Mud and forest floor in the gears

[User76022]

Got to go proper off road today for the first time in a while. I'd forgotten just how much of the forest floor (mud and bits of leaves etc) gets into the various nooks and crannies of the bike.

Off road bit done, a few miles of road work to get home, I was all too aware of just how much filth was in my front and rear derailleurs, in the cassette, and even one big lump going round on the chain til G force got the better of it and it flew off.

None of this seemed to cause any bother. I had no trouble riding home. But obviously long term its probably not good.

What do folks here do about the filth? Do you pick the big lumps off before going home? Live with it and clean it when you get home? Something else?

 

[screenman]

Jet wash when home.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

No need to use more than a gentle hose and then give it a wash with brushes, cloths and a proprietary soap. I use a car wash which is so much cheaper than bike stuff. Maybe draw the line at baby wipes.

 

[Ajax Bay]

I have had a dob of 'stuff' come off a trailer when passing and mash into my cassette. All the sprockets except largest and smallest became unusable. Staggered on till I found a house I thought would have an outside tap/hose and asked if I could give it a quick clean - functioned after a rough clean.

 

[Ajax Bay]

I use a car wash which is so much cheaper than bike stuff.

Washing up liquid is cheaper still, and just as effective.

 

[screenman]

Washing up liquid is cheaper still, and just as effective.

25 litre of tfr can be bought for about £14, I mix by about 10 parts water to 1 part tfr, so 250 litre for £14 so about 20p a litre. I can assure you it works better than washing up liquid.

 

[Ajax Bay]

5 litre of washing up liquid can be bought for about £3.50, I mix by about 100 parts water to 1 part washing up liquid, so 500 litre for £3.50 so about 1p a litre.
Tfr:

UK Valet Supplies Super Strength TFR is a contrentrated base for manufacturing heavy duty, high foaming traffic film removers, which is also silicone free. Dilute this at 500:1. This is a highly caustic product and you should avoid contact with alkali sensitive materials such as aluminium.

 

[screenman]

5 litre of washing up liquid can be bought for about £3.50, I mix by about 100 parts water to 1 part washing up liquid, so 500 litre for £3.50 so about 1p a litre.
Tfr:

Blimey that weak would surely not even clean the dishes, have you seen Lincolnshire mud.

 

[Ajax Bay]

In the spirit of scientific 'argument' I've checked how many millilitres (roughly) I use (one good long squirt) into a couple of litres of water (2000ml). It's about 20ml, so my 1:100 guess was a good one. Have you seen Devon mud?
On the plus side I've had a great ride today, though a bit wet for the second half.

 

[screenman]

In the spirit of scientific 'argument' I've checked how many millilitres (roughly) I use (one good long squirt) into a couple of litres of water (2000ml). It's about 20ml, so my 1:100 guess was a good one. Have you seen Devon mud?
On the plus side I've had a great ride today, though a bit wet for the second half.

Yep, seen the Devon mud, not proper stuff you can clean it off with weak dishwashing liquid.

 

[I like Skol]

'Sometimes' point a hose at the MTB after a bad ride, but it is rare. stuff that accumulates during the ride won't often cause a problem unless it is really extreme (and I mean REALLY extreme) and anything else dries out in the time between rides and then falls off in the first 100mtr of the next ride.

Trust me, my bike is perfectly reliable.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Yes a muddy bike, i dont tend to use a pressure wash anymore but i did on this

 

[screenman]

Nah! Wet wipes is what you need on the one. I guess some people do not get dirty bikes, if you ony ride on paths and roads I can understand that, but off road in these parts and the look will be worse than the picture above.

 

[User76022]

'Sometimes' point a hose at the MTB after a bad ride, but it is rare. stuff that accumulates during the ride won't often cause a problem unless it is really extreme (and I mean REALLY extreme) and anything else dries out in the time between rides and then falls off in the first 100mtr of the next ride.

Trust me, my bike is perfectly reliable.

I believe this to be the truth. My last bike lasted 12 years and I can't recall ever cleaning it in all that time. I may have had to pick bits of leaf and twig out of the moving parts from time to time and I'd give the chain and gears the occasional blast of WD40 but that was about it.

My previous bikes to that used to get cleaned, but that would be more because I was younger and had more time on my hands.

I do find that meticulously clean chain and gears and such make for an easier more pleasant ride though, and as I've become increasingly safety conscious as I get older, I think my dayglo yellow frame offers more in the way of night time visibility than when it's naturally camouflaged

 

[Ming the Merciless]

No need to use more than a gentle hose and then give it a wash with brushes, cloths and a proprietary soap. I use a car wash which is so much cheaper than bike stuff. Maybe draw the line at baby wipes.

Don't those big brushes in car washes scratch your head and what waterproofs do you wear?