How to quickly clean your road bike
When you get home from a long day of slogging through the hills, the last thing you want to do is clean your bike. However, if you don’t clean your drivetrain on a regular basis, it will get mucky, parts will corrode, and you’ll be more likely to have seized components, uncooperative gears, and squeaky brakes. Cleaning your bike properly only takes a few minutes but doing so on a regular basis might save you money on a new groupset down the road.
Why is it important to clean your bike?
Your bike is made up of several moving pieces. These sections deteriorate when exposed to dirt, grime, and debris. Maintenance should be performed on a regular basis (monthly, weekly, or more frequently depending on your riding style). Plan to clean your bike more often if you spend a lot of time riding in wet, muddy weather, or if you ride hard, long, and often.
It’s important to keep your bike’s parts clean and lubricated for optimum results. Lubrication protects moving parts from friction-induced wear, prevents them from “freezing up,” and helps avoid rust and corrosion. But proceed with caution. Excessive lubrication can cause component damage and poor performance (excess lubricant will attract dirt and other abrasive particles). Excess lube should always be carefully cleaned away before the bicycle is rode. When lubricating many parts at once, keep in mind the order in which the lubricants are applied. Excess lube should be wiped away in the same order to allow the lubricants to soak in.
Rinsing
Begin by giving the frame a fast wipe down. Use a sponge and a bucket of water to clean it; don’t use a pressure washer because it can push water into the bearings. Spray a bike cleaning substance on it and let it sit for a few minutes (see the back of the bottle for the optimum length of time). After that, scrub the bike with more clean water and a soft bristled cloth.
Cleaning of rims and brake pads
Give your wheels’ rims a good wash and dry and wipe the pads to make sure there’s no crud on them that could erode the braking surface (if you’re using rim, not disk, brakes).
Use degreaser
Apply a degreasing agent to the derailleurs and chain set and clean them thoroughly (but gently). It may be simpler to do this by separating the chain from the chainring.
Give the chain and cassette a good scrub with more degreaser. Using a gear brush to get into the cassette cogs is extremely helpful. If the chain is still dirty, use a chain cleaner: just fill it with degreaser, clip it on, and rotate the pedal backwards to feed the chain through. When you’re done, dispose of the degreaser properly.
Rinse the soap from the bike, dry the chain with an old towel, and lubricate the chain and derailleur pivot points with chain lube.