Cleaning your bike before every ride?

zill · Postby **zill** » Fri Aug 29, 2014 11:24 pm

Do you do it? Is it worth it?

Z350 · Postby **Z350** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 12:02 am

Before ! No.
After a wet ride I will give them a wipe down and thats about it.
During summer I clean them about once a month or every 1000 km.
I do give them a good going over in that wash though.
Lube chain as needed.

zill · Postby **zill** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 12:09 am

Z350 wrote:Before ! No.
After a wet ride I will give them a wipe down and thats about it.

How about instead of wiping it at the end of the ride, wipe it before your next ride?

Z350 · Postby **Z350** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 12:13 am

So I don't get water sitting in places I don't want it to.
That and I will be banished by my other half for bringing a wet and dirty bike inside

Postby **Mulger bill** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 1:59 am

Better to do it post ride, not just the shiny thing but you'll find problems at a time you're more inclined to do something about them instead of hopping aboard and hoping things will be OK until you can get home and forget them...

reefer · Postby **reefer** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 8:14 am

Wash your car before every use?, OCD much......

In answer to your silly question. No, No.
I wash my bike when required, usually once a month.

you cannot be sirrus · Postby **you cannot be sirrus** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 5:00 pm

Get it dirty, buy a new one

Life is too short to be cleaning things

thearthurdog · Postby **thearthurdog** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 5:44 am

Baby wipes are great for a quick 10 second once-over at the end of each ride. Makes a 'big' clean much easier when you eventually do it.

RonK · Postby **RonK** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 12:08 pm

No self-respecting cyclist would ever dream of being seen in public without spending at least a couple of hours cleaning and polishing the bike before a ride.

Postby **Mulger bill** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 9:15 pm

RonK wrote:No self-respecting cyclist would ever dream of being seen in public without spending at least a couple of hours cleaning and polishing the bike before a ride.

Good thing I'm a rider not a cyclist then

wombatK · Postby **wombatK** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 10:13 pm

Worth it only if you wash yourself before every ride

Greystoke · Postby **Greystoke** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 11:24 pm

How about instead of wiping it at the end of the ride, wipe it before your next ride?[/quote]

Ummm, would the net result not be the same. Wiping after ride, means clean next time you go out. Just saying.

Xplora · Postby **Xplora** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 11:35 pm

It TOTALLY depends on the situation. I traditionally believed that cleaning bikes was a bit of a toss, and my commuter is HORRIBLE; rain helps that bike get clean again...

But since putting Chorus on my Madone, I'm being much more careful. Fact is, if you are running DA level gear, you might be wasting money if you are riding in the wet and your running gear gets dirty. Cassette and chain on Chorus is 200 bucks. Record is 300, Super Record 400. That's insanely expensive to just say "whatever". I will ride in dirty conditions without stress, but I do clean the bike now. I want a small compressor to blow the water off the RD etc faster

But just general riding in the dry, baby wipe it when you get home. That's enough.

Storm Boy · Postby **Storm Boy** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 4:09 am

He he. I commute 5 days a week, so no cleaning before a ride. If it's raining, it gets a basic clean after.
I do maintain the bike, and it generally gets a clean when up on the workstand.

Regards,

SS

queequeg · Postby **queequeg** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 8:04 am

Gosh, I haven't cleaned my commuter bike in almost 18 months!
I just wipe the chain off now and then, but otherwise it is washed every time it rains.
It got a great wash last Tuesday night on the way home.

cerb · Postby **cerb** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 9:35 am

I clean, adjust and lube my bike before each race. However, it doesn't get anything done over winter when I'm not racing except a squeeze of lube every few hundred km!

bychosis · Postby **bychosis** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 9:48 am

cerb wrote:I clean, adjust and lube my bike before each race. However, it doesn't get anything done over winter when I'm not racing except a squeeze of lube every few hundred km!

I'm similar, clean really only occurs before an event, unless very dirty after a ride and it might get a gentle hose down. Otherwise it is keep the chain lubed and treat the symptoms as they occur. Time is too valuable to spend hours keeping my fleet clean. That said I do enjoy tinkering with my bikes when I get the chance, it tends not to be washing though.

Xplora · Postby **Xplora** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 10:16 am

If you are trying to avoid maintenance costs, and dealing with the expensive groupset, a little trick I've been advised is Weldtite's TF2 spray into a rag, run the chain through it 10 times every couple of rides. Keeps the drivetrain looking and running brand new and reasonably lubed, and is regular enough for the lazy rider to ensure you aren't running the bike chain dry or dirty. TF2 is similar to WD40, but doesn't have the same solvent effect, so it protects better. Pushys have the big can for 12 bucks? Well worth it, I am not too good with chain maintenance so a baby wipe and a TF2 clean and lube once or twice a week is about all I can be bothered with

outnabike · Postby **outnabike** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 10:34 am

Greystoke wrote:How about instead of wiping it at the end of the ride, wipe it before your next ride?

Ummm, would the net result not be the same. Wiping after ride, means clean next time you go out. Just saying.[/quote]

I hate it when folks come over all logical...It just spoils a good thread.

silentC · Postby **silentC** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 11:45 am

Mine gets a hose down after a ride if the roads have been a bit damp. It then sits out in the sun for a couple of hours to dry and it lives in the lounge room. Chain lube couple of times a week.

I got a chain cleaner which I run the chain through every week or two depending how much I've ridden. I give the frame a wipe down at the same time. Maybe once every month or two it gets a good going over. Nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon with a beer in one hand and a rag in the other.

reefer · Postby **reefer** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 12:30 pm

outnabike wrote:
Greystoke wrote:How about instead of wiping it at the end of the ride, wipe it before your next ride?

Ummm, would the net result not be the same. Wiping after ride, means clean next time you go out. Just saying.

I hate it when folks come over all logical...It just spoils a good thread.

It is far from a logical statement, nor is it the same thing or net result.

If you can’t understand why, try his theory on your backside the next time you go to the loo.

AndrewCowley · Postby **AndrewCowley** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 11:01 pm

Xplora wrote:If you are trying to avoid maintenance costs, and dealing with the expensive groupset, a little trick I've been advised is Weldtite's TF2 spray into a rag, run the chain through it 10 times every couple of rides. Keeps the drivetrain looking and running brand new and reasonably lubed, and is regular enough for the lazy rider to ensure you aren't running the bike chain dry or dirty. TF2 is similar to WD40, but doesn't have the same solvent effect, so it protects better. Pushys have the big can for 12 bucks? Well worth it, I am not too good with chain maintenance so a baby wipe and a TF2 clean and lube once or twice a week is about all I can be bothered with

A bit OT but I lost the spray tube attachment for my can of TF2. Aside from buying another can, is there any cheap fix for this?

+1 to the idea earlier about using baby wipes for a quick clean.

Xplora · Postby **Xplora** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 11:33 pm

Spray tube? The thin long nozzle? You don't need it for the rag method. Bear in mind that you need the rag to rub the black residue off, the TF2 just improves that process. I lost mine almost instantly (my WD has lost it as well!). I guess Bunnings would have some spares if you need them.

Aushiker · Postby **Aushiker** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 1:47 pm

I guess if you ride your bike once in a blue moon this might be realistic but heck I even find my current regime of doing maintenance every 500 kilometres in the wet season a bit full on.

Andrew

casual_cyclist · Postby **casual_cyclist** » Wed Sep 03, 2014 11:32 am

RonK wrote:No self-respecting cyclist would ever dream of being seen in public without spending at least a couple of hours cleaning and polishing the bike before a ride.

I bought my bike in 2009 and I have never cleaned it. I have also never had it serviced (aka, paid someone to clean it). It's a commuter bike. It will get dirty. It gets washed if it rains on the way home. If I remember, I lube the chain.