Regular Cleaning of Roadie
 

How often should I wipe down/clean up my bike? I ride it daily about 12-15 miles and about 30-40 on the weekend.

What is the most suggested/common method of cleaning up a bike for regular maintenance?

How much do you like your bike? With that much riding I would wipe it down at least weekly and add any time you see a wet road surface. I clean and lube my chain every week as well. Also clean the brake surfaces of your rims regularly to help braking performance.

All depends on how anal you are. If you're like me, you'll pull the chain, cassette, chainrings and soak them in mineral spirits every ~500 - ~1000 miles depending on conditions. Chain gets done more often though. I clean up the frame with Honda motorcycle polish every 3-4 rides. I always clean the sweat off after the ride, very damaging stuff it is.

I also know a guy who puts around 300 miles a week on his titanium bike and hasn't cleaned it once. Just regular chain swap out. His bike looks like hell though.

I'll wipe down my main ride once a week and clean the chain about every 300km or if it looks bad earlier. Other than chain cleaning the only time my beater sees water is when it rains or a puddle.

Obviously depends on how dirty it is getting, for example you have clean to after every single four hour ride in the pouring rain!

If I rode in a damp conditions? I clean it right away, otherwise I'll give it a wipe down Friday night after I make any necessary tweaks. I see no point in spending all sorts of bank on bike just to neglect it.

When to clean it? When its dirty. Whats dirty? Depends on how picky you are. I ride my bike 3-5 times a week, I probably wash it about every 3 months. But the main reason for the wash is clean the drive train and the wheels. I really couldn't care about the frame luster but I clean it anyway since I'm already there.

I'm pretty sure the day to day condition of my bike would send most here screaming for the hills. Oh the humanity...

Howdy,
In the winter I clean mine a couple of times a week because UDOT uses straight salt and alot of it. In the summer it's every Sunday night. I have to do it that often because I commute and it gets real gunky by the end of the week.
I'll also give it a good cleaning before centuries and races, it's pretty much an ego thing, I don't want to be seen on a trashy looking ride.

M.R.

I hit it with the baby wipes after every ride.

Wow that sounds almost exactly like me except it applies for my two bike stable. I'll add a bit, though: livining in an apartment with limited hose access, I find the bath tub with a plant/flower watering can to be very handy for cleaning, especially after a ride in the the rain.

I do it probably once a week during the months when I ride consistently. Kinda hard with school and all.
I just make sure the chain is clean and lubed.
It's a bike and it's guranteed to get dirty. That means you actually use it. So, dirt and wear on it is a badge of honor I guess.

Mine could use a good cleaning with all the sand and crap on the roads from winter. Supposed to rain all weekend, maybe I'll do it then.

That reminds me. I need to go clean my bike!