Can I Pressure Wash This ?
03-24-24 | 11:07 AM
#3
climber has-been
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 9,169
Likes: 6,061
From: Palo Alto, CA
Bikes: Scott Addict RC Pro & R1, Felt Z1
Soapy water in a bucket, clean with brushes, rinse lightly with a spray nozzle on a hose, wipe dry.
If you aren't careful, a pressure washer can do damage to a bike.
If you aren't careful, a pressure washer can do damage to a bike.
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Ride, Rest, Repeat. ROUVY: terrymorse
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03-24-24 | 11:12 AM
#5
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,863
Likes: 856
Pressure wash? Good God: no. We see the disastrous consequences of this treatment several times a month at the shop. Grease is blown out of every bearing: headsets, hubs, BB etc. Derailleurs are still with corrosion, and after a few months with no grease, bearings are stiff, notchy and dead.
Cleaning a bike? Damp rag with soapy water. Focus your cleaning and maintenance time less on the outside of the bike and more on the critical inside parts.
Cleaning a bike? Damp rag with soapy water. Focus your cleaning and maintenance time less on the outside of the bike and more on the critical inside parts.
03-24-24 | 11:23 AM
#6
Facts just confuse people
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 19,369
Likes: 7,076
From: Mississippi
Bikes: Tarmac Disc Comp Di2 - 2020
It really depends on how you use your pressure washer. If you do like the instructions say and keep the nozzle the distance they tell you to keep from the surface being cleaned, then you should be okay. But if you point it down at the BB, axels or cogs on the rear and get real close with it to get every last spec of gunk off in places the eyes normally won't see anyhow, then you might be a candidate for not using the pressure washer.
I'd just wipe it off with some of those pre moistened towelettes that come in a big plastic canister. Or maybe spay it with a hose. But if for some reason the pressure washer was hooked up and ready to go, I might would use it. But since it's normally not hooked up, I'd not bother for that little bit of splatter that is mostly cosmetic and just offends your visuals.
I'd just wipe it off with some of those pre moistened towelettes that come in a big plastic canister. Or maybe spay it with a hose. But if for some reason the pressure washer was hooked up and ready to go, I might would use it. But since it's normally not hooked up, I'd not bother for that little bit of splatter that is mostly cosmetic and just offends your visuals.
03-24-24 | 12:29 PM
#9
Mad bike riding scientist
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 29,183
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From: Denver, CO
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
At a couple of meters away, the “pressure” part of the pressure wash is kind of nil. At that distance, the water is more of a heavy mist than any kind of directed spray. Most all modern (quality) components are sealed well enough against water infiltration to resist the spray from a nozzle being centimeters away from the bike. I wouldn’t put the nozzle right against the bearings but GCN has done it in a video on Youtube titled “Should you jet wash your bike?” That’s a bit extreme but it didn’t cause problems.
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Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
03-24-24 | 03:28 PM
#11
Sr Member on Sr bikes
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 3,106
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From: Rhode Island (sometimes in SE Florida)
Bikes: Several...from old junk to new all-carbon.
…a couple meters back pressure wash.
Dan
03-24-24 | 04:31 PM
#13
Clark W. Griswold
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 18,378
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From: ,location, location
Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot Ti W/Ultegra Di2, Salsa Timberjack Ti, Cinelli Mash Work RandoCross Fun Time Machine, 1x9 XT Parts Hybrid, Co-Motion Cascadia, Specialized Langster, Phil Wood Apple VeloXS Frame (w/DA 7400), R+M Supercharger2 Rohloff, Habanero Ti 26
You can pressure wash a bike, should you, NO! Professional race mechanics especially in CX do it but they are also going through the bikes often and they have little time. I would recommend some rags and maybe a soft brush and a spray bottle with alcohol and something like Dr. Bronners. Alcohol is great at degreasing and is cheap and Dr. Bronners is not really that expensive considering how many uses it has and the fact you don't need a lot of it.
Generally for cleaning a hub I use a moist rag and just floss it in between the spokes. In the end unless you have a 48h hub you probably won't have too many issues. It is pretty easy to do. I do it all the time.
Generally for cleaning a hub I use a moist rag and just floss it in between the spokes. In the end unless you have a 48h hub you probably won't have too many issues. It is pretty easy to do. I do it all the time.
