how to clean
 

Hey everyone, whats up. first post here. Just getting back into mountain biking after taking a couple years off. Im riding an 06 Stumpjumper Expert. I just recently moved here to VA where the trails are quite muddy. im just wondering how everyone cleans their bikes after such rides where they come back with faces covered in mud. Thanks

Just lightly hose it off, Wipe down the chain, using some degreaser or something similiar, clean up the Derails' and cogs, fork stanctions and re-lube.
mud doesnt hurt much =)

Let it dry, brush off as much as you can, wipe down fork and shock tubes to prevent nicks, and lube the drivetrain. I wouldn't spend much time cleaning because it's just gonna get dirty again on the next ride. Save the cleaning for summer when it's drier and the bike might actually stay clean for a few rides.

BTW...search is your friend for generic questions like this.

Mike

The drivetrain never quite gets back it's chrome finish it had back when you buy the bike does it ?

I've tried and never been able to clean it completely.

Don't worry about cleaning it "completely". If you use something that penentrates the pins or is very harsh you're just forcing the lube out of the pins and rollers and your chain isn't going to work as well for as long. Put the bike in a stand, pedal it slowly, and put on lube till it's dripping off the chain. That will flush a lot of crud off. Run the chain through a rag to wipe off most of the lube then shift up and down the cassette and each of the chainrings to distribute the fresh lube. Good to go.

if u actually want a stellar drivetrain (i do this maybe once a year) then pull off all drivtrain parts and scrub thouroly in solvent (yay parts cleaner), otherwise just wipe off the chain and lube

as for cleaning the actual bike, you shouldn't hose it down, water gets in places it shouldn't and causes problems bearings go bad, suspension bushings/reducers wear faster ect ect, what i do when i wanna "hose off" my bike is get a spray bottle with water so i can actually aim where the water goes, and even this i avoid doing to often, if you want it to look perfect you actually have to get in there with a rag and some bio-cleaner, also bike pedros lust does marvels on a freshly cleaned bike

but in the end its a mtn bike its sposed to be muddy, i just bang off the big chunks so they stay off my carpet.

also when lubing the chain, whipe off ALL the lube, you arn't lubing the cassette or the outside of the chain, but the chain rollers, any lube on the outside just picks up dirt. (don't believe me ask a tech at ur lbs, or look in any biking book)

Bike-cleaning technology has progressed ten-fold in the time that you have been gone. Get ready to be totally blown away.

I have a compressor in the garage. I like to blow the cassette and derailleurs clean, lube and wipe the chain, and rag down the tubes and stays. Does anyone think using compressed air is contra-indicated for chains and derailleurs?