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With Autumn/ Winter on the horizon, there's going to be some muddy bikes going into vehicles. What do you use to clean all the mud off before putting the bike into your vehicle. I've got an estate, so easy to take the front wheel off and put the bike in the back - car has a Cream leather interior though 🙁
Already use a cover sheet, but still dont want a mud fest in the car.I've heard about portable water spray units? Anyone use these or alternatives?
Get a proper bootliner, then you can just sling the bike in the back covered in mud.
A decent one will cover from the back of the front seats to the rear, no chance of mud escaping.
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Of course the ultimate solution is a towbar bike rack, no muddy bike in the car or dropping mud on the roof.
I have a boot liner and old rug in the boot. On really muddy rides I also take an old 5ltr water bottle filled, and an empty 2ltr bottle with a few holes in the lid. I pour the water into the 2ltr bottle and use it to hose the worst off the bike before putting it in the boot, a bit like a cheap powerwash.
I try not to take the bike in the car. If I do I use a bike bag. The trick is keeping the bike bag out of the mud.
i don't have a car i must add but the karcher is great for cleaning my bike. comes with a recharger plug to mains (holds 4 litres water and up to 15 min run time on a charge i think).
+1 Boot liner (Hatchbag.co.uk in my case).
Rags / brushes in car, wipe off the worst, chuck bike in car. Got no problem with bike in car and much prefer it to roof or towbar racks for a whole pile of faff and security reasons.
Home, wash when convenient or a lot of the time just dust off. Over last year and throughout winter I've not had to properly wash my bikes much. A bit of mud left on it is fine and probably dusts off or just ignore as it will get more mud anyway. Mainly just keep the drivetrain clean, and since using Squirt lube all the year I find the drivetrain only needs a wipe or at most a very brief rinse and relube.
Portable washers. I used to use hand pump garden sprayer types. They worked by kept breaking. Cheap though. Almost everyone I know who've had powered washers have had issues with things breaking or leaking.
A tip also is if wheels are caked in mud towards end of ride, find a nice puddle to ride through near the car park.
My hand or a stick.
An old duvet cover to cover the boot and sort out the clart when I get home
Bike bag. It is residing permanently in the back of my little, shitty car.
Front wheel off, into the bag, forks covered in dedicated, blue cover courtesy of IKEA and SWMBO and job done.
Cheers!
I.
I have a massively shit massive car for exactly this reason.
Worx hydroshot and 10l water tank, not exactly cheap but good for way more than washing bikes. 10l of water and quick spray of muc off will take most of the mud off 2 bikes or properly clean 1, much easier straight after a ride when the mud is still wet than leaving it to dry on the way home
I use two Poundland groundsheets duck-taped together to create a sheet big enough to line my hatchback with the seats down.
But a Mobi V-15 has been a great addition for after muddy rides.
Hydroshot, shower curtain and evoc bags (not the big travel one).
I picked up a caravan washer pump from ebay for like £10. 25 litre water tub from ebay and fastened them together. Run the engine while running it from the ciggy lighter socket. Bikes nice and shiny and it can just about clean three bikes off and is probably an eighth of the cost of the other options.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/tarpaulin-sheet-blue-2-x-3m/891gt#_=p
I do have an old 12v Nomad washer and a brush too if I'm expecting a lot of mud and have to put the bike in the car. Generally prefer to stick it on the roof and deal with it when I get home though.
I have a massively shit massive car for exactly this reason.
As he says, get the right tool for the job..
I'm not too bothered about getting the inside of my van dirty, more i'd rather leave the mud at the forest where it came from, and not have to dispose of accumulated piles of the stuff in my washing area at home. A Worx Hydroshot, and a 10l container from Go Outdoors have sorted it nicely.
I have a massively shit massive car for exactly this reason.
And me, plus I have a muddy dog, who also pukes in the car.
portable washer of some decription and a bottle of muc off.
although ive recently discovered thats started to destroy my saddle!!
Tarp in the boot.
Seat cover, a proper one or a towel is fine.
Brush off the worst of the cack before putting bike away.
Clean it at home.
No point complicating things, it's just more faff, if you're anything like me more faff equals less riding time.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00RD0KTZQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I use this to get for the heavy stuff off, works a charm for £12
I have a boot liner and old rug in the boot. On really muddy rides I also take an old 5ltr water bottle filled, and an empty 2ltr bottle with a few holes in the lid. I pour the water into the 2ltr bottle and use it to hose the worst off the bike before putting it in the boot, a bit like a cheap powerwash.
This works very well for me. Fill 3 or so 2 litre bottles with water to take with you, with the lids intact. Get another lid and put a hole in it, then when you're done riding, replace the intact lid with holy lid and spray.
Better than buying yet another new consumer good to feed a biking habit IMO.
I bought one of these a year or two ago when they were on offer for £12 expecting it not to be that good, I was wrong though!
https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15901086/freedomtrail-portable-power-washer-8-litre-15901086
£8 garden sprayer from screwfix
I put mine and my 3 kids bikes on the roof, quicker and less faff, if it rains on the way home the bikes get a wash.
Tow bar rack, and hope for rain on the way home.
+1 for worx hydroshot. Can wash bike completely in under 10 mins (using soapy brush alongside it). I also give shoes and clothes a quick rinse and chuck them in a plastic tub
Turn up home with clean bike and clothes that don't have big chunks of clart on so can just be slung straight in the washer
One of these (assuming you have hollow crank axle) completes the set up to make it all very easy!:
https://www.tredz.co.uk/.XLC-Hollow-Axle-Display-Stand_127027.htm
Large tarp to cover floor and sides. Bike goes in as-is. Gets washed back at the house and the tarp might get cleaned/wiped/swept.
Used to use one of those GoOutdoor type sprayers - really good until I broke the Lance.
It's now my tubeless inflator!
Just picked up a Mobi V15 from CRC for £44 in the sale - will see how that goes.
Just take the wheel off. My car is quite old and I find it’s easier to brush the mud off when dried if needed. Nothing that comes off my bike is as bad as the mess Micro Sims makes in there.
Large Hippo bag for me
Cost me under £10 and will contain all the mud and water etc... whilst in the boot and as it has handles so its easy to slide the whole bike into the boot
Unless it is just the type of mud we have around here, I have never had much luck cleaning a bike before putting it in the car. It feels like I need gallons of water and a brush otherwise I just end up with a wet muddy mess in the car rather than a normal muddy mess.
Now I just stick a tarp in the back and sort it out when I get home.
I actually find me getting changed and cleaning my hands with baby wipes before getting in the car makes a bigger difference than a rinsed bike.