CLEANING YOUR BIKE: FUN OR FORGET ABOUT IT?

so many crevices

It's kind of meditative for me, I think on the whole I like it. I really want a work-stand, tho.

yeah i think that would increase the ease of this--i used the trainer to hold the bike up while i cleaned everything else, but cleaning the rear triangle is fricken impossible without a proper work stand.

ive recounted my fite with the tools at one lbs regarding methods of cleaning somewhere in ile. now ive got no excuse, but before it was 'dude i race my bike i barely have time to train im not cleaning my chainstay bridge w a toothbrush.' powerwasher (but w great care). of course ive had teammates and mgr see my rig and go 'thats a disgrace!', too.

yeah that was me today with the tootfbrush

I back the toofbrush. And the endless supply of shop rags.

Oy and the rear triangle is the WORST PART.

I think I need to overhaul my pedals; they're pretty and I don't want to replace them outright, but they're loose (side-to-side) and sticky (round and round).

And the endless supply of shop rags.

old t-shirts

the LBS in my hood actually has a bike "shower" where they will clean your bike when it's tuned.

my bike is a disgrace at the moment, though. all i want for xmas is a stand and tool set

I don't go through Tshirts as quickly as shop rags. :)

Muc-off and liberal showering with hose. Job (not very well) done. Tyres are a pain, I can never be bothered to rotate them to getthem clean all the way round. Then I wheel my wet and still quite muddy bike back into my bedroom :(

The rain yesterday may have loosened older dirt but it will also have coated my bike with a wonderful film of city scum, I'm sure. I've been putting off getting it serviced, too, so I might ride this weekend, then clean, then take to the shop.

I don't enjoy the cleaning much, but it does make me feel smug. And I do like a good bit of smugness.

oh yeah, the cleaned bike is something to behold. but it's a journey.

I need a can of grease. Apart from online ordering, do I have to go to Bike Habitat to get it?

so dirty.

also: chain needs a major lube.

so much rain!

My bike is filthy right now. I could clean it, but it'll just get filthy again the next day. I'm about to get a new bike anyways, so it's about to move to beater status.

A dirty bike is kind of a badge of honor. It shows that bike is being ridden often and hard.

(a dusty bike sucks)

I thought I'd spend the winter fine-tuning and overhauling but since we never got real snow I'm just beating my bikes up with freezing drunk rides on bumpy streets. One gets stored outside and they're both pretty sad-looking. u_u

a clean bike is truly something to behold

GUH I have to clean the other one now. And start riding it before the 5 Boro.

the dirt is what's holding my bike together

run your finger under the bottom bracket and tell me what you discover

spent a very satisfying hour today with the bike in the stand and giving it a top-to-bottom. I even got round to giving it a rubdown with silicon polish at the end, lovely stuff.

Best tool used (which may even replace the toothbrush):
http://www.purpleharry.co.uk/assets/web_images/Floss%20closeup.jpg
purple Harry large bike floss - like a pipe cleaner, with fishing line woven in for a bit of abrasiveness, cleaned out all sorts of crap.

One weird thing I noticed - left side of bike seemed way dirtier than right side - any ideas?

BABYWIPES are the secret weapon in my cleaning arsenal. workstand is pretty croosh too; i got a good deal on an elite one that was about 60% off, it's nice and solid.

this thread reminds me that my commuter is a fukkkkn disgrace atm. should give it a cursory going-over before winter really sets in.

babywipes = very true, and seeing as we have 1 + one on way, there's never a shortage of them around the house.

Step 1: MTB in the mud, bike gets dirty
Step 2: Clean bike with Muc-off and jetwash or hose.
Step 3: Admire clean bike
Step 4: Go to bed
Step 5: Look at bike the next day, "omgwtf it's still covered in mud"

every time!