# Cleaning Bike



## Spartan (21 Nov 2010)

Hi,
Finally bought a Cube Ltd Team 2010 for a measley £630 with discounts. First day out ever and lets just say with the bad weather everything was very slippery, wet and muddy all the way. Probably a little too advenurous for a first try and managed to loose the front wheel on a steep downhill that I should have walked down

Anyhow the bike was absolutely filthy with muck so I was faced with cleaning it when I got back as my wife refused! My initial thought was to take a power hose to it but someone told me not to because the water would get into the wheele bearings and bottom bracket. Is this really true? If not what do people normally do?

Many thanks,

Mike


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## Cubist (21 Nov 2010)

Cool bike!
Don't use a power hose. Full stop. You'll get water into the Shimano hubs and kill them.

Buy a sponge or soft brush and use a garden hose to squirt the big lumps of mud off the bike. Don't point the hose at the hubs.

Use car shampoo and the brush/sponge to cleanse the bike gently and lovingly. Remove the wheels so you can get to the awkward bits such as chainstays. Sponge the grit out of the chain, brush the grit out of the cassette, and leave the bike to drip dry. 

Turn the wheel onto its side so it's angled, and use the sponge on the hubs, spokes and rims. Keep the hubs angled so that water cannot run into them. Your shimano rims will be killed by water ingress, and tehy don't seal well. 

Dry the whole thing with a chamois or tea towel (here's where your wife CAN contribute  )

Once the bike's dry use GT 85 on a rag to wipe over the whole thing (except the brakes!)

Use teh Mickle method to clean and lube your chain.


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## ianrauk (21 Nov 2010)

+1 To Mr Cubist above re cleaning.
Bucket of (not too) soapy water and a brush. Plenty of elbow grease and rinse off with a hose that is set to spray.
Rag dry and my preferable method of making nice and shiny is Mr Sheen.


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## potsy (21 Nov 2010)

Or just leave it dirty as it will only get messed up again tomorrow


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## ianrauk (21 Nov 2010)

oh Pots mate, that is shameful.


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## potsy (21 Nov 2010)

ianrauk said:


> oh Pots mate, that is shameful.



HA HA,I gave mine it's weekly clean yesterday,not a drop of water in sight,dry rags,bit of a rub,little bit of some WD look-a-like stuff,jobs a good 'un.
Oiled the chain,pumped up the tyres,charged the batteries on the lights.

Mr Sheen????


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## ColinJ (21 Nov 2010)

For those of you (like me) who don't have easy access to a garden hose - try a pressurised garden sprayer. I bought a 5 litre one from my local hardware shop and find it great for cleaning my bikes. It has a shoulder strap so it is easy to carry about. 40 strokes of the built-in pump gets it up to pressure and 1.5 litres of water is enough to clean a very dirty bike. 

The water pressure probably isn't high enough to purge bearings of their grease, but I don't take any chances. I watch where I point the spray and I also set it to produce a heavy mist rather than a concentrated jet of water.


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## Spartan (21 Nov 2010)

Thanks guys,

So as long as its a spray its pretty much ok anywhere and if its a single jet from a garden hose keep it away from the wheel hubs. Im assuming then the chain set isn't so sensitive or the bottom bracket?

Mike


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## ianrauk (21 Nov 2010)

Spartan said:


> Thanks guys,
> 
> So as long as its a spray its pretty much ok anywhere and if its a single jet from a garden hose keep it away from the wheel hubs. Im assuming then the chain set isn't so sensitive or the bottom bracket?
> 
> Mike



As long as the hubs and BB have been greased up, a spray from a hose will be fine.
I usually take off the chain before giving the bike a good clean.


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## sleekitcollie (22 Nov 2010)

ianrauk said:


> +1 To Mr Cubist above re cleaning.
> Bucket of (not too) soapy water and a brush. Plenty of elbow grease and rinse off with a hose that is set to spray.
> Rag dry and my preferable method of making nice and shiny is Mr Sheen.


I used to use mr sheen ( with bee's wax  ) on my motorbike . Amazing shine on both paintwork & chrome .use it on push bike as well


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## I like Skol (22 Nov 2010)

Hmmmm.... Let me think. I reckon the last time I cleaned my mountain bike was about 2 years ago and before that probably 2-3 years again.......

I'll get my coat........


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## xpc316e (22 Nov 2010)

potsy said:


> Or just leave it dirty as it will only get messed up again tomorrow




Crusty dirt is always a real pain to remove, so you have a choice: either clean your bike when the crud is still soft and fresh, or don't bother ever cleaning it. If you go for the second option, you can then watch your expensive machine get wrecked in no time at all.


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## I like Skol (22 Nov 2010)

xpc316e said:


> Crusty dirt is always a real pain to remove, so you have a choice: either clean your bike when the crud is still soft and fresh, or don't bother ever cleaning it. If you go for the second option, you can then watch your expensive machine get wrecked in no time at all.



??? My expensive crusty wreck is 16 years old and is still working great. Ok it has had 3 or 4 cassettes and chains over the years as well as a couple of chain rings and I lost a derailiur to crash damage but other than that it is still on original hubs, shifters and front mech. Minimal maintenance really, occasionally lube the cables and replaced them a few times, one headset, but still on the original unserviced hubs (Shimano XT)  

In my opinion, cleaning the bike might make you feel better, but once dried the mud drops off any moving parts and as soon as you get one splash of fresh mud on a component you are back to square one and no better off. Also, washing a bike risks driving water into components just before you put the bike away to fester!!!


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## potsy (23 Nov 2010)

Careful I like Skol,the OCD squad will have you removed from the forum with thinking like that





Even I give the bike a little TLC every now and again,don't wash it mid-ride like some though


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## Campfire (24 Nov 2010)

I wait until mud is dry and then use one of those round brushes. Then, if I'm so inclined, I might wash it with Muc off. There is a car polish now that you can use without water but I've not tried it. I have some bike polish. What is GT85 please?


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## Cubist (24 Nov 2010)

It's a teflon based spray lube. Comes in a large red can and smells wonderful!
It disperses water and leaves a teflon (ptfe) coating behind. The solvent in it is great for cleaning chains, but it doesn't strip lube like WD40 does.
The can has a plastic straw so you can get it into nooks and crannies. 
I know some riders who use it to lube a chain but you do need to replace it every ride if you do.


Halfords had a special offer on, three cans for a fiver last time I looked.


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## Svendo (24 Nov 2010)

With the new bike, I'm wiping dried muck off tubing with a dry tea towel type cloth or rag, or if it's really bad own-brand babywipes first. Drive chain and metal bits get baby wiped mainly, sometimes WD40 on a rag (actually Morrison's maintenance spray) for really stubborn grease. Mickle method (once over as I'm lazy) for the chain. Then plenty of polish, at work I use the Mr Sheen there, or at home I use the finish line bike shine I splurged out on. I'm finding this makes later cleaning much easier, and that your protecting the paint/laquer finish. I'm considering really going for it and getting some proper car polish. Turtle Wax Platinum High Gloss seems to be the best value/quailty according to Auto express.


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## MonsterEnergy (20 Dec 2019)

potsy said:


> Or just leave it dirty as it will only get messed up again tomorrow
> View attachment 196770


no...because then your bike may not work as clotting of mud could ruin your chain...etc


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## EltonFrog (20 Dec 2019)

lylecane said:


> no...because then your bike may not work as clotting of mud could ruin your chain...etc


You do know this thread is over nine years old?


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## Ming the Merciless (20 Dec 2019)

CarlP said:


> You do know this thread is over nine years old?



So is the mud


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## MonsterEnergy (20 Dec 2019)

YukonBoy said:


> So is the mud


ha


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## MonsterEnergy (20 Dec 2019)

CarlP said:


> You do know this thread is over nine years old?


so


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