tom987987

This is the worst method to wash a bike and now I'm worried my bike (aluminum) will be damaged. What should I do to prevent any damages? I'm drying the bike and lubing the chain right now, but I'm worried the bearings and other stuff might be damaged. What should I do??? Thanks!

Pheard

dry it off

Jason222

It won't hurt your frame. Although, hubs, bb, and headset may be affected by it.

Chone

You are a bit too paranoic... first of all aluminum doesn't corrode because of passivation (in other words its protected from rust like paint protects steel frames, aluminum has its own "built-in" protection) so don't worry about that, the chain will not rust because of a little water (I mean you do ride in rain and mud right?) and while water is bad for forks, one time of hosing down isn't going to ruin your fork, it may feel mushy at first but it will not be permanent, I seriously doubt any bearings received any damage, the rest of your bike should be good.

Don't do anything, lay the bike in the sun and let it dry normally, wipe out the stanchions if they are still wet when you are going to ride.

tom987987

Okay thanks all. But the only thing is...it was a high pressure hose.

mlh122

should be fine if he just showered the bike, thats what i do, shower bike, scrub parts that are still dirty, dry off, lube... however if he used the jet stream function and pointed it right at your hubs/axels/fork it could have hurt it i think

Jason222

I and friends use a pressure hose for washing our bikes, but we just make sure to keep it away from the bb.

Forced

I wash my bike with the hose. I use car soap. I use compressed air to get any water out of all the cranks and anywhere it can sit. then I towel dry off. I wax my frame with spray wax and it helps keep the dirt off during rides.

Our bikes are designed for outdoor conditions. I have road in the rain for hours and have had no problems. If you maintain your bike correctly, it will be fine.

Dan

cyclezealot

Mechanic once told me all the moving parts are effectively sealed? I wash my aluminum bike with a hose, just don't use high pressure. When in a hurry ever use baby wipes.
I think enough of my Klein to give it the very best. It's paint job is every bit as tender as a baby's arse.

Eatadonut

Yeah, I'd keep the pressure hose away unless you plan on repacking all your bearings, but I use a garden hose to clean my mtb.

If you know how to rebuild your bb, i'd do that. Otherwise, learn. Or, barring that, ride it and see if anything is squeaking.

Chone

Oh come on, I'll support the theory that high pressure water damages bearings... but have ANY of you every damaged a bearing from spraying your bike with a pressured hose? Do pressured hoses even have enough pressure for water to penetrate into the bearings and even then do you point your hose STRAIGHT at the bearings and maintain the hosing for a long amount of time? I mean seriously, I hose down my bikes all the time, even my precious Rockhopper and the only bearing that has failed on me is my Azonic Fusion bearing but that was only because I made the pedal spin insanely fast with compressed air (it was an accident) but a little grease made the pedal spin like a charm again, I mean, even if you use the "jet" stream hoses, if you do it from a distance and don't point at sensitive bearings I doubt anything is going to happen... bikes are supposed to get down and dirty anyways.

The fork is the only thing I'd even think about worrying about... forks are very sensitive and water is bad for forks but even so spraying your fork with high pressure water ONE time will definetely not damage it and even so forks will still take the punishment, you guys forget this is MOUNTAIN bikes we are talking about and I don't know which mountains you are riding but the ones around here have tons of mud, water, dirt, grass, bugs, leaves, poop, etc...

2manybikes

Tell dad he ruined your bike, all the bearings are ruined.. Then tell him to get you a new bike.

j944

Do you carry it over puddles or not ride on wet surfaces? Its a mountain bike and made for such conditions.

mx_599

which pressure washer do you and your dad like to use on your bikes?

i like Karcher:

Portis

What are you supposed to do to wash it? Pee on it? I always use a hose. I just be careful around bearings. No big deal. Go apologize to your dad, at least he washed your damned bike.

blue_neon

I dont like the idea of washing the bike straight with a hose, but thats just me. I just hook the bike up, using car soap and a bucket of water and a big 'washing sponge' wipe over the frame, fork. I use tonnes of degreaser on any of the drivetrain parts along with a screwdriver that scrapes that crap out off the jocket wheels. I dismount wheels from bike, hose down the tyres/rims, then wipe dry and clean the discs with Metho.

Just be sure that you dry all the water up, wipe it clean afterwards!

gm1230126

Your dads a smart guy. Maybe the son should report back to us in a week and see if he dries his bike and keeps his ride adequately lubed.

apclassic9

My son like to use that Teflon Bath & Tub cleaner on his bike to keep it shiny & shed mud. (and he also uses a hose - not hi-pressure, though. He generally removes his wheels before giving his bike a thourough wash)

sarsparilla

I use a high pressure hose with a nozzle that fans the water out so it's not a straight stream. I wake my wheels off and am careful around the fork, rear shock, and bottom bracket. To dry it off I use an air compressor and then go over it with a towel to get any dirt that is still stuck on. It works great as long as you get everything good and dry. Then I lube it up.

Riles

After one mud bath race when bike was caked in gritty mud - I used a wide spray pressure hose - I was carefull not to get it to close to any sealed areas and stood well back - seems to be OK.

I was able to drive into the garage with bike still on the car rack - hose it and then dry and lube at home - saved at least 45 min's and when your tired & hungry after riding that's a lot - I knew the risks, but couldn't face cleaning it and couldn't leave it like that either...

Portis

6 ounces of degreaser is more hazardous than 6,000 gallons of hose sprayed water. I quit using degreaser on the bike a long time ago. It used to always find it's way into the bearing grease.

blue_neon

Well i'm sorry to say Portis, for cleaning my bike chain, deraillure, chain rings and cassettes water just dosn't cut it . I have been using degreaser for years and no problems. Spray it in the correct area and there is nothing to worry about.

MudSplattered

Take your seat off and turn the bike upside down if it doesn't have a drain hole in the bottom. My Santa Cruz Juliana doesn't have a drain hole and water gets inside, which can occasionally cause problems with seatposts corroding inside. Let it dry out, grease the seatpost, reinsert and you should be good to go.

My son's 1st bike had springs in the fork, SOMEHOW water got in, even though we thought we were being careful, and the springs started to rust.