jazzkat
Fixed wheel fanatic.
- Location
- The Cumbrian Riviera
I have more cans of Mr Sheen in the garage than in the house - Please don't tell my wife, she doesn't think I know how to use it 
Best product for cleaning bikes
- Thread starter Lavender Rose
- Start date
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DooDah
Veteran
- Location
- France, now Northamptonshire
I have more cans of Mr Sheen in the garage than in the house - Please don't tell my wife, she doesn't think I know how to use it
solidthegreat
Active Member
- Location
- North Oxfordshire
Nitromors 
It made my bike nice and silver. Looks stunning. (Ps don't try this at home kids!!!!)
It made my bike nice and silver. Looks stunning. (Ps don't try this at home kids!!!!)
srw
It's a bit more complicated than that...
A dry rag will clean just about anything on just about any bike. Oily gunk does not stick well to metal, paint or plastic. Any sort of detergent will just convert a wipeable and containable gunk into a gunk that gets everywhere. If you really need to get something off that a dry rag won't shift - use a little GT85 or near offer. If you really need to use polish - get a life. It's only a bike.
Davidc
Guru
- Location
- Somerset UK
I don't use many proprietary products, but on this I agree with @ScotiaLass. Muc Off just works. The substance produced when Somerset cow dung and Somerset soil are mixed has many of the properties of Araldite and Muc Off is one of the few things that get it off with little effort. Washing up liquid doesn't.
deptfordmarmoset
Full time tea drinker
- Location
- Armonmy Way
Yep, the amount of salt in there isn't going to do any more damage than an afternoon's ride along the coast, IMO. I won't buy Muc Off products since mentioning a special offer they were running which turned out to be nothing more than a ''Sorry, none left but we've now got your email address'' exercise. Annoyed mostly because I mentioned it on a ''Bargains spotted'' thread on here and the CC guys on here all got the same nothing.
Cheap baby wipes from Aldi or LiDL, old socks and t-shirts (baselayers are the new t-shirts!!!!), toothbrushes for the difficult to get to bits - these have all been useful....
jazzkat
Fixed wheel fanatic.
- Location
- The Cumbrian Riviera
mickle
innit
- Location
- 53.933606, -1.076131
" There are probably other ways of washing a bicycle - this is just how I wash mine.
A workstand is great for this - and you can opt to take the wheels out for a proper 'pro' clean.
You'll need: (1) a bucket full of (2) hot water containing (3) the recommended dose of a good quality car shampoo (washing-up liquid has salt in it which is abrasive and will rot your bike)
4) one of those plastic soft bristled car wash brushes
5) a low pressure hose pipe.
6) a clutch of cotton rags
7) a microfibre cloth
Lean your bike up (on its RH side) so it's stable. Soak it with the hose - gently, and stay away from the bearings. You are aiming to remove any big lumps of crap and to soften any which remains for the next phase. You're not going to get it all off with the hose so don't bother trying. And don't be tempted to spray it with a jet of water. It's surprisingly easy to get water past a perfectly good bearing seal with a spray. Do that to the non-drive side of your rear hub and it'll be new wheel time.
If it's really manky leave it to soak for a bit.
Now, load the brush with copious amounts of hot soapy water and starting at the top, wash the bike down, LH side first then turn it around and do the RH side. Pay particular attention to the wheels, turning them as you go so that you get every surface.
If you have been following the ... ahem .. 'Mickle method' of chain maintenance you can completely ignore the chain, because it will be perfectly capable of surviving a splash of water. Rinse the bike with the hose going back over it with the soapy brush if you find areas you've missed. Then dry the whole bike off with the cotton rags and when that's done wipe the chain down to remove excess H2O and then lube it in the normal way.
The last thing to do is give your brightwork a going over with the microfibre.
Even the most vociferous advocate of the aforementioned 'Mickle method' will occasionally need to remove the chainset to get in and clean the back of it and the nooks and crannies behind it. Though nothing can beat a full strip down a re-build. It's nice to do it every couple or three years. "
A workstand is great for this - and you can opt to take the wheels out for a proper 'pro' clean.
You'll need: (1) a bucket full of (2) hot water containing (3) the recommended dose of a good quality car shampoo (washing-up liquid has salt in it which is abrasive and will rot your bike)
4) one of those plastic soft bristled car wash brushes
5) a low pressure hose pipe.
6) a clutch of cotton rags
7) a microfibre cloth
Lean your bike up (on its RH side) so it's stable. Soak it with the hose - gently, and stay away from the bearings. You are aiming to remove any big lumps of crap and to soften any which remains for the next phase. You're not going to get it all off with the hose so don't bother trying. And don't be tempted to spray it with a jet of water. It's surprisingly easy to get water past a perfectly good bearing seal with a spray. Do that to the non-drive side of your rear hub and it'll be new wheel time.
If it's really manky leave it to soak for a bit.
Now, load the brush with copious amounts of hot soapy water and starting at the top, wash the bike down, LH side first then turn it around and do the RH side. Pay particular attention to the wheels, turning them as you go so that you get every surface.
If you have been following the ... ahem .. 'Mickle method' of chain maintenance you can completely ignore the chain, because it will be perfectly capable of surviving a splash of water. Rinse the bike with the hose going back over it with the soapy brush if you find areas you've missed. Then dry the whole bike off with the cotton rags and when that's done wipe the chain down to remove excess H2O and then lube it in the normal way.
The last thing to do is give your brightwork a going over with the microfibre.
Even the most vociferous advocate of the aforementioned 'Mickle method' will occasionally need to remove the chainset to get in and clean the back of it and the nooks and crannies behind it. Though nothing can beat a full strip down a re-build. It's nice to do it every couple or three years. "
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
A wet day in Ireland no Shurely shome mishtake
We don't get much rain. It only rains for fifteen minutes every quarter of an hour.A wet day in Ireland no Shurely shome mishtake
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
One of my best moments in life was in Ireland when a shower followed by bright sunshine (Ring of Kerry) caused the road to steam to a height/depth of 18 inches it was like riding through a rock video
kept expecting Bonio to prance out from behind a hill (whatever happened to the great band they were)
Supersuperleeds
Legendary Member
- Location
- Leicester
One of my best moments in life was in Ireland when a shower followed by bright sunshine (Ring of Kerry) caused the road to steam to a height/depth of 18 inches it was like riding through a rock video
hopless500
Trundling along
- Location
- not-as-flat-as-you-think Norfolk
