I'm from Wisconsin, and yesterday it was ~32*F and clear(ish) so I decided to go for a ride.. Long story short, 20 miles later I was SUPER cold but I made it back. Unfortunately my bike and I were COMPLETELY covered in dirt, salt and grime..


So I'm a newbie here. If this was your bike, how exactly would you go about cleaning it up?


Thanks everybody!

Soap and water, let it dry indoors. Dunno if you want to clean the chain and drive-train.

I'm down for that.. How hard is it? What does that entail?

Ah, well... it can be involved. Unless you have tools to remove the rear cassette just take a rag with a little bit of degreaser like wd-40 and backpedal the chain through it, clean the sprokets with the rag... don't apply the wd-40 directly on the bike it can get in past seals and ruin grease.

Once you've given everything a good wipe-down, relax, then come back and put some chain-oil on the chain and pedal it around... then wipe off any excess lube

cheers

I just cleaned Your Mother (my current commuter bike).

The easiest way to clean your chain and drivetrain is to buy a cleaning kit from your LBS. It'll be called something like the Park Tool Cyclone. Just follow the directions. You can do it with some Orange Peelz cleaner, a brush, and a couple rags or sponges, but it's more trouble. Either way, you want to either do it outside or someplace easily cleaned. Even if it is somewhere easily cleaned, but down paper or plastic or something to protect the floor. Also, wear junk clothes you don't mind getting greasy. The cleaning makes a godawful mess. After the drivetrain is clean and dry, reapply your chain lube of choice.

Cleaning the rest of the bike in the winter is interesting. I put a commercial entryway mat that I bought at Sam's Club down on my kitchen floor, then used a bucket, a big sponge, a couple rags, and some car wash soap. It worked pretty well, and the mat kept my floor from getting too messy. I also cleaned my chain and drivetrain on the same mat.

i'd probably hold off on using soap and water to clean the bike. just use a brush and knock as much gunk off of the bike as possible then lube the chain up liberally. warm temps will activate the salt that is on your bike are lead to rust. if you have an unheated garage then keep the bike there and give it a good cleaning once the weather warms up.

The sodium chloride will keep eating away at metal in temperatures right down to -21c, at which point it for sure freezes(depends on salinity).

If you're going to store it or it is particularly dirty just rise the salty road slush off. Afterwards bring the bicycle inside and the remaining water evapourates quickly leaving a salty residue you can wipe off.

I use a cheap chain cleaner like this, some Simple Green degreaser, and some Tri Flow chainlube. First, I brush the snow off the bike as best I can, then I bring it inside and place it on an old entranceway mat. I let it thaw out for a couple of hours and then clean the chain; I fill the tool with Simple Green and pedal backwards for about 30 revolutions, empty, and repeat until it looks clean. Then I fill the tool with warm water to rinse, let dry, and apply the lube, going through all the gears to lube the cassette and chain rings (it's a lot easier if you have a stand, but not impossible without.) Some Simple Green and an old toothbrush works to clean off any excess gunk on the drivetrain. I then put some lithium grease on my fingers and wipe down all the exposed cables and put a drop of lube in all the housings. Lastly I take a damp sponge and wipe down the bike and put it back in my unheated garage. I try to do this once a week and the whole process takes about a half hour. When the season is over I will remove the drivetrain and give the whole bike a thorough cleaning. Works for me!

After a long ride on salty/muddy roads I fill a watering can with hot water from the faucet, soak a sponge in dish washing soap then proceed to "bathe" the bike with warm water while soaping it down with the sponge. This is more than enough to remove the sticky mud, salt, and grime from the entire bike including the wheels and drive train. I then clean the chains further with the chain cleaner and spray the derailleur with WD-40.

Before taking the bike inside I invert it and also stand it on the rear wheels while shaking it to make sure water pours out of the drain holes. I then lube the chains once it is completely dry.

Here is a pic of the watering can I am talking about:

Since I commute daily, it gets rinsed with the handheld shower daily.

It's sitting right next to me in my room...

That's awesome!




Thanks for the replies everyone!

Nice can!

I agree with "irclean" on using Simple Green. For the frame, dilute the simple green with water 2 to 1 and wipe it down with a nice soft cloth. I use the auto blue paper towel that you can get from any auto store. It's sturdy and soft. Clean the chain as mentioned above and then take out the back wheel. I use pipe cleaners, I don't know where I got them but I imagine a hobby store would have them. Dip the pipe cleaner in a fresh batch of Simple green, depending how long it's been since last clean you can dilute it or not, and then slip the pipe cleaner between each cog on the freewheel. It will loosen things up real good. Then if you have a utility sink in the basement just rinse the freewheel with warm water holding the tire up straight, not on its side. If no sink, perform this outside. Let her dry and then spray Triflow or other teflon lube on it. I use a brush on the chain ring since the cogs are a little more exposed. Wipe your rims dry after any ride in foul winter weather esspecially the rear tire, the gunk seems to build up on it faster than the front.

bring it in the house. wipe the chain with paper towel to be sure it is dry. let it stand overnight. try not to use water especially around the cables. get nice stiff brush from the hardware store cleaning dept in various sizes. next day dry brush it all around. keep the oily brushes away fropm the rims.. paper towels and windex for the rest of the bike. if nec lube the chain, but wipre off excess from the chain.

I use a similar device. Fill it up with water. Squirt the water on offending spots. Have a drink if you wish.

What brand of mirror is that, tsl? Was it easy to mount to the hood like that?

I'm a firm believer that you need a "winter bike" if you're going to be riding in the winter. I'd never ride one of my regular bikes in the salt. My winter bike gets cleaned once or twice a season. Occasionally I'll spray off the gunk and lube everything up real good but most of the time I just lube the chain and let the rest of the bike stay filthy.

Mirrycle Road Mirror for STI

I'm very pleased with it. I have one on each of my bikes. Mounts easily--everything you need is right in the box. Even the tools required (a 2.5mm and a 3mm hex wrench) are in the box. Or use your multi-tool.

+1

I have a Mountain Mirrycle on each of my bikes. In the Mountain's case, it mounts inside one end of your handlebars. As long as you can follow simple, step-by-step instructions, it's easy to mount.

I fully agree.

Last season, I used a spray bottle with warm water after every ride in wet conditions. I also wiped and occasionally cleaned the chain and re-applied oil frequently. I wore out the chain in a season anyway.

This season, I've only been applying oil to the chain which has a gooey black buildup around it and the associated drive train parts. The bike has a nice coating of brown and white crud. Getting it wet will only accelerate rust and if I have to replace the chain after a season anyway, why bother cleaning it?

My winter bike (has plastic fenders now).

showed my current spouse the pics of the bike in the shower. she now knows I am not so bad. THANK YOU!

I like that Giant Sedona

I'm hoping to take out my hard core winter bike (an old GT) Wednesday for a snowy home commute. Riding it into work on dry roads will stink but the ride home will be splendid.

Salt is pretty soluble, I don't bother with soap most of the time. Key is having a warm place to totally dry it so no water remains to freeze on the next ride.

I ride my XC mountain bike in the winter. For the cost and hassles of creating and maintaining a beater, I'll just have the LBS replace the bearings, chain, and fork oil in the spring.

The watering can is a good idea.

I'm loving the responses everyone!


I wheeled the bike in the shower yesterday and hosed it down.. Dried it off with a couple paper towels and it's much better.


I think that will be the last wet ride I take for a long time..

My wife would not appreciate a wet, dirty bike in the house, so this is what I do when done riding.

1. Put it in the garage, and point the heater at it (it's the torpedo type). This melts the snow off of it.
2. Get the pump sprayer (the kind you put weed killer in) take into house and fill with warm water.
3. Spray off bike, paying attention to where crud builds up.
4. Wipe down bike with a towel, while the heater is still on it, helping it dry
5. WD-40 the chain to get excessive water off. Wipe it down.
6. Lube the chain, etc with spray lubricant.

This works for me, though I don't ride if the roads are really nasty.

I've Found that using a pressurize gallon garden sprayer works great. I fill it with a mix of water and car wash and
clean after every ride.It has pressure, but not enough to effect the bearings. Lube the chain and your're ready
to go.