Winter Cycling - post-ride cleanup

At college there isn't really a garage or any other facility where I can do a real cleaning with soapy water in a bucket. Thus I'm thinking of keeping insulated bottles of hot water in my bag and, after a ride in snow or slush, emptying them on the drivetrain and brakes and rims, then shaking the water/slush off and taking the bike inside where I can wipe/lube it. However, I'd like some input on these issues:

1. Is it possible to keep hot water hot for ~4 or so hours, of that maybe 1 hour in the cold?
2. Would such a cursory rinse actually remove any road salt from the drivetrain?
3. Would the application of hot/warm water to a frozen derailleur/chain/cassette/crankset/hub cause any damage (bike is aluminum, derailleur is Sora)?
4. anything else?

At college there isn't really a garage or any other facility where I can do a real cleaning with soapy water in a bucket. Thus I'm thinking of keeping insulated bottles of hot water in my bag and, after a ride in snow or slush, emptying them on the drivetrain and brakes and rims, then shaking the water/slush off and taking the bike inside where I can wipe/lube it. However, I'd like some input on these issues:

1. Is it possible to keep hot water hot for ~4 or so hours, of that maybe 1 hour in the cold?
2. Would such a cursory rinse actually remove any road salt from the drivetrain?
3. Would the application of hot/warm water to a frozen derailleur/chain/cassette/crankset/hub cause any damage (bike is aluminum, derailleur is Sora)?
4. anything else?


no
no
no
is there a coin-operated car wash?

just get a small broom, and brush the snow off the bike with that.
wipe down bike with car wax on a cloth..

Get one of these to keep in your dorm and then spray it off outside or in the shower if it's big enough. The 2 Gal one that i have has done 3 washings so far and still has 1/3 tank left. Plenty of pressure to get sand and crap off. Should be able to get one at the hardware store, home depot, lowes etc in the 20-30 range

+1 for the bathtub

Hell, you're in college, road scum & crud from your bike is probably some of the least disgusting stuff that's gone down that drain.

As long as the bike is not extremely greasy I see no reason why you could not bring it inside and put it into the shower stall. You could buy one of those flexible hose shower message heads and use it to hose off the bike. If the bike is really bad you could just fill a bucket of hot water from the shower and take it outside and pour over it. This would be the cheapest method. The garden sprayer is also a good idea.

I never rinse my winter bike or next cold spell the freewheel is in neutral forward and back.

Thanks for the replies; i'm probably going to go with the sprayer idea.


I never rinse my winter bike or next cold spell the freewheel is in neutral forward and back.

does a bike take that long to dry?