What is your cleaning setup ?



gman0482

Active Member
Aug 13, 2009
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Hey everyone,

Just wondering what some of you have in your cleaning arsenal ?

Carbon cleaner (or any frame) : ?
Degreaser : ?
Polisher: ?
Lubricant: ?

I heard Pledge for wood furniture works well :confused:.

Thanks,
-Greg
 
Bucket
Soap
Water
Rag
Hose w/ nozzle set on shower (it's a low pressure setting)
Wash, rinse, and repeat as necessary
 
I use warm soapy water then use a degreaser from "ZEP" to get off any road tar, chain grease...etc.(works awesome without damaging anything). I use a 3M product that is a quick polish in between waxing. I also have a 3M protective clear bra on my lower forks (front and rear) which helps with rock chips or other stuff. I ALWAYS dry everything using an air compressor to get all the water out from any cracks.
 
alienator said:
Bucket
Soap
Water
Rag
Hose w/ nozzle set on shower (it's a low pressure setting)
Wash, rinse, and repeat as necessary
Same here, followed by drying with a clean, soft terry towel.
 
I don't always use a towel to dry. I give the bike a couple of bounces on the ground and let the desert heat and low humidity have it. I like to save my energy for **** surfing: it can be so exhausting.
 
Easy for you, but where I live, "air drying" is a pretty slow process.....you could miss a day's riding if you waited :)

Speaking of bike appearance, one of my strongest buddies rides on an old Trek CF frame which he repainted years ago with a spray can. About half of the paint is missing now, but that doesn't seem to slow him down at all. An ex-racer, he's still very disciplined as an athlete (diet, sleep, training), but just doesn't care about the appearance of his bike.
 
gman0482 said:
I heard Pledge for wood furniture works well :confused:.

Yeah, it'll make things shiney...........

but, I'd stick with using products that are designed for paint, metal, etc.

I use car type cleaners, waxes, and degreasers, etc on my bikes.
 
I use the same simple ingredients as alienator, though just a bit less ****.

I do, however, finish off with a squirt of Bike Lust.

bikelust.jpg
 
I've been using stuff from a company called Finish Line (polisher - ProDetailer, degreaser - EcoTech2, lubricants - Dry Teflon and Wet). Also, I sometimes use a parts cleaner from Evers when wiping grease with a rag.
 
" White Lightning " lubricant (lubricates and self-cleans chain at the same time)
" Park Tool " citrus-lemon cleaner (yes it smells like lemon ! )
" Park Tool " brushes

+ 1 inside the shower-tub
 
bianchi10 said:
I ALWAYS dry everything using an air compressor to get all the water out from any cracks.

That's a very good way of blowing water past seals...
 
swampy1970 said:
You're kidding, right? You clean your fecking bike in the shower?

Hahahahahahahahaaaaaaaa...

well i live in an appartment building :(
 
swampy1970 said:
That's a very good way of blowing water past seals...

are you saying that as in it is bad? if so I would like to know so that I do not do it anymore.
 
bianchi10 said:
are you saying that as in it is bad? if so I would like to know so that I do not do it anymore.
Almost as bad as washing it with a power washer:eek:. Don't do it anymore so that you aren't contaminating your bearings with water and forcing water into places that it should not be in.
 
kdelong said:
Almost as bad as washing it with a power washer:eek:. Don't do it anymore so that you aren't contaminating your bearings with water and forcing water into places that it should not be in.
good to know, thank you! I have only had my bike for a couple months so hopefully I havnt already done some damage.
 
I personally, because I'm in an apartament, would not use water. Just some sprays and very good detail cleaners. That Pedro's stuff looks good. I also looked at some Park Tool kits for the chains, and some good detailing brushes that get in deep.
 
gman0482 said:
I personally, because I'm in an apartament, would not use water. Just some sprays and very good detail cleaners. That Pedro's stuff looks good. I also looked at some Park Tool kits for the chains, and some good detailing brushes that get in deep.

Skip the plastic chain cleaners. If you want to clean your chain, remove it (might require seperating it with a chain tool), put some mineral spirits in a 2 L bottle with the chain, shake thoroughly and dry. If you really must, you can let it soak. I don't clean my chain much at all. Instead about every 100-150 miles I wipe it down, then put a drop of ProLink chain lube on each roller. After spinning up and down the cassette, I wipe the chain down, again, to remove excess. On the exceedingly rare occasion that I do "clean" my chain, it's easily removed since I use a KMC removable link. You can get removable links for other chains, too.
 
bianchi10 said:
are you saying that as in it is bad? if so I would like to know so that I do not do it anymore.

Anything compressed/pressurised should be kept away from seals. Your bike isn't going to 'suffer' too much about a bit of clean water.
 

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