Do You Wash Your Bike?



Most of the time yes. Usually I wash it down once or twice a week, especially after a ride through dirt or muddy patches along the way. Always get into the habit of cleaning your bikes!
 
I've never washed any of my bikes in all the years that I have been riding them. I let the rain do that for me, or my boyfriend, who is obsessed with cleanliness. That's fine by me. He can clean and polish it as much as he likes, as long as he doesn't complain too much about the mud and dust that seem to instantly stick to it after he's been giving it a total make-over. :)
 
I wash my bike any time it gets dirty. This makes storage easier. It also prevents it from rusting. If you cannot wash your bike then the chain may rust. I also like it clean since I like cleanliness.
 
I always wash my bike when it gets dirty. I am very strict about cleanliness. I wash my bike every second Sunday.

The tires always get dirty and muddy after a long ride and so it also needs to be washed to make sure that the tires get good grip on the roads.
 
Of course, I wash my bike very often. It can't be dirty while I'm riding on it. :D
 
I wipe it clean before I use it but I do not have the time to clean it right after using it. I am usually tired after the ride and would want to do something else than clean my bike. If it gets too dirty then I can spend a few minutes to clean it before retiring.
 
Not very often, maybe twice since I bought it 3 months ago. When I do clean it, a baking soda paste and water makes it look as good as new.
 
I don't wash it as much as I probably should, but I do make sure that it is looking nice and clean all of the time, and it is always serviced properly. I wash mine about once every month, and shine it so that all of the dirt has been taken off it. The routes that I ride don't tend to be all that dirty, meaning that I just don't need to do it as much as some people on here probably do. I like to keep it clean, though, as people often look at me while I am riding, and I wouldn't want them to think that I didn't take care of my bike. It is all a part of my own personal image, and I like to keep it as clean as possible when I can.
 
I wash mine about once a week but in my case I have too! When you're living on the coast of South Florida, you have to be very aware of the fact that salt is everywhere. If you're close enough to the beach it's important that you wash your cars often, especially when it rains. During the rainy months you will see a white residue at times on the roof of your car which are salt deposits. I wash my bike because I ride close enough to the beach that I feel I need to so it continues to properly work as well as for cosmetic reasons because eventually the salt can ruin the frame and/or paint.

I say do as you wish, it is your bike after all. If you use your bike for commuting then you're simply treating it like you would your car! It's your primary mode of transportation, you must up keep on all aspects of maintenance.
 
From time to time, yes. Not necessarily wash it though, I just wipe it clean with a wet cloth to remove or the dirt and dust of it. I use to do this just so it looks nice and fresh all the time but nowadays, as I tend to ride down muddy/dirty hills, I don't want the dirt to get clogged up in the chains and cause them to not work when it dries up. So I pretty much clean my bike daily.
 
I always do a wipe down after every ride and inspect the tires. I'll clean the chain every other week if not sooner depending on conditions that I've ridden in.
 
Of course I do, almost compulsively depending on where I've been riding and what the weather has been like. I'm a mountain biker, so biking out in the elements obviously means that my bike is prone to getting quite dirty. If I were more of a road biker, I doubt that I'd have that issue.

Typically I get a bunch of mud/dirt stuck in my tires, chain, and breaks, and it's obviously quite necessary to keep all of those clean for maximum performance. Usually I just hose down the bike, scrub off any areas where mud is still stuck on, and then oil up my breaks, chain, and cogset.
 
Definitely, but I just bike on the road nowadays and usually when it's not raining, so the bike doesn't really get as dirty, so once a week is enough for me.
 
I always take time to wash my bikes as I stay in the region where we have some mouldy roads and after each ride, the bike look dirty. I do so using mild soap and sponge.
 
I never wash my bikes. I clean and lube the chain every hundred miles. At that time I use a 2" paintbrush brush the little bit of dust off the wheels and frame. They both have fenders which stops muck from wet roads coating the frame. The less water that gets into the components, the happier I am.
 
I never wash my bikes. I clean and lube the chain every hundred miles. At that time I use a 2" paintbrush brush the little bit of dust off the wheels and frame. They both have fenders which stops muck from wet roads coating the frame. The less water that gets into the components, the happier I am.

You've got a point here as it is not always the best when we use more water on the bike. What is suggested is the bike owners try as much as they could to keep everything moderate to avoid making the bike get old quickly.