The ultimate bike wash?

[Dogtrousers]

I want to use Simple Green just like Chris Horner but it’s very pricey.

Did it make all you hair fall out and your hands unreasonably large?

 

[fossyant]

If your paintwork isnt in great condition then you need to give it a polish. This does help dirt fall off. Mr Sheen is surprisingly good at keeping paintwork on bikes clean and shiny. A wash wont work wonders.

Ceramic coating on a bike, yeh it helps when washing the bike (ie dirt falls off).

But there is no magic replacement for a bucket and a sponge or soft cleaning brush. Use a derergent of choise.

I have three bikes that are white (two white and black) and white can be a pig to keep clean. If you've got a decent wax protection then its much easier. White shows oily marks quickly.

 

[Milzy]

If your paintwork isnt in great condition then you need to give it a polish. This does help dirt fall off. Mr Sheen is surprisingly good at keeping paintwork on bikes clean and shiny. A wash wont work wonders.

Ceramic coating on a bike, yeh it helps when washing the bike (ie dirt falls off).

But there is no magic replacement for a bucket and a sponge or soft cleaning brush. Use a derergent of choise.

I have three bikes that are white (two white and black) and white can be a pig to keep clean. If you've got a decent wax protection then its much easier. White shows oily marks quickly.

Yeah mines very white. Oil came out of the headset some time ago, before my ownership and it’s made the paint yellow. I’ve tried a light polish but it hasn’t worked.
I may use my orbital polishing machine on it & see if it will correct.

 

[super_davo]

Apparently the answer is to do a ceramic coating then for the next 18 months a quick hose down and you have a sparkly bike.
This is according to the gurus on GCN.

I thought I would give this a go for my new bike as wanted to keep it pristine as long as possible, so bought the G techniq kit for about £45. Very expensive but it treated 4 bikes plus an extra set of wheels with it. And it does work - water just beads off so nowhere near as much dirt sticks to the bike. Very similar effect to car wax, but much easier to apply; it even leaves a nice shine and makes light scratches less visible. I haven't had it long enough to comment on durability, but it is still beading water off the surface well after a few washes (and you will still need to wash, it just saves a load of effort whilst you do).

What I can say is you don't need to spend £45 on the G techniq kit. It just contains an isopropyl alchohol spray to clean upfront, an applicator pad, a couple of microfibre cloths plus about 35ml of the actual ceramic coat fluid. You can get exactly the same stuff for cars in far bigger quantities off eBay or Aliexpress for a fraction of the price - which I did, and got 2 * 50 ml replacement pots for about £8 (and IPA spray is cheap and well worth having for cleaning brakes and other things). Even if the coating only lasts a few months that still ends up a fairly cheap and low effort way of 'waxing' your bike. And of course now I have an unlimited cheap supply I can now ceramic coat my helmet, shades, shoes....

 

[gbb]

I think Drago’s post was a bit tongue in cheek. On the subject of vim Mrs W parents were both smokers and Mrs W mum was complaining of having nicotine stained teeth, so her dad said he’d fettle them and precede to brush them with Vim. With the result of much foaming and burnt gums.
Mrs W swears this is true story.

My late father in law , prior to doing very well as a union officer..had been a dustman, refuse collector nowadays I suppose.
In a bin he found a hair dryer...I believe the 'owner' was present and he asked if it was working, she said yes and he took it home and cleaned it up externally...but didn't try it...fateful move.
Remember this was perhaps the early 1970s, no spare money and it was his wife's birthday so this appeared to be an ideal windfall.
Trouble is, she plugged it in and it instantly showered her in coal fire ash...which had been in the same bin.

I can just imagine the scene 😀

 

[Oldhippy]

For me just a wipe down when it gets too grubby. Drive train, brakes however always in good order and clean. It's my transport so works hard.

 

[Chief Broom]

Garden sprayer to wash off crud wipe over with a rag which has had a blast of wd40, drive train and brakes cleaned separately.

 

[Tom B]

Rain. Same with the car.

I can't believe the amounts of money people will spend on car washing stuff or as its now called detailing.

 

[fossyant]

Rain. Same with the car.

I can't believe the amounts of money people will spend on car washing stuff or as its now called detailing.

It doesn't have to be expensive. Detailing is like the car fad version of 'cyclists' wiggling their bums on social media doing silly dances or showing you them getting dressed for a ride in permanent sunshine.

That said a well 'waxed' vehicle/bike is really easy to clean. I spent a fair wedge on the bike/car so I'll look after it. I keep them a very long time.