Dominic P.

hillyman

After washing ride your bike as fast as you can to wind dry?

RGMN

Meguiar's Last Touch Spray Detailer for a quick clean of the bike after every ride.

Gresp15C

Old toothbrushes and old socks are good to keep around for bike maintenance. To be honest, I don't have a regular cleaning regimen for my bikes, but I keep things clean enough that muck and grease don't get onto my clothes. I do a deeper spring cleaning on the bike that gets road salt on it.

rumrunn6

fwiw - was recently introduced to 0000 steel wool, used with some kind of lube, for rust removal

2cam16

Meguiar's polish.

noglider 

I use furniture polish in a spray can as a general purpose cleaner.

rumrunn6

swapped some tires last night. gave me a chance to do some light cleaning. used a cpl bike specific brushes plus a soft brass brush to mechanically clean (no solvents) the rear casette

burnthesheep

Drying? Leaf blower. Works the trick. Can wash a bike and immediately lube/ride without waiting for it to dry. Particularly a gasser leaf blower.

Also, I'm about to own up to it and buy some spare chains and cassettes and start waxing and ultrasonic clean instead. Always have two, one on bike and one ready to go. And a little jewelry ultrasonic cleaner for the chains.

The Park Tool chain cleaner works fine, just that the other method seems optimal and more of a "work smart not hard" methodology.

We'll see.

50PlusCycling

Keep it indoors when you aren't riding it, and don't live near the beach. I had an old Nishiki Olympic of around the same year as yours, I wish I still had it.

zackzhrd

I don't recommend a car wash for your bike as it usually has harsh chemicals that may damage your drive chain, brakes, and smaller parts. Car wash is designed for the car's exterior body, not under the hood but on the bike, all the parts are in the open. Car wash also has extra wax, which is pretty bad for the bike too. Try a bike-specific wash (I use WPL's bio bike wash wplbike.com/products/bio-bike-wash) if you can that's safe for the bike and all the parts.

JackTheBikeGuy

Definitely have to do this manually, wouldn't recommend a car wash.

greatscott

damn it. Ok look man, you NEVER use a cleaning polish or wax, or any wax with abrasive additives that promise to remove swirls or fine scratches or oxidation etc. Bicycle paint is NOT car paint, it's nowhere near as thick and as durable and those type of cleaners and waxes will strip the paint and decals off the bike over prolonged use of said products, so STOP USING that crap now! find a non abrasive liquid wax, which is all I use even on my cars!

Another BS mantra that I hear over and over is use furniture polish, ok, when is the last time you took your coffee table for a ride in the weather outside? Yeah, that's what I thought, NEVER! furniture polish is not protection for painted surfaces for use outdoors in the elements, it was never intended for that use and should not be used for that purpose.

Also never use any wash soap that uses citrus, this can damage aluminium parts and dull paint. Some car washes are a bit rough but if you use a gentle car wash like Meguiars Gold Class Car wash Shampoo and conditioner is fine as is Dawn for Dishes (non citrus version) which will remove grease and is great for chain cleaning, The Gold Class car wash so gentle it won't even remove the previous wax job! so if you have a really dirty bike then use the Dawn of Dishes (non citrus version) After washing use a non abrasive, there's those words again, wax like Meguiars Ultimate Liquid Wax. Bike specific waxes and wash is all marketing BS, they simply use the same formulas that cars use and then charge you more for it because it's somehow better for a bike and rich people ride bikes so you can afford to pay more for the same thing.

Ghazmh

Garfield Cat

Even clay bars are used in error. The professional car detailers will tell you that the clay bar is to be used with little force and not in a circular motion.

ctpres

For PAINTED surface: Use baby shampoo as it does not leave a film. 1 oz. per 5 gal. bucket of water. Add ½ cup of food grade distilled white vinegar. It boosts the cleaning ability of the cleaner so you don’t need as much cleaner. Vinegar neutralizes the alkali in water bringing the water to a neutral PH balance to help prevent water spots. NEVER use a brush or microfiber rag/towel as it is made from 80% polyester or plastic. Plastic scratches leaving fine scratches on the finish. Brushes scratch the finish. Likewise never use the fake chamois as they are 100% polyester. Even pure leather chamois strip the wax off a finish. Use 100% terry towels or better yet a lambswool pad to wash the painted surfaces for best results. Do not ever reuse a towel if it has been dropped. Never use wash and wax products or heavy degreasing agents like liquid dish soaps.They are difficult to rinse off the finish. They stick to the finish and cause it to become sticky, which deteriorates the finish.

cyccommute 

greatscott

NO, while clay bars are less abrasive then some waxes they still are abrasive. Even with cars it used to much will dull the paint, with bicycle paint that dullness issue will happen a lot sooner due to the thinness of the paint, plus you tear up your decals in short order.

greatscott

Depends on what you use to wash your bike with, the same is true with cars too, it's highly recommended not to use dishwashing soap (high citrus content will damage stuff over time, plus it has abrasives), glass cleaner, some people recommend against using Dawn for Dishes, but that's because they're really talking about the citrus version which is what most people buy. You can use 3 parts vinegar with 1 part water if you want a more natural alternative and it works well but it won't cut grease off a chain as well as Dawn for Dishes (non citrus) does. If you have a really dirty bike, you do the vinegar mixture as mentioned and add a couple of squirts of Dawn for Dishes (without citrus, yeah I know I keep saying that because of the importance of mentioning it), mix it all up real well and go to work. I would not recommend using either vinegar and or Dawn for leather bicycle seats, non leather seats it's fine but not for leather, for leather you can use 1 part Woolite with 10 parts water, Woolite will clean and condition the leather in one step! Don't get the seat soaking wet, just damp enough to clean, then wipe dry. I also found that 401 works great at cleaning natural cork handlebar tape, and manmade materials used on most saddles.

cyccommute 

greatscott

Fine, use whatever you like.

cyccommute 

Wattsup

Ride it like you stole it. Wash it a couple of times a year with Dawn dishwashing soap... Thanksgiving, Easter, and Independence Day (or equivalents.)

frogman

So do I. After cleaning I spray it with Lemon Pledge and polish it with a rag. It smells nice and lemony

MikeyMK

Spray-on silicone tyre/bumper shine is cheap as chips in supermarkets. I use it on my car's polished alloy wheels, as it makes a great barrier against salt, dirt, moisture etc. It needs to be used thinly and wiped off, especially on chrome/paint, but it's easier to use than beeswax polishes on this sort of thing imo.

It's Trump card is that it makes cleaning easy - brake dust etc just wipes straight off it. It's like slippery temporary lacquer, and even works on derailleur gears. Avoid getting it on braking surfaces, though.