how do you clean your bikes?

just wondering how all of you clean your bikes? and what regular maintenece do you do? and how often?

im a firm beleiver in not cleaning my bike.

After a wet ride I just let it dry and wipe it clean the next day.
I ride an average of 3 times a week rain or shine and so I change my shifter cable and housing every month as well as degrease and clean the cassette, chain and chain ring every 2 months or as needed. Check tire and rear shock air pressure every week. And go over most bolts every 2 weeks.
Keeping up with this routine I have almost no issue when riding.

Clean it THROUGHLY once a week general maintinence once a month, complete overall (dependant upon what you ride etc) every six months to a year

Brush. used to be a fan of washing, but just brushing off the junk is good cause it keeps my place a lot cleaner! hose can be OK if you're careful i think too…

every metal on metal interface on the bike needs oil or grease. especially on the shore where things tend to seize over the winter … the more you keep up on things the better you'll be down the road.

i tend to be bad and just check shock and tire air pressure, make sure no headset/hub/suspension play and then throw some chain lube on…

i expect my bike to clean itself…

I live in apt. that has a white carpet so rinsing the mud off after a winter ride is a must-do for me. I don't think it's the best thing for the bike. Waiting and brushing off would be preferred.

Lately I've noticed that even days after a ride, the inside of the bb on my Heckler is still wet. My solution for that has been to take my seat [HTML_REMOVED] seatpost off before storing my bike upside down.

I live in apt. that has a white carpet so rinsing the mud off after a winter ride is a must-do for me. I don't think it's the best thing for the bike. Waiting and brushing off would be preferred.

Lately I've noticed that even days after a ride, the inside of the bb on my Heckler is still wet. My solution for that has been to take my seat [HTML_REMOVED] seatpost off before storing my bike upside down.

i have the same problem with my stinky dee

I live in an apartment also, so I clean my bike as soon as I get home on the back yard. I almost never hose it off. If it's brutally dirty I hose lightly to get the bulk of the mess off and I hose the tires clean.

I use a rag and wipe everything. For the parts my fingers can't reach I use the "shoe-shine" method, where I feed the rag through and pull it back and forth. As the large bunches move through the area, they do a great job cleaning off the dirt. My bike is almost always spotless.

I lube my chain w/ White Lightning before I head out for rides, so the bike sits clean and dry in the apartment, and then gets lubed for the actual ride.

Maintenance on parts as needed.

-m

Every couple of rides, I drop the chain off w/ a power link and shake it up in a jar of water-based degreaser. Then I rinse it under hot water, dry it by letting it sit over night or w/ a blow dryer then relube. I hate a bad shifting drive train!

While the chain is off I run a rag between each of the cassette gears letting the freewheel spin the cassette back between sweeps. For the front rings, I hold a flat blade screw driver against the teeth and slowly turn the cranks to get the grime off.

Every couple weeks I'll wash the whole bike with a little soap and water and rinse with a hose but never directly into bearings. Washing the bike every once in a while helps you see loose bolts and broken stuff on your rig.

Ever see those guys at Whistler that hit every square inch of their bike with the high pressure hose; including the hubs, stantion seals, and shocks? That makes me wonder every time.:???:

I usually rinse my ride with a garden hose with no nozzle paying attention not to directly soak the sensitive areas and then wipe er down with an old beach towell. Every other ride I will take stuff apart and get in there with an old toothbrush and damp rag, dry it off and lube it up all nice. Then I usually stand there and stare at it until my wife rolls her eyes at me and gently reminds me of the other needed maintenance around the house.:rolleyes:

I armour all my bike so that nothing sticks to it, not even stickers anymore. Thus, when I apply the hose after a ride, it all falls right off. Just do a good cleaning on the bike first, then take a towel, and spray the armour all right on the towel. Wipe the whole bike down with it, making sure you avoid the rotors and brake pads. IF it is muddy before you ride, give the drive train a quick spritz with the armour all. Avoid pedals and brake stuff once again. Repeat a few times and eventually, your bike just auto cleans itself through each puddle, and will rinse clean after every ride ;)

I armour all my bike so that nothing sticks to it, not even stickers anymore. Thus, when I apply the hose after a ride, it all falls right off. Just do a good cleaning on the bike first, then take a towel, and spray the armour all right on the towel. Wipe the whole bike down with it, making sure you avoid the rotors and brake pads. IF it is muddy before you ride, give the drive train a quick spritz with the armour all. Avoid pedals and brake stuff once again. Repeat a few times and eventually, your bike just auto cleans itself through each puddle, and will rinse clean after every ride ;)

trippy!

i take a hose and spray it down good but thats when i remember or i just don't do it becasue i'm feeling lazy