The misery of bike cleaning

[ianrauk]

No offence, but you're just odd.

No offence taken...you're not the first to say it or notice it.

 

[Oldspice]

Shower

 

[BigonaBianchi]

wish someone would clean me after I clean my bikes

 

[EltonFrog]

Blimey! You had a lot of Bazooka Joes when you where a kid!

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Mudguards are your best friend in this weather. Keep the crud off you and the bike.
Dirty bike just feels inefficient

I cleaned off the accumulated crap from under the guards on my fixed yesterday and there must have been a couple of pounds of crap under there. I hate bike cleaning, I'd much rather be riding it.

 

[DiddlyDodds]

i use this stuff ,,, just spray it all over , go have a cup of tea whilst the clever stuff gets on with breaking down the grime (works on dried mud as well) come back 10 mins later and wash off .

Job done

First started using on the Caravan to get all the green tree mould off it ,, brilliant stuff

 

[potsy]

My theory a dirtier frame is less attractive to thieves and all we really need is a mechanically sound ride

I am now claiming this was my intention all along, and I'm not just too lazy to clean my steads regularly

 

[Psycolist]

My usual 'little and often' cleaning regime has become 'alot and often' with this years grotty weather, but as others have said, it does give you a much better chance to check the moving bits. Each to thier own as to how deep you clean but I find axle removal and re-grease, a la ianrauk, a bit O T T
A simple warm soapy car shampoo bucket full , some old towels to dry off the worst followed by a re-grease of v brake pivots, a touch of WD on cables and some of that weird chain specific oil that sets like wax and Roberts y'fathers brother.

 

[cyberknight]

^^^^^ obsessive compulsive disorder

To much spare time on his hands disorder
I enjoy cleaning my bikes but normally its a splash and dash job , young kids mean i only tend to get time to do it at stupid times and i don`t fancy washing bikes in the dark.

 

[I like Skol]

I just routed back through some old threads to check dates. I fitted some new wheels to the hybrid back in April and think I might have cleaned it then but not too sure. If I didn't then that means the last time I cleaned it was possibly around Nov 2011.....

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I just Mickle the chain once every couple of days and wipe the rims.
If the bike is really really mucky, I'll wash it with car shampoo, lube the relevant bits.

 

[Monsieur Remings]

I love cleaning my bikes. I spent an hour cleaning one on saturday for it to get thoroughly filthy on yesterdays ride. So another 2 hours today of cleaning. I even took the wheel bearings out to clean and regrease.

Bike now looks nice, sparkly and clean.
I have even been known to give my bike a wipedown mid ride.

Totally agree with this...I used to hate cleaning it but that was mostly down to the fact that I wasn't overly experienced at the job and always felt that to do it properly I had to do awkward things, like taking the wheel off, which for a novice felt like too much hassle, And it took ages.

Fast forward four years or so and I love it - it still takes as long but no more the rigmarole. Nothing in life is quite as satisfying as spraying Muc Off and then using my garden spray hose thingy to get rid of all the crunt; or degreasing the chain and cassette, yep, even taking the cassette off and getting it to reflect like a mirror again - great fun. And then the return to the shed some hours later with a beer to find a brand spanking new dried bike, ready for GT-85 in all its varied drive-train pivotry and some chain lube; perhaps even a splash of disc brake cleaner on the MTB? Fancy a quick rub down on the braking surface, very nice and shiny and I nearly forgot to regrease those skewers.

Sometimes I come and have a final peep before bedtime, make sure they're both settled in.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

I love cleaning my bikes,.

I love cleaning my bikes.

OMG... I'm Ianrauk like Woe is me
Is there a cure?

 

[HovR]

I like keeping my bikes in great working condition, and obviously cleaning is essential, but it's not my most favorite task ever.

Having a commuter with only one chainring up front has sped up the cleaning process quite significantly, as has equipping my bikes with mudguards. Most the time all I have to do now is give the rims and tires a wipe down, and possibly de-gunk the brake blocks if there was a lot of mud on the lanes.

 

[Globalti]

Can anybody tell me what's on the ingredients panel of Muc-Off?