What would you say is the number one reason for cleaning your bicycle on a regular basis?

Need a bit of persuasion because quite lazy when it comes to cleaning

 

OCD

 

Clean bikes break less and are easier to find issues when they do.

Less wear and tear on consumsbles like chains and cassettes.

I like clean stuff, my motorbikes are treated the same

 

Shiny tires

 

Shame that it looks so dirty.

NB - you did say 'regular' and not 'frequent'.

 

I'd prefer it not to rust more than necessary.

 

Not really. Correct maintenance is the key, not cleaning.

Don't bother cleaning your bike unless you want to or it has gotten particularly mucky after a ride through mud/sand/gloop.

 

There isn't one,

 

Cleaning is also inspection followed by any necessary maintenance.

 

Fix it when it breaks

 

Dirty bikes make my garage look scruffy, I have 5 hanging up in there and one on the turbo, so can you imagine how scruffy it would look if they were all dirty, a quick blast of with the jetwash keeps them looking fine.

Besides that, I am lucky in that I do not do lazy, the gene was never fitted.

 

THIS^^^ The cleaning often goes hand in hand with the attention to detail that means possible faults are noticed. This is why clean bikes are claimed to be more reliable. The two things are not mutually inclusive though and one does not necessarily mean the other. It is possible to have an unclean bike that is maintained and inspected as closely as a regularly washed example and is perfectly reliable (like my commuter).

 

NO!!!!!!!

 

I don't think mine has had a clean this year, it spends enough time in the rain to get the bulk of the road muck off.

 

Horse sh1t