Lets talk about road bike cleaning. I rode in some less than perfect weather yesterday and got crap all over the bike. And I was kinda overdue for a clean anyway so I cleaned her up good. I just used soap and water and tried to avoid the bottom bracket. So how do u all do it? Are there any no-nos to bike cleaning I should know. Also share a pic of your clean bike here's mine

No-no's are compressed air and high pressure water.

Here's mine.

Yes I use these...
--https://www.pgestore.com/baby/wipes/pampers-baby-fresh-wipes-tub-72-ct/037000282488,default,pd.html?cm_mmc=CSE-_-GooglePLA-_-Pampers-_-Pampers%20Baby%20Fresh%20Wipes%20Tub%2072%20Count&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=037000282488

No idea why the picture is upside down

OP, what you did is not only fine, but is the daily race day regimen of pro bike teams. So no criticism of that. I will say, however, that a few paper towels, an old toothbrush and a spray bottle of Windex do a pretty good job too as long as you are limiting your efforts to the frame, brake calipers, crank arms, hubs, rims, tires, seat post, stem, etc. Not the parts that are actually greased or in contact with them like the chain, chain rings, etc.

Oh BTW, is your bike upside down for the same reason (whatever that is) that laundromats always have their Laundry sign upside down? Is there supposed to be a connection to the cleaning thing? Or is it just a flub? That's okay. You don't have to answer.

Robert

here's mine during the wash. bike stand makes things way easy. I tackle the drivetrain first, using a park tools chain cleaner. Do the drivetrain before anything else, or else you'll just have to wash twice after all that gunk sprays everywhere. Use a bucket full of soapy water, much like washing a car. Avoid spraying, i just give everything a quick rinse without the spray nozzle. Lastly, I give it light coat and buff of car wax to give it some protection.

Robert, lets pretend I did that on purpose and am hanging the bike to dry.

Once your bike is relatively clean it's easy to keep it that way.

10 minutes or less to do this:
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...ike-quick.html

From that post:

Works for me as long as you also specify you are hanging the floor to dry too.

Flip it...

I hate to admit it but I am one of those guys with the filthy drivetrain. Never have cleaned it on the bike, only when disassembling for some other reason. Here is what I am worried about. Simple Green is water based, and you rinse with water which gets into the chain nooks and crannies. Does chain lube really protect it from rusting after the wetting? I'm having a hard time getting over this concern. Thanks.

I don't always wash my bike, but when I do I prefer soap and water.

I have a KMC Missing Link, so the chain comes off once a month and goes into a bucket. If I'm really ambitious, the cassette comes off and goes into a bucket too. Even though the crank should be, theoretically, just as easy or easier, it never seems to make it off the bike. Having said that out loud I'll probably start doing it now.

Everything else I just wipe with a damp rag.

Most accurate use of this meme ever.

that awkward moment when flip it isnt a meme. Come on mr. hipster mod you should knwo better.

A meme (pron.: /ˈmiːm/; meem)[1] is "an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."[2] A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.

It doesn't just mean a stupid picture with block text over it that spreads on ******/4chan/facebook.

You're just too damn young to remember things without the internet.

shush im faster than you, therefore my opinion is more important! Go back to the 33 and yell at botto (or have botto yell at you!) its funnier than when u pick on me

I hope this is where you were going with that comment: Stay filthy my friend!

Oils displace water. You can see this when you have an oily/greasy dish in the sink - water won't stick to it. Similarly, if you get a wet dish and put something oily on it the oil will stick to the dish. I'm sure some chemist knows the term for this "stickiness" but basically water doesn't have as much of it as oil/lube/etc does. Even wax lubes are suspended in some kind of solvent.

So, yes, chain lube protects after cleaning. In fact if I don't lube it the chain has flash rust the next day (or even later that day).

I happen to use the KMC Missing Link also but I only removed my chain to replace it. I never felt the need to remove my chain just to clean it. In fact since Simple Green can cause damage to metal if you soak it I think cleaning the chain on the bike to be a better/safer way of doing it. I liberally rinse the bike after I wash it.

you, and most likely everybody else.

Here is a vid from the pros

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf80DnCgHRQ

I see what you did there. Good one.

Haha thanks guys I don't know if I'm whipping out a q-tip anytime soon though

Holy Smokes!!!! I have to try this the next time I clean my bikes. Anyone know where I could get the 'the thing' to prevent the chain stay from getting ruined? The special brushes, and towels I could get from the dollar store.