how do you clean your bikes?

If the bike gets dirty, I hose all the dirt off with a light spray, though I hose the jockey wheels, cassette, chain rings, and chain pretty good spray. During the winter, when I get it muddy all the time, I'll rarely have to do any drivetrain cleaning; just wipe down after hosing and oil it up. During the summer, I don't hose at all and just clean the drivetrain when needed.

Tire/shock/fork pressures are checked before every ride. Brakes are checked, as is the shifting. I also check to make sure the bolts are done up, and the wheels aren't way out of true.

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:

So funny!

When my bike gets all muddy, i usualy let it dry in my house. Fall off the bike as it wishes. If it hasnt fallen all over the floor by the time of the next ride i just replace it with some new clean fresh mud. Repeat the process and u always have clean fresh mud on your bicycle.

Air compressor.

with water

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 ;)

Glad to see I am not alone here. Buy the Armor All wipes (in the plastic can). Dirt and residual just sticks to them like s^*[HTML_REMOVED]T to a blanket!

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'd suggest drilling a small hole in the bottom of the bb shell so it can drain. I do it to all my bikes. Nothing huge maybe 3mm or so. Does no damage at all to the frame. Road bikes used to come with milled out bb shells. My Marinoni had an "M" cut out. There are holes for the cable guide for most road bikes and any mtb with bb cable routing.

I use a car washing brush from Canuck Tire on the end of my hose. Low pressure wash, tip the bike to one side when doing the freewheel. I keep mine indoors too so washing is needed this time of year.

im a firm beleiver in not cleaning my bike.

hahahaha where do you ride in langley?

I ride every sunday year round in every kind of weather.The rainy season is very hard on parts.I hose the mud off of my bike using degreaser on the chain. If it was very wet i drop my fork down a half inch to drain any water on the bottom race of my head set. Then i dry my bike with compressed air.I always turn my bike upside down to drain the water it shure saves the bottom brackets. I did not drill a hole in my frame because of warrenty issues.While my bike is upside down i lube my chain.In the rainy season i repack my rear hub every 3 rides. I also swap my brake pads from front to back every few rides it seems to make them last longer

Wipes are a great idea! It would save me from raping my sock drawer for holey socks to use ;)

The armour all mode rocks. If you're a lazy ass, and want your bike to be clean and happy, this is a must do!

Glad to see I am not alone here. Buy the Armor All wipes (in the plastic can). Dirt and residual just sticks to them like s^*[HTML_REMOVED]T to a blanket!

hahahaha where do you ride in langley?

From Vedder to Cypress and all points in between

I dont mind the odd rip in stokes pit actually for a quick spin.

after a muddy ride i spray it with a hose,and other then that it stays dirty,i dont like the looks of shiny bikes …and i maintnence my biek when ever it needs it,i check my bike before and after a ride to see if it needs fixen.

A tip from Eddie, formerly of Steed Cycles: Use WD40 on the chain after washing your bike. I didn't know this but apparrently it stands for "Water Displacement" with the '40' representing the 40th batch they made to get it right.

Anyways, do that right away, then clean it off and oil your chain.

I'd suggest drilling a small hole in the bottom of the bb shell so it can drain. I do it to all my bikes. Nothing huge maybe 3mm or so. Does no damage at all to the frame.

I drilled a hole on a previous bike. The mechanic greased the outside of the BB before insterting it into the shell, and the grease plugged the hole.

I wish they would just make seat tubes without a hole at the bottom.