Baby Wipes

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Whilst we were off cycling around the world (or failing to) there seems to have become an obsession with baby wipes in the cycling community that I don't fully understand... right down to cleaning a bike with them? I can't even get my head around using them on your hands, let alone anything else.

why? surely a J cloth (or other rag/piece of old towel/cloth), water and more suitable cleaning product is far more environmentally friendly (and cheaper) than using baby wipes to clean a bike? not to mention the scent of the things which is awful! I assume they are still use once and throw away, wait for them to biodegrade...

Can someone explain what happened whilst I was away please?
comprehension is missing in action...

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

I use baby wipes to wipe my ass after a poop on the rd and to clean my hands whilst on the rd prior to using an alcohol based product before eating.

In that sense they are more sensible than carting a bucket of water around.

As for cleaning bikes, I'm at a loss too.

Edit: I don't poop on the road...., I meant whilst out riding and using toilet facilities in pubs or cafes etc etc.

 

[tadpole]

They are cheap, they are disposable, they do a really good job of cleaning, and hold up well to rough handling, they are moist and the distort so you can get them into tiny gaps, like between the links of your chain.
and they are cheap, did I mention that at £1 for 80 they are quite cheap.

 

[Minotier]

Ultimately, you could make clothes out of them and need never shower again!

 

[biggs682]

i also use them for bike cleaning and if no loo paper around also for wiping my behind

 

[Night Train]

I have them in the car for soaking off stubbon bird poo on the windscreen.
Never really liked using them on my hands for cleaning, as they leave a residual, but will if I have to.

As for cleaning the bike....

 

[ASC1951]

why? surely a J cloth (or other rag/piece of old towel/cloth), water and more suitable cleaning product is far more environmentally friendly (and cheaper) than using baby wipes to clean a bike? not to mention the scent of the things which is awful! I assume they are still use once and throw away, wait for them to biodegrade...

Baby wipes are moistened with alcohol, which is an excellent solvent. Water and a "more suitable cleaning product" is generally much less effective on the oil and tar-based cack that you get on bikes.
Cheaper? Supermarket own-brand are about £1 a hundred and are generally unscented. A couple of them will do a whole bike and the only reason the council doesn't recycle mine is because I compost them.

 

[byegad]

I carry a few hand wipes to clean my hands in case I need to get grubby by the roadside. I find them very useful.

 

[summerdays]

I don't clean my bike often enough, but I will occasionally use a wipe - it seems to cut through the grease better than using water - and you can then do it indoors (in this weather I will take any excuse I can get not to bother cleaning it!!!). I've also been known to use one on stubborn marks on door frames and doors when cleaning. I wouldn't mind if you could get the liquid they put in wipes and put it in a sprayer bottle. (And I don't mind the smell - I guess having had 3 babies you get used to it).

 

[musa]

As said they cut through dirt and grease a lot better than a cloth which smudges. Great on rims too

 

[Archie_tect]

I carry a few hand wipes to clean my hands in case I need to get grubby by the roadside. I find them very useful.

I carry a pair of old latex gloves to wear for bike operations...

 

[Deleted member 23692]

Never used them, and can't see me doing so. But I've got a stack of microfibre cloths which I use for all my bike cleaning needs.

 

[Noodley]

Nothing new at all, I have been using them for years to clean my bike. I am surprised some people think this is weird, likewise they think it weird to use it for hands...nobbers.

 

[annedonnelly]

Whilst we were off cycling around the world (or failing to) there seems to have become an obsession with baby wipes in the cycling community that I don't fully understand... right down to cleaning a bike with them? I can't even get my head around using them on your hands, let alone anything else.

why? surely a J cloth (or other rag/piece of old towel/cloth), water and more suitable cleaning product is far more environmentally friendly (and cheaper) than using baby wipes to clean a bike? not to mention the scent of the things which is awful! I assume they are still use once and throw away, wait for them to biodegrade...

Can someone explain what happened whilst I was away please?
comprehension is missing in action...

I've never used a baby wipe for anything, but it seems I'm the only person not to have a stash of them everywhere - at work, at home, in the car... As you say they can't be environmentally friendly - it's old rags all the way for me!

 

[The Brewer]

I mainly use them for chain cleaning, I got fed up trying to keep bar tape white