Mountain Biking - Cleaning my bike

Hi everyone,

New to the mountain biking world and want to make sure I keep my bike in good shape. I own an 04 Gary Fisher Marlin thats all stock and gets ridden on single track at least once a week if not more; probably about 10 - 15 miles a week (slowly increasing as I get in better shape).

So what are the "standard" practices after coming in off the trails for bike maintenance? How about cleaning/washing the bike?

Thanks!

As I posted earlier this evening, I wash mine off (w/ a regular garden hose) about every 4th ride....

Don't worry about keeping it "like new" clean. You may actually be damaging the bearings & pivots....

I let the mud dry then brush it off with a soft bristle brush. I rarely use more than a damp cloth and maybe a mild degreaser sprayed into the cloth

Thanks everyone!

I generally just clean my chain with a chain scrubber every couple of rides and brush off the rest of my bike to get the majority of the dirt off. I do wash my bike with a low pressure hose and soap before races though. I also use simple green on my drivetrain. Some reason I just feel better going into a race with a clean bike. :)

Is this white lightning chain lube any good? A guy @ the bike shop said he swears by it, and I've never really had a bike that I bothered taking good care of.

How often should someone degrease their chain?

I'm riding mostly flat trails during the week (I live in the part of Wisconsin that the glaciers flattened) and during the weekends I try to hit a decent mountain trail. How much maintenance do I need? My main trail is a flat gravel/dirt type trail.