Bike cleaning fanatics

[Roy Green]

I wonder if there are any Agreeables out there quite as manic about bike cleaning, especially chain drive, as my son Andrew? He gave me a right ear-bashing about my steed as we were preparing for the Redmon 2-up. Unless the chain can be gripped and leave hardly a mark, it doesn't meet his high standards! (his Mum cynically remarked that he doesn't apply the same standards to his flat kitchen or loo!).
So what's the form on bike cleaning? After every ride, every year or never? Any key tips on bike cleaning? Or is over-cleanliness the domain of bike-wimps?

[Stu Merckx Man]

i give my frame and forks a quick rub down after most rides to get rid of the grit and dust, nothing major...

if it has been raining ill usually do that, and oil the chain...

when all my chain, mechs, cranks and cassetes start to look a bit black i take it all apart and scrub them with kicthen towls and water, then dry them pretty sharpish, and then go over them with dw40 to get them all nice and shiney. this is every few weeks...a bit more frequent if the weathers bad.

with regards to wheels, i usualy take them off every couple of weeks and wash them down to get rid of all the break dust and grit from the roads that accumaltes...while im there i wash the tyres so they dont dirty the wheels..

with the pedals i usualy get a chop-stick or screw driver (usualy a philips), and prize out any dried mud and grit....(usualy every few weeks)..

cheers

stu

[Ian A4size]

'pends which bike i am riding, the ti one stays pretty much good looking even when dirty -one of the reasons i bought it , no paintwork to chip, just a quick wipe down and a bit o' silver polish, always wipe the chain off tho', the de rosa on the other hand has never got wet , so just a dust off and back on the velvet cushion . Prob once a month a good all over clean - gives you a chance to check everything over.

[Will]

my view is that there are two extremes, and not much in between

either you clean your bike fairly regularly, or very very infrequently

i clean my mountain bike after most rides, especially in winter. that usually involves taking the chain off (using a power-link) and giving it a wash, and then cleaning the rest of the drivetrain, and then any other bits that are dirty.

however, i clean my road bike (which i mostly use for commuting) about two or three times a year.

in fact, i cleaned my road bike this morning, and it took a few hours, and involved taking various components off, and using white spirit and a toothbrush to get rid of the caked-on sludge...

i guess if i did more road cycling i would probably take more care of my road bike. but i also think that the grime on my chain actually protects it from the elements during the depths of winter...

[Jon H]

Race bike normally gets a quick once over after each race, and a decent clean if it's been wet.

Commuting bike normally gets cleaned after each puncture, when I realise how filthy it is from the state of my hands.

[Elliot M]

you can do what i do and have an all black bike to hide the dirt!

[Snoop Doug]

or you can do what I do and never clean it (pause for comments about yeah but you only go out twice a year)......actually I did wipe some dirt off the spokes a few weeks back.

Cheers - Snoop

[Will]

my (possible) new commuting bike will be all black

am going for a condor pista

[huw williams]

Give it to Pete Munden filthy - he's such a perfectionist he can't allow himself to work on a dirty bike.

You have to put with him berating you about the condition of your bike but it always comes back spotless as well as mechanically perfect

[kieran]

emmm.. i can't remember the last time I properly cleaned any of my bikes. I also use that dry lube white lightening and it does seem to keep the chain from get gunked up although you need to use it frequently so I haven't even cleaned the chains in ages! bad, bad, bad.