Bicycle Washing

[dplasters]

3rd the bucket of water. I use microfiber rags i bought in bulk at home depot. clean the tires/rims quickly and give the chain some love if it needs i.

I need an Avenger A6 now…….

[AFHokie]

I’m also in a condo. I have a few old moving pads I put down either on the balcony or living room floor when I clean the chain & gears. Otherwise, the only time my bikes get a full wash is if I borrow a friend’s yard/driveway and hose or happen to take a bike home to my parents.

There is a self serve car wash at the Shell station at 6014 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041, but it does get very busy during nice weather.

[vern]

I don’t think the car wash pressure hose is a good idea unless one intends to re-lube all the bearings on the bike afterwards.

[dkel]

@Rod Smith 139568 wrote:

The wheels of the bike with rim brakes do get washed, with a bucket of soapy water and nylon bristle brush, in the tub.

This is why I sold my bike with rim brakes and went to discs. Never ever going back, either.

Bucket and rag only. No hose except as a convenient way to barely drizzle clean water over previously soaped areas.

[dkel]

@hozn 139571 wrote:

If you lower your saddle, you’ll have less seatpost to clean. :rolleyes:

[Vicegrip]

^ But then he will have to clean off the blood when his knees explode.

I tend to run counter to the notably more experienced* riders here in that I will take a hose to the bike. I will stop at the hose when I arrive home and open ended hose soft flow rinse the chunks, muck and various chlorides off before it drys hard. 20 seconds at the most while I and the bike are still wet and ride steamy, a shake a couple of wheel bumps on the ground to jar some water drops off and done. I add oil to chains far more often than I deep clean them and seem to get 2500 or miles in the winter and more in summer from them. Front wheel bearings replaced at 14K after one started to get a bit loose. I think good bikes tend to do well regardless of what we do or don’t do them up to a point. Salts are hard on almost any metal and more so when certain dissimilar metals are grouped together. Drive lines need to attended to when they are exposed to wet, salts and grime. Steel chains need lubrication between the pivoting surfaces or the steel rubs against itself and grinds away at both contact points. (good) Lube makes a thin film with high adhesion and high pressure resistance that keeps the steel from itself. Water sort of mixes with oils and makes an emulsion that has far less adhesion and pressure resistance. Once you ride a chain dry it is doomed as you grind into the original surface finish of the bearing faces.

[hozn]

I defer to Vicegrip’s superior, by far, “shop knowledge” here. Mostly I don’t wash my bike out of laziness. Having to dry and/or regrease things just seems like a lot of work. And potentially messy. Damp rags work great and are quick.

While I have never replaced or serviced worn out wheel bearings, I don’t get more than average life from a bottom bracket, so my “no hose” approach probably makes little actual difference in bearing longevity.

Dirty bikes do bother me greatly, though; don’t get me wrong.

[huskerdont]

I’ll use a hose to get heavy mud off after mountain biking or to get heavy salt off in the winter. Other than that, it’s usually wet rags or similar.

By the way, our house in N. Arlington has crap water pressure so you’d be hard pressed to drive any gunk into any bearings with it, so you’re welcome to come by and use our hose as well.

[hozn]

@dplasters 139572 wrote:

I need an Avenger A6 now…….

These are great frames! (And notably the A6/FM066, from what I hear.)

[AFHokie]

@vern 139576 wrote:

I don’t think the car wash pressure hose is a good idea unless one intends to re-lube all the bearings on the bike afterwards.

Which is why you don’t point the nozzle directly at those spots

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930AZ using Tapatalk

[Harry Meatmotor]

Here’s my advice:

No hose. Period.

Very, VERY few bike shops actually wash a bike with any water if you bring it in for a drivetrain clean and tune. Get some microfiber cloths from Costco, and a big spray bottle with diluted Simple Green. Put disposable beach towel under the bike stand.

remove both wheels from the bike and start top to bottom spraying a little, and wiping down. Patience is a virtue. If the chain has a master link, remove the chain and clean it separately.

after you’ve wiped off all the grit and grime and greasy gunk, take a clean rag with some furniture polish and wipe down the frame, stem, seatpost, and yes, the tires (but not the rims). Viola, pretty bike.

just my $0.02.

[LeprosyStudyGroup]

+1 for rags and spray bottle

A mere two or three months after buying my most recent bike I had to take it in to get the bottom bracket removed and serviced because it was making all kind of noise. The shop mechanic asked me if I had been riding it through a lot of water or something… No… but I had cleaned it with the hose two or three times! That was the last time I’ll attempt to clean a bike with a hose unless I turn into one of those muddy mountain downhill guys someday.

[Jason]

I had the same question a year ago, and this is what I ended up doing in my apartment situation (an apartment building without hose hookup):

Get one of those $15 garden sprayers with a large capacity.
Get a large bucket
Car sponge
POWERFUL (500 or more lumen) headlamp.
A collapsible flat bed cart from amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Magna-Flatform-Capacity-Wheel-Folding/dp/B002TITK8O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463344776&sr=8-1&keywords=magna+cart+flat
Dawn Dishwashing liquid
Bike Work Stand (Feedback)
Park Tool Dummy Hub
Chain cleaning device (I use Park Tool)
Brushes from Park Tool are nice to have

I store all my stuff in a storage unit in the building
Fill bucket with hot water
Fill sprayer with hot water
Place on cart
Wheel down to garage/sidewalk/outside
Get bike and stand out of storage unit
Put on headlamp.
Put some dawn in bucket, agitate.
remove back wheel, place in dummy hub.
Degrease chain with park tool chain cleaner thingy
Use leftover degreaser on cassette.
Lather up bike with hot water, top to bottom, this gives degreaser extra time to work.
Scrub with brushes.
Lather up wheels with water/brushes
wash off chain with sudsy water from bucket
wash off bike with sprayer using LIGHT mist, do not get spray directly in bearings.
spray off wheels using LIGHT mist, do not get spray in bearings
Dry off chain with rags, compressed air is optional. – doing this first gives time to dry fully before lubing.
dry off rest of bike
Check brake pads for metal, remove with pick if necessary.
lube shifters cables if necessary
silicon spray on frame if desired (makes it easier to wash next time)
lube chain.
replace wheels
Remove from bike stand to ensure wheels in straight.
check shifting performance — if off, likely rear wheel in crooked. Adjust barrel adjuster if necessary (if you have shimano 10 speed with under bar tape shifting this is likely needed every week!)
Remove from bike stand.
Check brakes to ensure performance.
Empty out bucket, spray down area with remainder of garden sprayer.
Break down setup and put back in storage unit.
Done.

[GovernorSilver]

The mechanic I spoke to at Proteus said a hose down is fine – as long as the pressure is gentle. He did also state though that different mechanics will have different opinions, even within the same shop. The bucket of diluted Simple Green and rag seems to be the preferred method – forgot if we talked about the merits of the “bike cleaner” version of Simple Green vs. the regular one.

[Steve O]

@Jason 139638 wrote:

I had the same question a year ago, and this is what I ended up doing in my apartment situation (an apartment building without hose hookup):

Get one of those $15 garden sprayers with a large capacity.
Get a large bucket
Car sponge
POWERFUL (500 or more lumen) headlamp.
A collapsible flat bed cart from amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Magna-Flatform-Capacity-Wheel-Folding/dp/B002TITK8O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463344776&sr=8-1&keywords=magna+cart+flat
Dawn Dishwashing liquid
Bike Work Stand (Feedback)
Park Tool Dummy Hub
Chain cleaning device (I use Park Tool)
Brushes from Park Tool are nice to have

I store all my stuff in a storage unit in the building
Fill bucket with hot water
Fill sprayer with hot water
Place on cart
Wheel down to garage/sidewalk/outside
Get bike and stand out of storage unit
Put on headlamp.
Put some dawn in bucket, agitate.
remove back wheel, place in dummy hub.
Degrease chain with park tool chain cleaner thingy
Use leftover degreaser on cassette.
Lather up bike with hot water, top to bottom, this gives degreaser extra time to work.
Scrub with brushes.
Lather up wheels with water/brushes
wash off chain with sudsy water from bucket
wash off bike with sprayer using LIGHT mist, do not get spray directly in bearings.
spray off wheels using LIGHT mist, do not get spray in bearings
Dry off chain with rags, compressed air is optional. – doing this first gives time to dry fully before lubing.
dry off rest of bike
Check brake pads for metal, remove with pick if necessary.
lube shifters cables if necessary
silicon spray on frame if desired (makes it easier to wash next time)
lube chain.
replace wheels
Remove from bike stand to ensure wheels in straight.
check shifting performance — if off, likely rear wheel in crooked. Adjust barrel adjuster if necessary (if you have shimano 10 speed with under bar tape shifting this is likely needed every week!)
Remove from bike stand.
Check brakes to ensure performance.
Empty out bucket, spray down area with remainder of garden sprayer.
Break down setup and put back in storage unit.
Done.

This looks pretty amazing.
One can also use my method:
– Go to storage area where bikes are stored
– Look at them and note they are dirty
– Think “F&*# it” and go back about my usual business

[Author]

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