Justin J

if I ever got caught in the rain durring the summer, I would just take an extra few minutes when I got home to hose-down the bike, dry it off with a rag, then clean and re-lube the chain.

What do you guys do in the winter? When I get home, it's well after dark, and sometimes too cold to hook up the hose. Can you just leave the bike gunky for a few days and wash it in the middle of a warm day or something?

alan s 

I rinse with hose hooked up directly to the hot water heater, as needed.

HardyWeinberg

Every once in a while I scrape off the accretions of pine needles from the fenders and bottom bracket area

exile

Exposed metal is your main problem. The paint on most bikes will protect the frame from corrosion so all that is needed would be to wipe it down after a ride. I also have my bikes treated with Frame Saver.

With your chain you should probably rinse it off. If you can't than probably a wipe down with a water drenched rag should work. I also believe a wax based lubricant is recommended for areas that salt their roads.

mustang1

I only clean the chain when I can be bothered or it makes too much noise. That's in winter. Of course in summer I'd clean it more often but niether does it get as dirty. The frame? I couldn't care less if that's dirty or not.

Fizzaly

I just put some warm water in my water bottles and spray off the drive train with them, then once every week or two just stop at a coin-op car wash and give her a good sudsy washing.

PaulRivers

Whenever there's one of these threads, I feel like the 5% people who are obsessive about maintence reply, and the 95% of the other people stay out of it. Of course here it sounds like the OP is more in the "constant maintenance" camp, so it's cool. :-)

I don't see much point in cleaning my frame or my chain in the winter - if there's gunk on the road both are going to be dirty again within 50 feet of biking anyways. If my bike is particularly dirty I'll clean it in the spring. I'm definitely not in the OP's camp as I certainly don't take the time to clean the chain when I ride in the rain (sometimes I add a little oil to it so it doesn't squeak and wipe down the rims so they don't squeak, 'cause I don't like squeaking), though.

neil

Wash? If I wanted a layer of ice over everything (including braking surfaces) there's a lot of easier ways to get it.

My winter bike lives outside. I try to bring it into the local community shop frequently to clean the chain and braking surfaces, but the frame itself just gets pummeled. It gets cleaned come spring, before storage. This year I didn't bother, and the only damage was to the chain, which had to be replaced. The rest of the bike was good to go.

Fizzaly

I dont consider my self obsessive in my maintenance but in the winter i do try and wash my chain down at least once a week, most of the time in my case just applying oil doesn't get rid of that nasty chain sound.

PaulRivers

I haven't experienced that nasty chain sound myself unless it's raining.

Fizzaly

Do you guys use salt in minn?
In idaho they use sand and that horrible deicing liquid that as soon as you start riding in, seems to strip all lube off my chain and it gets sand and junk in it and quickly gets noisy

PaulRivers

Hmm...I know they use a fair amount of sand, there's no doubt about that. I'm pretty sure they use salt to, but it's not a topic I feel real certain about what they use...

Andy_K 

+1

Just about the only time I clean my winter bike at all is when I need to lube the chain. Otherwise, I just let it collect road grime. It makes a nice protective layer.

monsterpile

My commuter bike in general doesn't get too dirty, but when it does every few weeks I try and wipe it down because its doesn't take long. I like the bike to not look too bad and keeping it clean means my clothes, floor under it, bike inspection cats etc don't get dirty either. I wax my frames too because it makes them look shiney and stuff that gets on them comes off easier too. I am probably more picky about how clean the bikes I sell are than the ones I own. Its fun to get a bike thats probably been sitting in someone's garage for 10-20 years all shined up and ready to go. Its one of my favorite parts of fixing up bikes.

buffalo_cody

Last winter every 2 weeks or so I would wipe the frame off with a damp rag, and then use automotive spray wax (like this). The drive train got the standard degreaser, wipe, and lube.

wolfchild

I never wash my bikes, I just let rain do that. In winter I carry a little brush , if my bike is covered in snow I just brush the snow off before taking the bike inside my apartement.

tsl

I'm not obsessive about the bike, but I am about the living room floor. Since that's where the bikes live, when they come home wet and messy, they get hung up, hosed down and drip dry in the shower.

xtrajack

My bike stays outside, under cover (most of the time). I don't bring it inside because I think that it is better not to subject it to rapid temperature changes due to condensation issues. The chain gets oiled on a weekly basis. in the spring the bike gets cleaned good and solid.

old's'cool

I use a damp rag and detergent to wipe down the non-moving parts and wipe the muck off of the external surfaces of the moving parts (chain, cogs & sprockets excluded). When the drivetrain demands it, I do whatever it takes to remove the muck, then relubricate.

EAA

Genius!!! That's a great idea!

bike00

I take the wheels off, put it on an old towel in the bath tube and hose it down with the hand sprayer.

daredevil

It's called magnesium chloride. You gotta have something and this is as good as anything.

MichaelW

If you prep your bike for winter, it doesnt need a lot of washing.
Use car wax on the frame and exposed cables and bolts.
Make sure all metal-metal contacts are greased appropriately
If rain has washed my lube off I generally wait until the next morning to re-apply.

woodway

If I washed my bike everytime it rained around here in the winter, I would never have time to ride

I clean and lube the drivetrain on sunday night which leaves me good to go for the week.

Booger1

Ta-ta-ta-da!!!! And the winner,by a landslide is....tsl!!!!!!