Post spin cleaning

Top Dog

So with the dry weather a distant memory, and trails only likely to get muddier and muddier over the coming months, can anyone give some tips on how to clean a bike properly when its caked in muck? Wondering what products people recommend and what tools? Any tips on how to look after the front shock tubes? Is a power-washer a big no-no? How often do you clean-down & re-lube the chain? Any other areas that need lube?

So far I've picked up a BikeHut brush set



Muc-Off sponge



Muc-Off chain cleaner



Muc-Off wet chain lube

Wanderer78

I wouldn't recommend a power washer, as pleasurable as they are to use, I just wouldn't. I hose the bike down first, to get the heavy **** off, then it's to work with a brush and soupy water. I strip the bike down, off with the wheels, degrease group set, let it soak for a while, and if I'm bothered, I pull apart the cassette, and scrub that to, while disassembling it. I give the wheels a good scrub to with a brush and soupy water. I generally rinse everything off with the hose afterwards, and then use spray on bike cleaner to get it somewhat shiny. I generally scrub the chain with a rag, as it gets caked in ****e, then finish it off using a chain cleaner. Reassemble the bike, oiling it up, job done.

Lemming

Wanderer78 wrote: »

I wouldn't recommend a power washer, as pleasurable as they are to use, I just wouldn't. I hose the bike down first, to get the heavy **** off, then it's to work with a brush and soupy water. I strip the bike down, off with the wheels, degrease group set, let it soak for a while, and if I'm bothered, I pull apart the cassette, and scrub that to, while disassembling it. I give the wheels a good scrub to with a brush and soupy water. I generally rinse everything off with the hose afterwards, and then use spray on bike cleaner to get it somewhat shiny. I generally scrub the chain with a rag, as it gets caked in ****e, then finish it off using a chain cleaner. Reassemble the bike, oiling it up, job done.

You can use a power-washer; just back off the pressure near bearing parts & suspension seals. Or use a power-washer with variable settings so you can use a lower pressure. Generally speaking, I'll do an initial rinse down of a bike with a power-washer (I use a karcher OC3 which is intended for bikes & pets so is much lower pressure and more of a spray than a jet blast), soap it all up & scrub it all down, then repeat rinse. Then get to work on the fine detail bits; shock stanchions & dropper post, drive-train, brakes (if needed), etc.

steamsey

Defo keep the power washer away from anything with seals (stanchions) and bearings. I don't use one but with they can be used if you're know what you're doing.

I normally blast it with a hose to get the bulk of the dirt off. Then scrub it with a soft brush and fairy liquid. Rinse, wash until clean. Have to take wheels off to get it properly clean. Use a smaller, pointy brush to get in and clean hubs.

I probably degrease and lube once a month or so, totally depends on how much I've been on it and conditions. For example, I degreased and lubed drivetrain before the Carrick Enduro, and two days later, was degreasing and lubing it all over again - it was in a jock.

Those chain cleaners are good but to my mind, the only way to get the drivetrain really clean is to take the cassette and chain off and scrub them in a sink or something similar with degreaser. Don't forget to clean and lube the jockey wheels too. Then wash all the degreaser well off with fairy liquid.

Baby wipes are handy to get in at any bits you missed when washing the bike.

Also is a good idea to get used to inspecting your bike when washing it. Check bearings for play, ensure calipers are tight, check for loose spokes - so you always have a list in your head of what needs work / what will need work soon.

Front shock tubes are called stanchions. You don't want to scrap them as bad scrapes can damage the seals they ride up and down on. I normally just clean them with the soft brush. Clean around the seals too at bottom of stanchion. (Years ago, I used to hear of people putting a drop of chain lube on the stanchions but always sounded a bit mad to me and never did it myself - if your forks need lube, time to get them serviced I think).

I lube springs inside my clipless pedals. You should carefully lube the spring inside rear mech (and front if you have one). If you're going down the route of servicing the bike, then bearings and some bolts will need lube - but that's a whole different area. For the purposes of cleaning - I'd say pedals and mech springs.

So when I lube chain, I use chain lube - Finish Line. When I lube anything else, I use either dedicated grease (headset bolt, bottom bracket, bearings etc) or this cool TF2 Teflon spray - hopefully in an attachment. I use that spray for pedal and mech springs.

In terms of brands etc - yeah Muc Off is obviously good but I use fairy liquid for cleaning, whatever bio degreaser is cheap on CRC and Finish Line wet lube.

I think the only thing you're missing is a nice soft brush like in attachment

Wanderer78

Lemming wrote: »

You can use a power-washer; just back off the pressure near bearing parts & suspension seals. Or use a power-washer with variable settings so you can use a lower pressure. Generally speaking, I'll do an initial rinse down of a bike with a power-washer (I use a karcher OC3 which is intended for bikes & pets so is much lower pressure and more of a spray than a jet blast), soap it all up & scrub it all down, then repeat rinse. Then get to work on the fine detail bits; shock stanchions & dropper post, drive-train, brakes (if needed), etc.

what do you do with these, ive done some irreversible damage to my dropper, so i better figure out what to do properly?

steamsey

Stanchions - clean with soapy water and a soft clean brush (no scratching)

Dropper - same

Drive train - degreaser, wash with soapy water, re lube chain

Brakes - BASIC CLEAN - clean rotors and calipers with soapy water. Can use a rotor cleaner (basically isopropyl alcohol spray) but not 100% needed usually. ADVANCED CLEAN - Every now and then take pads out, clean inside of caliper body with ear bud dipped in degreaser or even WD40. Make sure pistons coming out evenly (careful not to push them out too far or you'll have to bleed brakes as air can get into system) and can lube sides of pistons with ear bud and TF2 to get them humming. Clean caked mud off pads with flat head screwdriver, replace them. DO NOT CONTAMINATE PADS. Beyond this is brake maintenance which everyone should learn how to do (except if you have Avid Juicy brakes - nightmare to work on!)

Lemming

Wanderer78 wrote: »

what do you do with these, ive done some irreversible damage to my dropper, so i better figure out what to do properly?

steamsey wrote: »

Stanchions - clean with soapy water and a soft clean brush (no scratching)

Dropper - same

Similar to steamsey; only difference being that after a general wash to clean off any dirt, I use that Muc-off silicon spray on stanchions & dropper post, and then buff it in with a clean, soft cloth checking for scratches as I go. The idea of the silicon is that you're buffing in a light film that reduces friction. It does smell nice though whatever else

Drive train - degreaser, wash with soapy water, re lube chain

Brakes - BASIC CLEAN - clean rotors and calipers with soapy water. Can use a rotor cleaner (basically isopropyl alcohol spray) but not 100% needed usually. ADVANCED CLEAN - Every now and then take pads out, clean inside of caliper body with ear bud dipped in degreaser or even WD40. Make sure pistons coming out evenly (careful not to push them out too far or you'll have to bleed brakes as air can get into system) and can lube sides of pistons with ear bud and TF2 to get them humming. Clean caked mud off pads with flat head screwdriver, replace them. DO NOT CONTAMINATE PADS. Beyond this is brake maintenance which everyone should learn how to do (except if you have Avid Juicy brakes - nightmare to work on!)

I occasionally will use a dedicated rotor cleaner, or perhaps more likely if the bike's been in absolute slop. Every now and again I'll clean the pistons and lube them. Useful tip for pistons if you find they're caked in crap or you've neglected them for ages; dental floss and a paper clip to 'thread' it around the piston with some alcohol-based cleaner. Then once cleaned up, apply lube. Piston lubing is something that you might need to do measured in multiple months as a time-frame though so it'd be down the list of priority unless you've got a particular reason for thinking it needs doing. I forget which lube I use, but it's DOT-based. Will post the name when I get home.

+1 on avoiding pad contamination whatever you end up doing to clean brakes.

steamsey

Should also mention that WD40 is great for taking serious gunk off chains etc. Degreaser should do the job most of the time but if things are really in a jock, I'll take cassette and chain off and bathe them in WD40 - but you then obviously have to make sure you wash it all off - probably with degreaser. Messy but effective.

Standard kit of cleaners / lubes:

- WD40 (NOT A LUBE! - good de-gunker but messy to work with)
- TF2 (light lubing, not for chain, good for springs etc and side of caliper
pistons)
- Chain lube (can't go wrong with Finish Line, Muc Off lube seems fine too)
- Rotor cleaner / isopropyl alcohol
- Degreaser (been using Weldtite Citrus for years now and it's fine)
- Grease (headset, bottom bracket, bearings, thru axles etc) - I like Rock N
Roll grease

Also I'll just leave this here - https://www.amazon.com/Zinn-Art-Mountain-Bike-Maintenance/dp/1937715477/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1537450369&sr=1-1&keywords=zinn+and+the+art+of+mountain+bike+maintenance

I have the older edition and it's useful to have, especially when you are starting out. This, alongside YouTube, and you should be able and confident to tackle a lot of bike maintenance.

We should probably start a dedicated maintenance thread

muckwarrior

Some people here clearly have a lot more time and/or patience than me.

I just hose all the muck off the bike either with a garden hose or a portable power washer (battery powered, not very high pressure) and then lube the chain when it's dry. Technically I could probably eek more life out of the drive train by using degreasers and brushes and all the rest, but tbh I'd rather save all the cumulative hours of cleaning and just replace components slightly more regularly.

prunudo

muckwarrior wrote: »

Some people here clearly have a lot more time and/or patience than me.

I just hose all the muck off the bike either with a garden hose or a portable power washer (battery powered, not very high pressure) and then lube the chain when it's dry. Technically I could probably eek more life out of the drive train by using degreasers and brushes and all the rest, but tbh I'd rather save all the cumulative hours of cleaning and just replace components slightly more regularly.

Reading the above posts I'm surprised my bike hasn't decided to report me for neglect. I need to show it more love and attention.
Usual routine is wash down with garden hose post spin followed by lubing of drive train and spray lube on shifters and cables once its dry. Every so often ill spray the chain with degreaser and wipe clean.
Better up my game.

Ps. Whats the best way to clean your helmet, it's got a bit smelly!

Wanderer78

jvan wrote: »

Reading the above posts I'm surprised my bike hasn't decided to report me for neglect. I need to show it more love and attention.
Usual routine is wash down with garden hose post spin followed by lubing of drive train and spray lube on shifters and cables once its dry. Every so often ill spray the chain with degreaser and wipe clean.
Better up my game.

Ps. Whats the best way to clean your helmet, it's got a bit smelly!

i think you maybe in the wrong forum, maybe check in with the folks in the sexual health forum for advice, best of luck!:D

prunudo

Wanderer78 wrote: »

i think you maybe in the wrong forum, maybe check in with the folks in the sexual health forum for advice, best of luck!:D

:pac:

saccades

Wash? Why?

Icyseanfitz

jeezus ye do a lot of work spray the bike down fully the minute i get home with a normal hose. When dry i'll clean the drive train with a rag or tooth-brush lube up the chain and wipe and dirt off anything else with a rag. I could get home at 11pm after a ride so its always a quick job

Cee-Jay-Cee

Hose the bike down.
Douse it in ‘no more dirty bike’ cleaner from Dealz.
Let it soak for 5 minutes.
Take a brush to any thick caked on mud.
Rinse off with the hose.
Dry it with cloth.
Lube the chain and dreailleurs.

Tenzor07

I like the fact the hose is there at Ticknock and Ballinastoe, great for getting all the heavy stuff off.

for cleaning products, I have tried them all, and I use https://tec7.ie/product/tec7-bike7-change-way-treat-bike/

I found there products to be less acidic, easier on the paint, effective and if you value your bike it's well worth it..

Top Dog

Tenzor07 wrote: »

I like the fact the hose is there at Ticknock and Ballinastoe, great for getting all the heavy stuff off.

for cleaning products, I have tried them all, and I use https://tec7.ie/product/tec7-bike7-change-way-treat-bike/

I found there products to be less acidic, easier on the paint, effective and if you value your bike it's well worth it..

Looks fairly simple with no disassembly needed. Where do you get the kit?

JJJJNR

I've one of those portable weed killer pressure sprayers that I bring on the wet muddy days, I also have an old dust pan brush that I use to agitate the dirt, so I just give it a quick going over at the car after the spin, lube the chain and done.