I take the wheels off and do it in the bathtub.

Well, i dunno about that, but when the deep rich green metallic paint sparkles in the sun, it's lovely.

- Andy

i only use aluminum frames with mid/lower end but reliable parts like Deore or older XT.

wipe off areas of really nasty goop and over lube chain on a regular basis

after the winter thaw, its a bloody mess and requires a complete break down and clean up, that's why I only have 2 winter bikes

This is a good idea that I've thought about. Something not steel. They overdose the salt here in Iowa (the rust on year-2004 vehicles prove it). So something not as corrosive as steel would be ideal. I think full suspension is best for my area because of snow bumps and frozen sludge ruts at times (and hidden frozen objects under snow on roads) -- So I'm thinking of turning my '97 Super V into a winter beater with 26 x 2.2+ studded tires. Just have to find some full fenders that fit the weird frame. It's kind of sentimental to me though so not really sure if I'll beat on that bike (even moreso haha) during messy Winters and early Springs. Sure would be ideal for me though.

I live in an apartment. The only place I have to park my bike is the living room. I don't want it dripping salty, sandy, slush all over the living room, thanks for asking.

I put a hook in the shower where I hang the bike, and then I hose it off with the handheld shower. I hose out the tub, then let the bike drip dry before returning it to its hook in the living room.

Like others have posted, this is part of why I ride aluminum. I've also replaced all the fasteners I can with stainless.

I have an old house and we used to have an unenclosed shower in the unfinished part of the basement. The water just ran across a concrete floor about 10 ft to the drain. You'd think they would have put it near a corner or something but it was almost in the center of the wall. If the basement were bigger and we didn't need to store anything in the vicinity it would have been handy for stuff like this.

Our shower is an upstairs bathroom so I'd end up leaving a trail of snow and slush if I were to drag the bike up there. I'm thinking now it might be worth it to bring it to a coin operated car wash once in awhile on a Friday, then let it dry thoroughly in the basement over the weekend.

Yeah when I was a kid we had an extra "farmer shower" in the basement of that house. Was just an exposed-pipes thing with a shower head and cold/hot knobs, with a long shower curtain around it (about 4ft square is plenty big for cleansing self... Would need longer for bicycle). Was right over a drain though. Was in the middle of room but it worked great. While my mom and sister were using bathroom upstairs, I had free range of a makeshift shower downstairs.

I'd like to install one at this one-story ranch style house I live in now, along with a large "farmer's sink." It'd beat the girly bathroom upstairs for function, plus add a second place for all of us to get ready (I'm currently surrounded with my girlfriend and her two 12/17 yr old daughters, with one dinky lone bathroom, ugh). I'm sure I'd keep my industrial makeshift bathroom cleaner than theirs also The tiny sink in this bathroom is constantly full of hair, makeup, brushes, hair straightener, blow dryer, used disposable makeup remover wipes, and hairspray residue, plus etc lol. Barely enough room to wash hands. Good thing I only shave once a week lol. If only they cleaned their bathroom like I clean the rest of the house

As long as your water path flows narrow to the drain 10ft away, with a curtain it'd be a dandy setup. Not much room is needed, even for a bike. Just some plastic curtain to keep water at bay. And watch for humidity, which shouldn't be a problem in a large area like a basement.

On my uptown, i've noticed all the screws for fenders, rack, and chain guard are stainless... On my old cruiser everything was plain steel and boy oh by did they collect a nice red brown patina of rust over the years!

- Andy

I live in a 1 bedroom high rise so keeping everything clean is important. I carry a plastic brush and use it to scrape as much slush and crap as I can before bringing my bike into an elevator... Inside my apartment I have a large heavy duty plastic mat next to my doorway, I just leave my bike there and let it drip and dry, every few days I just sweep the mat, no mess on the floors.

I'll be moving in the next year to a senior high-rise. I've been wondering how to handle the elevator. Where I am now, a third floor walk-up, I can get through the building, up the stairs and through the living room before stuff starts melting off the bike.

When I toured the old-folks place in October the heat nearly melted me. And the elevator there is slow.

(OTOH, the shuffle-board court is freshly refurbished. !!! I wonder if it could be converted for curling?)

They're easy to replace too, if you can find an old-school hardware store. Home centers don't carry metric-thread stainless, my both my local ACE and ServiceStars do. I like the squeaky old wood floors. And I can buy only the number of things that I need. I don't need to buy blister packs.

My go-to place for most needs: Newtown Hardware House

- Andy

If it gets really nasty I spray out the moving parts with Prestone windshield de-icer then fire up the compressor and blow everything out. Otherwise I just wipe it down and blow it out occasionally. I wipe down the rest with an old washcloth just to keep the worst of it under control until warm weather. No water until overnight temps are above freezing. Then in the Spring I give it a thorough hose down and scrubbing. II did it for my garden tractor with snow blower for years, figured it should work for the bike as well. It does.

Apartment living here too, but during winter I leave the bike in the underground parking where it thaws down. I mostly don't wash it but it gets a cleanup if I bring it in the bike shop, which may or may not happen during the season.

If need be I can always do what I do in summer when the road bike gets too many hours in rain and mud on a long ride: bring it to a car dealer that has a car wash service and have them spray it down to remove the heavy stuff before I finish the cleanup in the apartment.

But... going out in winter conditions on a clean ride just doesn't feel right. The only reason I'd take time to remove snow/ice/slush/sand from the bike during winter would be to make the bike lighter if there were lots, or when ice build-up jams a dérailleur.

^^^This^^^

Drill a little hole in the elevator floor?? Just check for security cameras first.

Our local hardware store doesn't carry metric anything. Can't blame 'em. I doubt that I would have any foreign stuff either.

Umm? Outside? But I live in Dallas, so we only have a day or 2 like that every winter. It was about 75 yesterday. Almost had to turn the AC on. When the bike is really bad, I either get out the power washer, or ride it to the car wash.

I usually just keep the moving parts lubricated and wiped down but I usually don't "clean" my bike until what I assume is the last spring storm passes. Parts last me a very long time and corrosion has never been an issue on all frame materials, I have owned aluminium, steel, ti, and carbon and they all handled it just fine. I did use frame saver on the steel frame though.

Today i wiped down part of my bike inside, so my hands wouldn't get so painfully cold vs garage. Landlord was not impressed, so i think i'll take my amazing space heater to the garage & warm it up and keep all my lil bike projects in there...

- Andy

i usually just wipe off the heavy stuff then wipe it down with simple green.apply some spray wax and wipe it down then a quick lube on chain and gears