Mountain Biking - Do you clean your bike after each ride?

I just finished cleaning my bike. I detailed every little bit with detail brushes and cleaned it up as much as I could. I put on some crankskins that I bought on eBay. I also covered up all the nicks and scratches with the clear skin patches.

I was curious to see who does it and to what frequency. I have a buddy of mine that absolutely refuses to clean his bike. I'm the opposite, I like to clean it before I but it back on my truck.

drivetrain about every other ride....

...the rest maybe 2-3 times a year or when bearings/pads need replacement, etc..

I might hose it down after a muddy ride though.

No, but when it gets all muddy, then yes, coz then you won't have traction...

When i clean my bike, i usually use jet spray for the wheels to get the mud out... :D although i know it's bad... :(

Then the rest i just hose it down...

I usually run water over the drivetrain while spinning it.

After all that, i dry the rims, spokes, frame, and shock.

Then i just wait for the water to evaporate off the drivechain, then oil it.

I'm not sure if that's the right way or not...

I brush the dirt off (rarely use water), clean the polished surfaces/seal-lips on fork and shock, and run the chain through a terry-cloth rag. After brushing, might go over rims/frame with a damp rag. I lube chain after every third or forth ride and after it gets wet, never clean it except for the rag thing.

Al

No, but when it gets all muddy, then yes, coz then you won't have traction...

...

What the heck are you talking about? Washing your bike will give you traction?

I used to clean my bike as often as possible. That was when it was new. Now I let it dry and and just flake off what ever mud there is on it. Actually after drying just a dramp rag can get the bike pretty clean. The chain how ever I clean more often.

What the heck are you talking about? Washing your bike will give you traction?

Traction within the eyes of the lord. The baby Jesus don't like dirty bikes.

I put on some crankskins that I bought on eBay.

God forbid you wear the logo off your crank arms. Does this qualify as Fred?:D

Because this looks terrible:
http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-81318493505679_2024_41501233



Ahhhhh...much better:
http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-81318493505679_2024_42761079

WAY Fred. God forbid anyone can see that you actually ride your bike and wear the logos off.

I've had cranks where I used them for so long that the sides of my shoes actually wore a slight groove into the faces of the crankarms.

I dunno if my stance is wider, but my current Hone crankset is still Logo'd like new.

What the heck are you talking about? Washing your bike will give you traction?

I'm sorry i didn't state it clearly.

I meant the tyres.

When they are muddy, they don't provide much traction (right?).


The baby Jesus don't like dirty bikes.

:lol:

:)

Clean your bike? I thought you were supposed to trade them in on new ones, when they get dirty?

dirty bikes look more badass

I lube my chain every other ride, give my bike a complete overhaul like once a year (basically break it down to a frame and rebuild), other than that i just leave it unless its just mud covered in which case i brush it off with my hand when it dries, unless i get caught in the rain, then i dry steel parts to prevent rust

oh also i have a roof rack and 70mph wind dries it off and cleans anything thats loose

my road bike on the other hand, that gets cleaned if its at all dirty (but its mostly white and a road bike so...)

Clean your bike? I thought you were supposed to trade them in on new ones, when they get dirty?That's why I got rid of my Gran Mal after last season. Darned thing was scratched and the dark blue showed the dirt. Reason enough right there to get a white Blindside :D.

That's why I got rid of my Gran Mal after last season. Darned thing was scratched and the dark blue showed the dirt. Reason enough right there to get a white Blindside :D.

Exactly, It's like trading in your car when the tires get bald, right?

I wipe down both mine and my girlfriends bike after each ride.

God forbid you wear the logo off your crank arms. Does this qualify as Fred?:D

Because this looks terrible:
http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-81318493505679_2024_41501233



Ahhhhh...much better:
http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-81318493505679_2024_42761079

hahaha, thank god the ones I got were clear.

Is this the road forum? :D

I'm sorry i didn't state it clearly.

I meant the tyres.

When they are muddy, they don't provide much traction.......

:)

And the second you hit the trail on those clean tires will they not be dirty again?

Traction within the eyes of the lord. The baby Jesus don't like dirty bikes.

Baby Jesus must be mad at me!

I just clean the chain when I hear grinding or squeaking... I clean my fork stanctions after every ride, the rest I don't clean at all..

Just to clarify, I don't clean the bike often other than flicking off mud. Every once in a while I find myself looking at the bike and decide to clean it with a wet rag and/or hose.

I do clean/lube my chain and the stanchions before every ride.

Ahhhhh...much better:
http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-81318493505679_2024_42761079

WHY did you put Pepto Bismal on your cranks????

And the second you hit the trail on those clean tires will they not be dirty again?


if i have mud caked on my tires like caked on bad, well i have to take my front wheel off to get it on my car and maybe i don't want all that mud in my trunk, so i just toss my wheel up and bounce it on the ground to nock that crap off lol

clean and lube the chain on my commuter when it sounds like a sherman tank. the rest I leave to the rain.

my road bike I do a little better

Drivetrain - I'm a bug on it. Nothing says a smoother ride than a clean chain. If I'm in mud, etc or some deep water (fairly recently), then I do a "spit shine" - with a deep clean at least a few times a Summer (hehe - line the bikes up and clean on a nice Summer/Fall day) Winter - I have to be on it and when I bring the dripping bike home with ice and mud plopping off it - I have to at least wipe it down.

And the second you hit the trail on those clean tires will they not be dirty again?

it's just like asking, "Why do you take a bath? You'll get dirty again anyway."

it's just like asking, "Why do you take a bath? You'll get dirty again anyway."

Duh! He's from North Carolina.

What's that supposed to mean? ;)

Duh! He's from North Carolina.

Oh snap! That's freaking great!!!!!!!!!!! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

I don't even clean myself after every ride, let alone the bike.

I just finished cleaning my bike. I detailed every little bit with detail brushes and cleaned it up as much as I could. I put on some crankskins that I bought on eBay. I also covered up all the nicks and scratches with the clear skin patches.



Going through life with OCD must be very stressful I think.

Apathy > OCD

I clean my bike alot compared to you guys, about once a month. I don't care about the bike being dirty, but cleaning it allows me to find worn, loose, cracked items to try and avoid on the trail brake-downs. Few things can ruin a ride worse then a broken bike, specially if it is caused by an easy fix in the garage vs hiking out.

Clean your bike? I thought you were supposed to trade them in on new ones, when they get dirty?

That's what I keep telling the wife...

Since she hasn't come around to my way of thinking, I knock the really bad crud off the frame. I do make sure that rotors and calipers are clean and clear of debris. Chain, cassette, and chainrings get the brush, a liberal application of chain lube (I mean dripping off), and then I run the chain through a clean rag and wipe excess of cassette and chainrings. Doesn't make sense to really clean your bike this time of year in WA. Since it's going to be raining up here to next August it's just going to get muddy as heck next time I ride.

Mike

^^ Yeah, and what was the big idea of sending us all of your surplus 'liquid sunshine' this weekend? :notamused:

^^ Yeah, and what was the big idea of sending us all of your surplus 'liquid sunshine' this weekend? :notamused:

We do what we can to help the east side. I took my dog out on the Saturday ride. He got back to the truck covered from head to tail with mud. Picture the old movies with the actors in "black face" and you'll know exactly what my Vizsla looked like.

Mike

I clean and oil my drivetrain after every ride and wipe down stanchions. I try to wipe mud off while its still wet, otherwise it gets too dry and needs the hose :(

I am not seeing that pic, am I the only one?

You dredged up a year-old thread to plug CrankSkins to us? No biscuit for you.