jacos5

I usually clean my ride after every ride at the trails which is usually once a week.

I use:
I usually hose it down (lightly) since my trails is primarily "dusty dirt". Not even halfway into my ride and I can already hear my bike making nasty noises due to the dirt. After I wash it down I'll spray some...

on the gears and disc's. Then brush it down with...

And of course a towel for the frame and easily accessable areas.
After I'm done cleaning everything off, I lube up the chain and anything that moves with white lightning wax lube.

Do you guys do anything different? Care to criticize the products I use? Go ahead, I've kind of been a bit iffy about the spray I use, but it seems to work okay. And I've been wondering if there's a better lube out there for the conditions I'm riding in ("dusty dirt")

ed 

I rarely wash it...unless it's super muddy. Wipe the stanchions and rear shock. Clean the chain with Simple Green and a Finish Line chain machine. Wipe dry. Lube with whatever lube I'm trying at the moment. Fav's are Finish line red for general riding conditions. Tri-Flow for wet.

jacos5

Is it not good to wash it so often?

ed 

I'm lazy...what's the point? I only take a bath once a week too.

dsprehe89

I also rarely wash mine, heck, I rarely lube mine also. It's just a money and lazy issue combined. I lube mine probably every 50-100 miles and wash it just whenever I find time. I do usually wipe of the stanchions after every ride, but that is about it. I don't usually ride in wet weather, so the bike doesn't really get muddy, just really dusty.

3speed

Haven't been MTBing that long so maybe I'll find a day when I regret it, but I hardly clean mine either. It's working out well so far. I wipe stanchions before and after each trail ride(Not sure why really. I just like to do both.) and take a look at my chain. If I notice build-up on the chain I wipe it down and reapply lube. I also generally try to clean up the cogs/chain-rings at that point. At the end of the season I'll break the whole bike down to basically nuts and bolts and clean and re-lube everything on the bike. Pretty much the only thing I don't get as well as I'd like to then is the pivot points on the RD since it doesn't come apart, though I do still try to clean and re-lube them as well as possible. I also do fork maintenance and a thorough chain cleaning probably a couple times during the riding season, basically just based on how much I feel I've been riding and if I think that warrants doing the fork. I don't worry about the chain as much, but I do like to keep up with the fork. I also never ride my bike in wet conditions, so that's not an issue for me and I feel that hosing the bike down might just do more harm than good by introducing more water into moving parts, so I avoid that as a cleaning step.

pablosnazzy

you "floss" your stanchions, get the crap between the stanchion and lowers, and wipe all the grit off, after each ride, because those little grit particles sneak past the seals and go down into the lowers and scratch up your stanchions. wiping them, keeping them clean, extends their life by a good year or two.

3speed

I wasn't quite clear in my wording, actually. I know the point of keeping the stanchions clean. I don't really know why I feel the need to do it both before and after I ride the trails. You'd think if I did it after riding, doing it again before the next ride is kind of pointless, but for some reason I feel the urge to still do it even though it isn't logical. Thanks for taking the time to explain why they should be kept clean, though. It's always nice to have helpful people around on the forum.

pablosnazzy

logic...meh! you don't' need logic. if it works for you, then it works. seriously.

ed 

You need to fix your shifter.


Has there been a study to prove this? I think nailing it down to a good "year or two" is a bold statement. I just do it to keep the crap out of my seals.

Not saying you're wrong...just sayin'.

mrgrunt99

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dsprehe89

I remember the first time I ever saw that knife.... I was just in complete shock and wondered who in their right mind would ever want to own one let alone actually own one. To carry one with you on a bike as a multitool, you would literally have to have a set of panniers . And to use it you would have to use both hands. I could just see someone trying to use its little tree saw to cut down a small branch

Mr Pink57

When I find time I will clean but it's usually a overhaul clean if I'm going to do it, like stripping down to the frame type cleaning.

I would not clean the discs with anything other then 93% alcohol, it will dry very fast and not leave a residue.

pablosnazzy

i got this info from the Fox rep, just passing it on. He seemed to know what he was talking about, so i trust him.

ed 

That makes sense. A suspension mfgr would take the time to study such things.

Daspydyr 

The chain comes off every month or 8-10 rides and takes a Simple Green bath. Hangs for a day and towel dried. Then lube with Tri Flow. Bearings once a year. A LBS beat me with a whip of old 6 speed chains for using WD40 on my bike, long time ago.

Thanks for the notes on flossing the stancions.

Does anyone do anything about the Bottom Bracket? I used to do a lot of water crossing when I live close to Colorado. Them BBs can turn to rust fast. Well the cheap ones made in the 90s anyway.

mark1974

i clean my bike once a week

Daspydyr 

Your bike is spoiled, mine is jealous.