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how to wash your mtb properly
Ok fellas,
I'm relatively new to this sport (about 4 years) and I'm still learning a lot as i go which is par for the course i know but i think that everyone i speak to has a different opinion on this important topic (HOW TO CLEAN YOUR MTB) I have been told everything from use low pressure water, to use high pressure water, to use no water at all, use bike bike wash and degreaser every time to sometimes to don't need it, chammoi bike dry, don't chammoi bike dry. as you can see I'm really confused and am looking for a definative answer on how to best preserve my new pride and joy 2015 Anthem SX??
Right or wrong my current routine after riding is... hose down entire bike trying not to use too much pressure around the moving components, spray bike wash/degreaser to entire bike allow to soak for a few minutes, rinse bike wash off with hose, remove excess grease and grime off chain using dirty rag, re-apply chain lube to chain, dry bike as best possible using clean rag.
thanks in advance for your advice to an idiot who just loves to ride!
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What you're doing sounds about right to me. Not sure that you really need the bike wash though if you're cleaning after every ride.
Every month it's wise to take the chain off, degrease it, the cassette, the derailleur pulley wheels and the front chain rings. Rinse and dry them off, apply new lube and reassemble.
Job done
Edit; use a bit of car tyre black on your tyres, it makes them look new again.
I'm well over washing my MTB.
After every ride:
-Clean and lube fork and shock stanchions.
-Put a bit of auto gear oil on clean cloth and spin the chain through it.
For the once every 6 month wash:
-Gentle hose or low pressure washer. No high pressure over any bearings, or anything else really.
-Bucket mild soap and various brushes.
-Rinse with de-ionised water and put away wet.
-Next day lightly lube drivetrain and suspension, seatpost etc.
So mine gets a wash down with a gentle hose and SuperB bike-specific brush I got ages ago from Torpedo7. The hose head is on the "mist"setting.
Never spray at the bearings under any circumstances, always across them.
Wipe down afterwards with an old t-shirt, including running the chain thru it until no more residue. Rags over discs to shield them, then a light spray on the pedals with WD40.
Every once in a while I'll use a little dishwashing detergent in a bucket of water, not much.
Takes about 5 minutes top to tail.
The gold standard would have to be Mr Flow Bikes. He uses Mr Sheen - dirt doesn't stick to his bike.
(Just be careful to cover the brakes with a rag.)
How would you wash yourself? Show your bike the same care
while we are on the subject and i wanted to know, when degreasing the drive train, is the $2 a can supa cheep auto stuff ok or do i need the $16 a can orange oil extract bike specific one?
For cleaning, I used a low pressure hose and the pink muc off stuff and it worked a treat. Bounced the bike a few times to shake of excess water run an old tshirt over to dry and relubed the chain. Done.
One weird thing is the Bontrager labels on my XR3 team tyres have now started to come loose.
not a big deal but weird none the less. Just the label, the tyres are fine and any else had this issue?
I to have had the stickers on the xr 3 tyres start to peel off around the edge but im not to sure why.
Tyre black is usually not recommended for two wheel vehicles as it reduces grip. For MTB's this may not be as big a problem as on mo/cycles as generally you are not running on hard surface - but if you do ride hard stuff then don't use it. Use on a motorcycle can lead to a reduction in traction.
Note also that the tyre is part of the suspension, especially on hard tails - does the tyre black affect the tyre wall? And are MTB tyres made of rubber nowadays??
Just wash the wall with soapy water - but try not to get greasy substances on the discs
Degreaser - don't use the $2 as it penetrates into the link pins and removes oil. If you must degrease use citrus and only enough to clean the outside links, wash off with water and re-oil
FWIW.
I was using an auto degreaser on my CX and MTB, which did a good job. The only trouble was that it was also degreasing the freewheel. leading to a trip the LBS for a regrease after just a few months.
Went through the same use cycle specific or go generic. Now I use OOMPH (green liquid in a 4l container from Bunnings at $16) diluted in water. I have a Park chain cleaner and decant the OOMPH into an old shower gel pump bottle. 6 pumps of OOMPH and the rest water to the max fill level and wind away. Have used about 500ml of the 4l bottle since April 2014 and always clean and lube the chain when coming back from an MTB ride.
Use a similar strength in a spray bottle for cassette and rings. Wash off with a watering can, so you can regulate the pressure. Leave a few minutes (or until you have done the frame) and then run through an old rag to dry off. Leave again and then run chain through fingers to see if dry and then apply lube. Then depending on the lube used leave (dry) or leave for a few minutes and run chain though old rag to take off excess (wet).
The degreaser needed depends on the lube used in the first place. In dry months I use the lil Squirt samples from the Cape to Cape that last fairly well but need to be reapplied lightly after about week or so to keep things quiet. Chain on CX looks clean and runs well after about a month of touch ups without a clean (road riding not in the dirt). In the wet found Lil Squirt not the best as chain gets really squeaky. Was using a Morgan Blue (CX and MTB) lube, but that needs to be degreased more regularly, especially in the cassette, which needs to be taken off and done at least once a month.
For the frame I mainly use an Enjo glove and water. Have Bike wash (part of a race prize pack) that is used sometimes, but Enjo does the job. The watering can allows enough water to wash crud away at a lowish pressure, so the dirt and water are running off and not into parts they are not supposed to get into.
If you clean your bike after a ride you will pick up any problems before hitting the trails again. Nothing worse than a gear failure to ruin your ride or race.
With the price of some drive chain set ups and quick wash can extend the life a lot. With XT combos being around the $100 for cassette and chain (more for the better stuff) it pays to look after what you have than fork out on new kit when you more often than you need to.
Hope that helps.
We'll someone has to shout out against degreasing.
Don't ! What's important about grease? - it's waterproof , using degreaser stops it being waterproof and dissolves it - this means anywhere that degreaser goes that you don't want is going to remove grease that's there for protection. So given you cannot get inside the pins on a chain to replace grease then don't degrease it.
Every chain manufacturer recommends against solvents and immersion in degreasers - they all recomend a rag with a wipe off with a weak degreaser on the rag or just soap and water to clean.
Your lube keeps your drivetrain quiet, the grease inside the chain put there by the manufacturer makes the chain last longer. Using wax lubes makes cleaning much easier in the first place. As for bottom brackets pivots etc - it may be that leaving the caked on mud there is the best thing - it's waterborne materials that have the best chance to get past seals, so keep water away if you can cope with a dirty looking bike.
I was told to use Diesel to clean the chain. I was told it is a lubricant so won't cause the problems mentioned above, but is still handy to remove dirt. Not sure if it is true but I have been using it for over ten years and I rarely replace my chains and cassettes, they last ages, can't remember the last time I ever worn out a cassette and I ride 4-5 times a week.
I have a DH bike and AM bike.
The DH bike always gets washed with car wash after each ride and is kept clean.
New bearings were needed after about 9 months of riding it only once or twice a month.
The AM bike is never washed (only mud brushed off) and is left dirty (chain is however)
Bearings have not needed to be replaced after a year and only required re-packing with grease.
As said above, degreaser will penetrate into your bearings, freewheel etc. and break down the grease causing wear, rusting and earlier replacement. I would never use degreaser on anything but the chain / cassette and only if they were off the bike.
I can't be bothered to wash my bike anymore since I often ride it 4-5 times a week. So I've adopted the brushing method. Give the whole bike a once over with a dustpan brush, lube the chain and good to go.
Once in a while I'll break out some warm water and dishwashing liquid and give it a thorough wash.
Why would you take a perfectly good mountain bike and throw degreaser and soap all over it?
Choose a chain lube in the first place that suits your type of riding. Stick with wax based lube, from when the components are brand new and you will
Never need to degrease the drivetrain.
Use a wet type lube for cables, and good quality lithium grease on bottom brackets etc.
Lastly - dirt adds character
Nappy wipes.
Know some people that use a couple of nappy wipes after a ride - so hose, no complication and soft on your bottom
I am surprised more people don't use the Park Tools chain cleaner, it is superb. I buy the 4l of orange oil from Bunnings and use that in the chain cleaner, brings it beautifully clean in a minute or two. Let it drip dry then relube with Morgans Extra Dry, doing this about every 40-50kms.
As for the frame, well I wait till it gets pretty dirty then use the old dishwashing liquid and warm water, but generally hose the caked on mud off after each ride.
My personal belief is you only need to look after exposed moving parts. I never take a hose to my bike or wash it with water. You'd be surprised how much dirt/mud magically disappears from general riding.
After each ride I wipe away dirt from fork & shock stanchions (around seals too), spin cranks & run chain through dry rag, then lube chain.
Every few weeks, use washing up brush or toothbrush to clean up front & rear cogs.
Get serviced one a year by LBS who look after all frame bearings (steering + frame pivots) & get them to change fork seals too.
I do The majority of other maintenance/ repairs myself.
Cheers
I'm with Daisy.
I'm pretty lazy and I made the mistake of buying a mate finish frame so I wipe the seals and clean/lube the chain weekly(ride most days).
With things like Maxles you get nice little places for moisture to sit and as it will find it's way in to bearings as it warms up and tries to escape. I also have the magnificent BB92 BB that is such a poor fit it allows water in to the frame which causes problems.
I wipe it down and that's it, it's only a bike, I try to avoid people with super shiny bikes, they waste riding time with bike talk