[Closed] What do I use to clean my bike?

Sdoc100. Citrus cleaner. Brake cleaner.

Remove pads and discs first, then go for it.

Hi gnusmas,

What condition is the headset and bottom bracket in? Normally when people just leave a bike over winter these parts seize up.

You can't beat hot water and washing up liquid and a good old brush. Remove wheels and scrub away.

I often give my bike a strip down, clean, regrease, degrease, oil etc.

Thanks both for the replies.

Will look into that Sdoc100 cleaner. I had originally thought of hot soapy water but wasn't sure if it would be enough. The plan is to give it a once over while I am cleaning it. When I last checked about 6 weeks ago, the headset and bb seemed good so hopefully won't be an issue.

spray it with water first to dampen and soften the mud so it doesn’t scratch your paintwork when removing.  Then just use hot soapy water and a brush like when you are doing the dishes, no point spending money on posh cleaners when fairy liquid works as well.

As for the seat, hmm it could be ingrained mud won’t come out but a bit of spot stain remover and elbow grease might work

Can you get hot water to a hose? Spray first to soften everything, then go in with hot soapy water. I favour fairy liquid.

That will shift most of it, after that, you can then see which specific bits need more attention.

If the drivetrain is particularly manky, I use swarfega jizer. If you take the bits off and clean them in a sturdy tub, the muck will settle leaving clean degreaser to reuse.

Only thing with soapy water are the corrosive salts in the soap, it's not terrible but not wonderful.

Use hot water with fairy/whatever and then clean off with cold water after. Wipe down, then some furniture polish.

Finally some wd-40/gt85/whatever on drivetrain

Yes, there are corrosive salts in washing up liquid but it rinses off easily enough and isn't left on for days at a time. I've never seen any real world harm done by it.

Only thing with soapy water are the corrosive salts in the soap

I used think that that but then I saw something on GCN that said the salts in washing up liquid are not the bad corrosive ones, plus I do tend to rinse the bike after cleaning.

I'd start with dry brushing everything except the hopefully still oily drivetrain, to get rid of that dry mud.

Then spray some drivetrain cleaner on cassette/chainrings.

While that's penetrating, bucket of warm/hot water with bit of general bike cleaner, or tiny bit of washing up liquid plus sponge & cleaning brushes.

Then run chain through one of those in-line chain cleaners, where you run pedals backwards.

Rinse frame and drivetrain in clean water.

Dry drivetrain thoroughly, frame reasonably with old tea towels.

Re-lube chain, especially on inner side that makes contact with drivetrain (personally I never bothered with doing individual rollers).

Then go and get it dirty again! 😉

Just go and ride it in the rain today (assuming it's anything like as wet as it is here). It's probably no harder to clean now than it would have been the day after your ride. Great to see you're heading back out in the saddle.

My favourite cleaning method is:

brush of whatever muck you can while bike is dry, if it’s not too mucky you can use a cloth otherwise whatever brush you have kicking about

next spray with a wax based dry car cleaner the sort that your meant to put on your car without water

now wipe as much of the dirt off as you can

If still mucky use some citrus degreaser

now reapply the dry car wash and wipe down

The wax will help protect your frame

Cleaned my bike this morning. Dry brushed it first, that made a huge difference. Used warm water with a drop of washing up liquid. Then rinsed it off with warm water. Looks nice and clean now. Sprayed gt85 over the drivetrain. Now it's time to lube the chain. Can I find it? Has anyone seen my lube anywhere?

I saw something on GCN that said the salts in washing up liquid are not the bad corrosive ones, plus I do tend to rinse the bike after cleaning.

GCN is wrong, ordinary sodium chloride is used as a thickener for dishwash liquid and for all kinds of liquid products like shower gel, shampoo etc. But it's a lot less salty than a ride on salted winter roads.

GT85 is ok til you find the proper lube 🙂

I saw something on GCN that said the salts in washing up liquid are not the bad corrosive ones, plus I do tend to rinse the bike after cleaning

From experience, back in the day, washing up liquid is an excellent degreaser, so if it runs into/is sprayed into your bearings it will flush the grease out. Apart from that it's ok for the job.

Personally, hose (pressure washer only if it's really bad, or I'm very lazy!), bucket of soapy water (I use car shampoo because it's cheap and, more importantly, in the cupboard) and a sponge. Degreaser if drivetrain looks nasty.

- Hose it over and let it soak for a few minutes
- Brush degreaser onto drivetrain (if needed) using an old paintbrush
- Soapy water all over with the sponge. I've heard people using different sponges to avoid getting chain lube onto rims / discs, but I've never bothered as my bikes are pretty well oil free most of the time.
- Give the whole lot a good rinse off (doubly so if using degreaser)
- Dry the bike - this is an important step. Get an old towel and get water out of everything, frame, bolt heads, chain, rear mech etc. If it's winter, I'll even leave the bike in a heated garage for an hour to get it properly dry
- Lube up - chain, mech pivots, anything else that moves. Use the right lube for the right job. Personally, Smoove on the chain and silicone lube everywhere else
- Give it a quick once over to make sure that there's no play in wheels, headset, seatpost, BB etc. better found then than 5 mins before you need to ride it!

Job done!

I'll reiterate the drying part again - making sure that the bike is properly dry is a great way to stave off corrosion which can be a pain even on high end bikes if they are used in bad weather and left wet. I'll even spray a bit of silicone spray into any steel bolt heads to expel the moisture to make sure they are properly dry 🙂

I literally used a couple of drops in a 1 litre spray bottle,so shouldn't make a difference. My snow camo saddle is sort of snow camo again! Not overly fussed about the paintwork, plenty of marks on it as it is. Nice to have a dirty stiffee, but also nice to have a clean stiffee too 😊

My snow camo saddle is sort of snow camo again!

Soak it with water, then rub it with oxygen stain remover powder (Vanish, or whatever is cheap), leave for a bit then scrub with a brush until it's clean-ish. Or take it off to soak in a bucket of oxy.

So when is its next outing then mate?

Let me know if you'd like some company.

Will let you know, thanks. Or possibly try and arrange something maybe? Not sure when yet properly but hoping to bimble around in the mornings at the moment while little one is in nursery.

Link to last year's pics, dirty bike and newly cleaned bike if anyone is interested.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/D5CyPt11HA1RjPer8

I use the proper ‘core magic stuff, I use snake’s urine.