Road Cycling - Cleaning Salt Off A Frame

I tried to search this to see anything, but i might be bad at searching for things.

I live where we put A LOT of salt on the roads when it snows. After rides i've had to spend about 10 mins taking off my wheels and wiping down my bike. I can get most of the salt off with a wet rag, but after it dries a couple hours later, I can still see some salt on it.

I think i'm just pushing around the salt to some extent, is there a solution that would be good to help clean the salt off and not damage any parts on my bike?

I take the hose in from the garage, hook it up outside and give my bike a quick bath. Then I wipe it off thoroughly with a towel. That always works. No matter how cold it is I can run the water briefly and then bring the hose back in. That always works.

I'd recommend a moist washcloth as bearings even sealed don't really like a torential downpour and once there's water in the grease you can wait a couple hundred miles to find out or rebuild it to be safe.

A quick hose and wipe down should do the trick; it might be time to build up a beater ;)

If I'm gonna ride a bike in the slop, I'm not going to be shy about hosing it down with WD-40. After all, if de-icing chemicals are on the road a hose usually isn't a terribly practical option.

When we take bikes out on the Bonneville Salt Flats, we spray them down with PAM cooking spray. It does a decent job of keeping the salt from sticking. Nothing saves the chain or sprockets, though so we only bring thrift-store bikes and police auction bikes out there.

Everyone is saying hose it off. I don't live where its cold, but I can imagine the last thing you want to do after a long hard ride, covered in sweat is to stand in the cold blasting your bike with a hose. That said, I don't have a hose, and often the sea spray on the Island leaves a film of salt, sand, and grime after a short ride. No problem, I just throw that bad girl in the shower. Run it before I get in.....

I'm already wiping it off with a 'moist rag' like i said in the OP. A hose is kind of out of the question. The highs last week were between 15-25. It's warmer this week, but still cold enough for a hose to freeze (requiring hook up, disconnect, and draining everytime).

Oh, and i'm not riding through sludge, just dry salt on the roads. It's not as extreme as the salt flats, but kinda the same. (that is where we get our salt) I never thought of using PAM, maybe i'll try it if it keeps being this bad.

What I was really thinking is will simple green or anything react adversely with salt? Or does anyone know any cleaning agent that'll clean salt better than other cleaning solutions?

self-service car wash

No way a wipe down is going to be as effective as a hosing. I'd also be concerned about a build-up of PAM and WD40. After a few applications it would seem to me solvents would be needed to get that stuff off.

A beater really is the best way to go.

get a trainer?