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Washing bike in shower

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Washing bike in shower

Old 02-07-22, 05:17 AM
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lyle.coop
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Washing bike in shower

Does anyone wash off their bike in the shower? Here in NYC it's a bit too cold outside to hose off the bike outside. I'd like to get all the street grim off the bike.
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Old 02-07-22, 05:49 AM
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I would. Our street muck is thick, gross and corrosive.

I'm lucky enough to have a hose, but the bike dries indoors.
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Old 02-07-22, 06:02 AM
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If I were in an apartment in the city, this is what I would do. If you have one of those showers with the hand-held showerhead on the end of a hose, then that would be the hot setup!
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Old 02-07-22, 06:04 AM
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Nasty. Think what you ride through on the roads. Dog poop, chaw spit, who knows what. You don't want that in your shower. Maybe take a bucket outside.
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Old 02-07-22, 06:16 AM
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Garden sprayer tank. Outside.
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Old 02-07-22, 06:36 AM
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Does the bike get the little mint on the bed pillow before you tuck her in?
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Old 02-07-22, 08:07 AM
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Originally Posted by shelbyfv
Nasty. Think what you ride through on the roads. Dog poop, chaw spit, who knows what. You don't want that in your shower. Maybe take a bucket outside.
You must not have kids. If a tub is OK to clean off what kids get into thru their years growing up, a bike is nothing.
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Old 02-07-22, 08:12 AM
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Originally Posted by shelbyfv
Nasty. Think what you ride through on the roads. Dog poop, chaw spit, who knows what. You don't want that in your shower. Maybe take a bucket outside.
It's not nastier than what comes off our bodies, just more of it. And a shower enclosure is easy to clean and sanitize.
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Old 02-07-22, 08:13 AM
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Try removing grease from a plastic tub.

My wife would have my ass.
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Old 02-07-22, 08:36 AM
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
You must not have kids. If a tub is OK to clean off what kids get into thru their years growing up, a bike is nothing.
Haha well said. People have been known to wash their dogs in the tub too. If cleaning a bike I'd make extra sure the bottom of the tub is cleaned after to eliminate any oil residue that could cause a slip.
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Old 02-07-22, 08:39 AM
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Rarely would I use a hose sprayer on my bikes. I wipe them down with baby wipes.
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Old 02-07-22, 09:42 AM
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lyle.coop
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Originally Posted by shelbyfv
Nasty. Think what you ride through on the roads. Dog poop, chaw spit, who knows what. You don't want that in your shower. Maybe take a bucket outside.
I had to google chaw spit. I noticed some of my own snot rockets on the frame. Pretty gross.
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Old 02-07-22, 09:45 AM
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Originally Posted by J.Higgins
If I were in an apartment in the city, this is what I would do. If you have one of those showers with the hand-held showerhead on the end of a hose, then that would be the hot setup!
Good call, I was remodeling a bathroom and held onto the handheld shower-head for precisely this reason.
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Old 02-07-22, 10:23 AM
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Lather, rinse, repeat.
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Old 02-07-22, 10:27 AM
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One BF member has/had a hook in the shower for that purpose.
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Old 02-07-22, 10:29 AM
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What you and your bike do in the shower together are something better kept to yourself.
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Old 02-07-22, 12:54 PM
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Did my Orbea Avant this morning. Hand held wand, soft bristle or soft sponge type brush, Dawn detergent, rinse well, bounce up and a few times to remove excess water, point a fan at it to dry. If it is really bad, I get much of the crud off before bringing it inside, and I usually do the chain off the bike. Today was mostly grit and sand from being on a wet gravel road, so the chain stayed on and was wiped off and lubed after drying. I spray the shower stall with diluted bleach and rinse it. Also, I live by myself, ergo, I offend no one.
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Old 02-07-22, 12:57 PM
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How dirty does a road bike get?
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Old 02-07-22, 01:06 PM
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Originally Posted by lyle.coop
Does anyone wash off their bike in the shower? Here in NYC it's a bit too cold outside to hose off the bike outside. I'd like to get all the street grim off the bike.
Not me, but a washing station is a washing station. Better that than nothing, as long as you don't get water in places you shouldn't...
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Old 02-07-22, 02:20 PM
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Uhm, I wouldnt. Especially after a wet weather ride the bike gets really nasty. Don't want that grime, oil, sand, mud and everything else in my shower.

I'd take a bucket of soapy water and a sponge and wash it on the sidewalk (and I have done before). I wash mine with a bucket on my terrace anyway, works perfectly fine.
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Old 02-07-22, 02:24 PM
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Stop at the car wash with it and use the sprayer in the self wash bay.
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Old 02-07-22, 02:29 PM
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Bucket of warm water + sponge outside to get the major gunk off. Spin the chain through a chain cleaner w/ degreaser a few times to get crud off. Then I bring the bike inside and go at it with some spray-on bike cleaner and use a stiff brush on the drivetrain to get gunk out of the cassette, derailleurs, etc and a microfiber cloth on the rest. I lay down an old towel on the floor inside to catch drips.

No way am I bringing a dirty bike into my bathroom.
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Old 02-07-22, 02:35 PM
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Originally Posted by prj71
Stop at the car wash with it and use the sprayer in the self wash bay.
I do this sometimes after CX races in the suburbs, but I have to imagine NYC property values have put a serious dent into the self-service spray car wash scene in the city.
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Old 02-07-22, 03:00 PM
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Yeah. Could be. Just throwing it out there as an option. No way I'd bring a dirty bike through the house and into the bathroom.

Even when my kids were little...if they got dirty...hosed 'em off outside before they could come in the house.

I use the self serve bay at the car wash quite often. I just make sure to keep the sprayer away from the bottom bracket area and wheel hubs.
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Old 02-07-22, 03:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
How dirty does a road bike get?
I was wondering the same thing. It's prolllly more salty than dirty if it's in winter...
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