Originally Posted by
wolfchild
I honestly think that it's a waste of time and overkill to wash a whole bike after every ride....All you really need to do is lube the chain and maybe rinse your disc brake calipers once in a while with some water to get the salt out of them and that's it.
I don't wash my bike after every ride, just when there's a lot of snow, ice or slush built up on it. Sometimes I get a 2+ liters container and fill it with really hot water and pour that over the areas of the bike that have a lot of crud on them before I bring the bike inside. I lock the bike outside and then come in to get the hot water. It's really useful for getting most of the stuff out of the recesses on knobby tires. It's surprising how much stuff can drip off of two knobby tires and a bottom bracket shell area of a bicycle. I'd rather have that fall off outside than inside.
For the times the bike needs a more thorough cleaning, I was it in the bathtub.
Cheers