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my buddie says to just hose down the mud from my bike then WD-40 the chain to clean it. are there any better ways?

Maelstrom 

WHOA!!!...nasty...no dont do that. Wd40 is not a lubricant it is a degreaser. Use proper oil to lubricate it. And hosing down the bike washes the dirt and crap in bearings that might be exposed...You can hose down the tubing and wheels but wipe down anything that might have bearings in (aka headset and bottom bracket). You can also end with water sealed in the seat tube causing other nasty problems. Here is a decent thread

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ight=wash+bike

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whats a good oil to use?

mindbogger

i use finish line xc andfinish line teflon plus

Transparent

i balst the tubes with a hose and then wipe down with a soft cloth.... making sure i get into the bearings and stuf with a dry cloth... i only oil the chain every month or so but it does the trick

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What do u mean by bearings and where are they?

khuon

They're in a lot of places. Almost anywhere where two parts are rotating with respect to one another, you'll find one or more bearings or bushings.

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so how can you colean them?

khuon

Bearings are either changed, rebuilt or repacked. You don't "clean" them per se. You clean around them. Don't spray directly at/into them since as others have said, that will only serve to drive the contamination further into their surfaces as well as flush out their lubrication. Some bearing systems do have grease injection ports which will allow you to flush them clean of old grease by pushing new grease in. Sealed cartridge bearings on the other hand are much either to both service and are less prone to contamination than open bearings but you still shouldn't spray directly into them.