% of the time a wet rag is sufficient.
Automotive wash products containing oils and waxes should be avoided on bikes with disk brakes as they can contaminate the pads.
-Tim-
Some matte finishes can't be waxed but even so, 99% of the time a wet rag is sufficient.
Automotive wash products containing oils and waxes should be avoided on bikes with disk brakes as they can contaminate the pads.
-Tim-
Last edited by TimothyH; 06-30-18 at 09:29 AM.
06-30-18, 08:04 PM
#5
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I have never washed my bike, but I regularly wipe it down with a wet microfiber and then use a spray sealant that I use for auto detailing, Chemical Guys Hybrid V7. Bike has never been dirty enough to need a wash.
I'm debating applying a ceramic coating like I now do my cars.
I'm debating applying a ceramic coating like I now do my cars.
06-30-18, 08:19 PM
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Go to YouTube and search GCN bike washing. They have a bunch of videos on it. They do a good job on that channel and very informative.
06-30-18, 09:10 PM
#8
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Wipe dirt off, use Bike Lust as a cleaner/polisher. Set it in the sun to dry but no longer than 25 minutes or the frame will asplode.
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07-01-18, 11:13 AM
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Thanks everyone, shall look at the YouTube vids and look at buying a microfibre cloth too
07-01-18, 11:18 AM
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Well, I have some Dollar Store "car wash & wax" stuff I was going to try because I'm a cheapskate. Is it too much too hope for something like that to be any good? Or is it not a big deal?
07-01-18, 01:48 PM
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07-02-18, 08:51 AM
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To answer the OP, I use Turtle Wax "Zip Wax", a combination wash/wax product. Applied with a soft, auto wheel brush and a gentle spray rinse, being careful around the wheel hubs, bottom bracket and headset areas. A friend's pressure washer gave him sparkling results, but accelerated hub wear. Don
07-02-18, 08:56 AM
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2000 to 3000 psi pressure washer.
Just make sure u don't point the spray nozzle at any greased bearings.
Just make sure u don't point the spray nozzle at any greased bearings.
07-02-18, 09:53 AM
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A lot of videos show cleaning bikes on grass. Good luck getting any grass to grow in these areas.
07-02-18, 09:57 AM
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By hand. Pledge or Windex Multi Surface (with vinegar, NOT ammonia). Spray a microfiber towel and wipe it down, top-to-bottom inch by inch. No need to rinse. It will bring you up close and personal with your bike and you will know the current condition intimately. Anything loose, bent, or out of adjustment will be obvious. After several uses of the towel for bike cleaning, it gets demoted to chain wiping duty then eventually to the trash.
-Kedosto
-Kedosto
07-02-18, 10:41 AM
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Mind you, I cleaned the Bianchi once, because I was thinking of selling it. Waste of time, a couple of weeks later it looked exactly as it had before. Generally my bikes get a clean only if I have to work on them, but the advent of latex gloves has rendered even that mostly unnecessary.
07-02-18, 04:58 PM
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I guess I can use pretty much anything I like on a bare Ti frame, no? Even windex with Ammonia.
07-02-18, 05:30 PM
#20
Non omnino gravis
To those who have "never washed a bike," please tell me where to find these roads that are so clean the bike never gets dirty. It seldom rains here (less than 12" a year) so when it does, it mixes with months of built up road grime into a wonderful soup. Spot cleaning isn't gonna do it.
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07-02-18, 06:50 PM
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I never wash my bike. I live in Albuquerque now, used to live in Pasadena & Santa Monica, used to ride in the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains. I'll wipe it with a paper towel if it gets dirty. If it gets greasy-dirty I'll add a bit of 100% citrus oil cleaner (just 'cause I don't want to breathe other solvents. Greasy dirt never washes out of cloth, so I use all-paper towels (the cheaper and flimsier kind), then put them down the garbage disposal.
07-03-18, 07:08 AM
#22
faster downhill
07-03-18, 07:24 PM
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Lately i have been using cheap wd40 type lube it makes the drive train shine . then dish soap the frame and wheels rinse it all down hand dry it and wipe it .
07-04-18, 10:49 AM
#24
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I've never hose or pressure wash my bike either. I'll either use a blue shop towel or a microfiber towel to remove dirt from the frame. For the derailleurs, I'll use heavy duty cleaning wipes which I'll sometime use on the frame if the paints looks dull. I once used those cleaning wipes on the rims and that was a bad idea. For several kilometres, I couldn't brake without the brake pad skipping and squealing. Made it hard to stop.
07-05-18, 07:20 AM
#25
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Why? If you have bearings from the 1980s, I can see why. They weren't sealed at all. But most modern bearings are well sealed against dirt, dust and water. This
looks at using a pressure washer on bicycles and their conclusions align fairly well with my experience of using car washes for cleaning bikes for decades. It won't hurt them.
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Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!