View Single Post
Old 06-16-05, 09:36 AM
  #11  
willtsmith_nwi
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 1,398
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by a2psyklnut
You can, but you'll inject water into all your bearings, washing the grease out and leaving a metal on metal situation.

IOW, NO!

It's not worth it. Get a bucket fill it with soapy water and a sponge. Spray down your bike, avoiding any bearing locations, but spraying down the frame to knock off the big chunks is o.k. Sponge down your bike wiping all the dirt off. The rinse it.

I like to take my wheels off and wash them seperately.

I also remove my chain (Sram Powerlink) and soak it in degreaser.

Let the chain soak for 15 mins. rinse off with clean water, hang it to dry overnight and then lube it after all the water is gone or you'll trap moisture between the links.

A rinse in isopropyl alcohol will drive out the water nicely and deter rusting. The alcohol rapidly evaporates leaving the chain ready to lube sooner.
willtsmith_nwi is offline