teachme

AND... what is the best way to clean sprockets and derailers etc... You know; all the greasy stuff?

OldsCOOL

Once per season I'll cover up paint/decals and spray the drivetrain down with brake cleaner. Then I lube the chain with Marvel's Mystery Oil.

There are undoubtedly more expensive and chic ways to do the same but none will do it better.

teachme

How do you cover the paint and decals? I like the idea... I don't want to do any disassemblying or anything like that.

Phil85207

Mineral Sprits and a old small paint brush. For the chain I use Mineral Sprits and the three wheel gismo that goes on the chain and cleans it while I turn the crank.

teachme

Interesting!

jdon

ItsJustAHill

Dish soap, a set of Park Tool brushes, and a garden hose set at low pressure (so as not to drive water into things like hub and BB bearings). Air dry and relube drivetrain with Rock n' Roll Gold lube.

jdon

While nothing cleans better and faster than brake cleaner, you have to be really careful with it. For you, your bike and the environment. Either a chain washer with biodegradable citrus cleaner or the same in spray format is great and it can be safely applied and rinsed off with water. Paint brushes work great for getting rid of stubborn dirt and even a flat blade screw driver for carefully digging out greasy gunk.

After I use the above, I wash the bike with soapy (dishsoap) water and rinse. I lightly bounce the bike on the ground to knock off excess water and towel dry and relube the chain. If you do it often, its easy.

tsl

A little blue Dawn and...





I keep the drivetrain up every time I lube the chain. If it gets really icky, I pull the parts, and put them in an old dishpan with some Simple Green MAX Automotive Degreaser, diluted 8:1. That, a brush, and some elbow grease.

Louis

I wash my bikes in the driveway, or in the garage (floor drain) when weather is bad. I put the bike in my work stand, hose it down gently (I know, I know), spray it with a foaming cleanser, go over it with a brush and rinse it with the hose - then re-lube as necessary. Sometimes I blow dry it with Maddy's hair dryer - if she's not home.

When I work on other peoples bikes I usually put 'em through this treatment first (the bike, not the person), because I hate to work on filthy bikes.

009jim

If I ride in the rain I'll give mine a hose off to remove gritty stuff and leafy stuff. Other than that I don't clean it at all.

stapfam

Plenty of environmentally safe cleaners out there and there are cheaper alternatives aswell. Clothes washing liquids watered down will get rid of most grease unless it has to be scraped off first. Chains and they will clean up with a chain cleaning tool and the soap. The akward part is cleaning the cassettes and deraillers so clean chain first and wash down- Then take the wheels off the bike and a 1" brush and soap will get most grease off the parts left on the bike.

Handy tip for the cassette- Natural sisal string and you can get it between the sprockets and it will pull all the gunge out from between the rings. Dare say modern poly string would do the same. And another tip- Don't clean the bike on the lawn. Dead patches of grass will not please the wife.

But if you want to use modern cleaners- Go to a Truck agent and get a Methanol based liquid as used as Brake cleaner. Buy it in 5 litres and it is cheap and methanol cleans anything and you can use it in the chain cleaning tool and by brush. Just make certain you use it outdoors.

And after all that water- do not forget to lube.

digibud

Any basic detergent will get your bike clean of grime. Brake cleaner on the clearcoat might be an issue. I wouldn't want to use it unless I knew it wouldn't strip the paints clear coat. I just use a very weak solution of dish washing liquid to clean the bike itself. I take off the chain first. I use a Connex link to allow me to do that easily. I wipe the cables, clean the bike, brush out the brake grooves (in the rubber), and clean the pads. After the bike is clean I may put on a coat of NTX 2.0 car wax (actually a synthetic). That won't protect against chips but it makes for very easy cleaning and ensures less dirt will stick to the frame, particularly if it's rainy/muddy. I clean the cogs with a cloth pulled back and forth between the teeth. I clean my chain (and my wife's) about every 200 miles or so or after any rainy ride. I use somewhat dilute orange citric cleaner, agititating the chain and replacing the cleaner until it doesn't show much darkness, then I rinse in the sink with hot water and dry it in an oven at 200F for 20 minutes or so before oiling. I use a brush in addition to agitating. I spray the derailleurs with canned bike cleaner spray (probably much the same as brake cleaner) using towels to ensure it doesn't get on the frame, then I oil the pivots. I take care to try not to spray into the bushings. I use a teflon type chain oil. I oil link by link, let it set, and oil again, let it set and wipe dry. I'm retired and have the time and it's a nice mindless, stressless activity. Our bikes remain silent, shift perfectly and with the exception of some chips from little rocks here and there, are spotless, shiny and nearly as clean as the day we bought them. (which was just a bit over a year ago for our road bikes). My 1983 mtn bike...well...the drivetrain is clean but boy...that sucker has many badges of honor. I doubt our carbon fiber bikes will last as long...I might not either . I noticed I could hear my bike today. I won't tomorrow .

bruce19

As a long-time motorcyclist and car guy I am pretty familiar with brake cleaner and I would not use it on either. So, it's not going on my Masi either. I use a citrus based degreaser that I got at my LBS. I put my bike in the work stand about once a week and just spray up the under body and have at it with a paper shop cloth. Usually the pulleys are the worst but once cleaned shifting improves significantly. When cleaning the paint on my bike I use a motorcycle product called Plexus. It was developed for plastic surfaces like windscreens but works well on the paint on my Ducatis. I also use it on the visors of my helmets and any glass or mirror surfaces. A bit pricey but a very versatile product.

OldsCOOL

Due to the fast evaporation I just grab a big ragged towel out of the garage and put it over the chainstay and jammed into the spokes. Doesnt need to be elaborate, just to shield. So far I've not had any paint damaged but it might peel a chainstay protector decal. No effort, quickly done, very little mess afterward. I've done the brush and fuel thing and that was too messy, too much time and effort. When I detail vintage bikes that come through this is what I do. It works.

Depending on how grimey of a bike you are starting with (shame on somebody) the brush method will still be needed in some places.

OldsCOOL

Dawn dishwashing liquid is one of the best, environmentally safe cleaners there is. I was told recently that on some clean-up sites like gas spills, car wrecks etc there are cleanup crews that use Dawn to emulsify the petroleum products.

John_V 

I also use a citrus based degreaser that I get at my LBS and clean my bikes about once a month or when they get dirty from a lot of wet roads. The degreaser comes in a spray can (which means I'm probably paying a bit too much for it) and comes out as a form. I let it sit on the chain, cassette, jockey wheels and chainrings for a few minutes, then I use a cheap cleaning brush I got at the grocery store to scrub the grease off. I use Meguiars wheel cleaner on the wheels and rinse it all off with the water hose set for low pressure (the shower setting on multi-flow garden nozzles). The frame is washed with the same car soap that I use to wash my show car, then the bike is dried with an old Absorber. I use those on my show car as well as it doesn't scratch the paint or leave swirl marks like a towel does. I relube the chain and jockey wheels with a Teflon based, dry chain oil and put a coat of Meguiars Quick Detailer on the bike to make it shine and protect the clear coat. The Quick Detailer leaves a very smooth finish on the bike and hardens the clear coat to help prevent chips. If your bike is full CF with a matte finish, you may not want to use the Quick Detailer, although I have never tried it on a matte finish so I can't tell you what it looks like afterward. Which reminds me, I have to clean the road bike today.

kr32

I have a flat finish on my 32 and it works well. No harm at all.

Pistard

What do you use the toilet paper for? Your wif lets you do this?

Somebody mentioned brake fluid? I dont know, I use that stuff to remove paint on stuff, not sure how that could be an effective way to wash a bike, just my 2 cents. Why not use paint stripper to clean a bike? oddball iseas on this thread...

Marvel Mystery oild is tops though, love that stuff.

Retro Grouch 

I don't do anything very fancy. Since I stopped mountain biking my bikes don't ever get very dirty. I used to hang them up by the saddle and spray off the mud with a hose.

I'm not real fastitudous with chain cleaning and maintenance. I mostly just clean off the experior with a rag (I use a little WD40 on the rag if the chain is extra icky), drip the tiniest amount of lube that I can manage on each link, wait a while (overnight) and try to wipe it all off of tne exterior with a dry rag.

If I'm working on a bike with a real yucky drivetrain (wouldn't be one of mine), I'll sometimes pull the crank and disassemble the chainrings to clean individually in solvent. I'll remove the rear wheel and floss between the cogs with solvent on a folded over rag.

RonH

Bike in the shower? You must have a VERY understanding wife.

RonH

I hang my bikes in the work stand in the back yard and hose them down, then spray with Bike Wash or Simple Green. A soft cloth helps get the red clay off the underside of the BB, down tube, and back of the seat tube. The red clay is from riding through road construction or sewer/water pipe repair areas. You know, the mud that runs down the street. The mud is red and when it hits the bottom of the bike it dries like glue.
I use Greased Lightning on the greasy, grimy stuff. At least once a year I remove the cassette, chainrings, derailleurs, and chain and soak them in a good solvent. Then the whole bike gets a good wipe down. Then I lubricate the chain, derailleur, brakes, cables and inside the housing, etc.

NOS88

Garden hose, soft bristle brush and a few tablespoons of Simple Green in a bucket of water. Everything then gets hand dried, and chain gets fresh lube.

BluesDawg

I almost never do a full "washing" involving water and brushes, etc. I keep my bikes clean by wiping them down with rags at the first sign of dirt. If there is a good bit of dirt on the bike, I'll take it outside for a quick dry rag rubdown to knock off the loose dirt. Then I'll bring it inside and do the detailed work while watching a race or ball game or such in the background.

The main cleaning is done with rags sprayed with Pedros Bike Lust. If the bike is a bit more dirty or greasy, I'll damp a rag with water, 409, Simple Green or glass cleaner first to clean it and then finish off with the Bike Lust on a clean rag. For a detailed cleaning, I'll take off the wheels so I can get the rags into more places. The drivetrain is similarly kept clean by wiping down with rags, more often damp with 409 or simple Green.

Even the mountain bike can usually be cleaned this way. The initial knocking off of dirt is a bigger deal and I often use a semi stiff brush along with dry rags to knock off the worst of the dirt before bringing the bike inside for the detailed cleaning. It is rare that I'll have to resort to a water hose to rinse off caked on mud.

OldsCOOL

Marvel's is the duct tape of the lube world.