Cleaning your bike after a ride may feel like a slaughter, but it doesn’t have to take forever. Properly cleaning your motorcycle should be a significant part of your bike care routine. Washing your bike regularly will ensure that your bike’s expensive elements have an extended and happy life. This is perhaps the most crucial reason why many people commonly wonder how to clean mountain bikes.
No matter if you ride a road bike or a mountain bike, it is ideal for taking some time to wash your cycle. It is a vital necessity.
For road bikes, we suggest degreasing and “re-oiling” your drive train every 100 miles. It would help if you cleaned your bike for mountain bikes after every ride with mud or every two weeks with regular use in dry climates.
It’s true that if you leave water on your bike for a long time, goes soap or degreaser on your bike, or don’t properly dry your bike before storing it. You could have some rust and wear on your hands.
However, using a hose and a bucket of soapy water is the preferable way to get your bike shiny and clean with the right bike washing technique.
How to Clean Mountain Bike
Step 1: prepare the bike wash area.
First of all, it is considered to find an optimal place to clean your bike.
Try to find a space with good drainage. It is advantageous to use a solid bike stand so that your bike does not touch the ground.
This way, dirt will not splash on the bike. Ideally, your washing area is out of the wind and rain. Make sure your sector is acceptably lit and that you have plenty of room to work. If you think you need a pressure washer, you’re wrong.
These have the potential to end up taking out grease looking bearings and damaging your suspension.
Step 2: Prepare your assembly.
Mount your bike stand. Ideally, find one that rotates 360 degrees that allow you to stay still while you turn the bike.
You’ll need a bucket, preferably a brightly colored one that shows some oil or residue. Next, get two brushes, one slow and one steady, attached with a hose connected to cold water and some cleaning products.
These have the possibility of being merely an economical dishwasher. Avoid car products because they can be powerful and have oils inside that can contaminate the disc pads.
How to Clean Mountain Bike: What will you need?
- Bucket
- Hose Nozzle
- Cleaner or soap for concrete bicycle plates
- Concrete degreaser for bicycles
- Brush kit
- Chain lube
- Chain cleaner for bike
- General bicycle grease
- Rubbing alcohol
- Bicycle polish
- Mountain bike cleaning kit
- Clean mountain bike chain
Learn to put a slipped or fallen bike chain back on.
Grab a bucket with water and dish soap or concrete bike cleaner.
Try to wash your bike in a shaded area to prevent it from drying out prematurely.
Rinse your bike
To start the cleaning process, you have to soak your bike. Also, look for clean mountain bike disc brakes.
High-pressure water can be efficient in removing mud from your frame after a wet ride, but it is also very efficient in removing grease from the bearings and damaging the suspension seals.
To avoid damaging your bike, use an enclosed water bucket with a sponge or brush slowly to wash your cycle from top to bottom gently.
What you should do: Use the hose in the “shower” position to rinse your bike thoroughly.
Don’t: Use a lot of pressure, such as a pressure washer or “jet” setting. Using high pressure on surfaces with bearings like your bottom bracket, pivots, headset, and bushings could cause dirt and debris to move towards these sensitive surfaces.
It is important to note that you can wash off all the grease intended to prevent water and dirt from getting into your bearings.
Use degreaser
Use a concrete bicycle degreaser on the entire drive train (cassette, derailleurs, chain, chain rings) and let the satisfaction penetrate for at least 5 minutes while cleaning the rest of your bike.
Avoid spraying degreaser on brake calipers/brake pads/rotors if you have disc brakes. If the degreaser gets on these surfaces, it can cause contamination and squeal the brakes.
Degreaser
If you keep your bike clean and make sure the chain is lubricated correctly, you really shouldn’t have to decrease the transmission so continuously. However, over time, the chain lubricant (chain lube) will attract dust and dirt, turning the once shiny chrome cassette sprockets into black discs of greasy dirt.
The longer bristle on the other radical of the Grunge brush also makes it easier to get into tight spots between the cassette’s sprockets. At the same time, the smaller meetings are special for chaining teeth and derailleur pivots.
After degreasing the transmission, use a quick spray of water to remove any contaminants or degreasing agents left behind.
Then, wipe the chain dry and clean the other components to prevent water residue from leaving rust stains.
While the foaming degreaser is taking effect, use your brush kit to scrub the rest of the bike
At this point, it is necessary to keep the “drive train brushes” separate.
Continue to dip your brushes into your soapy water while rubbing occasionally.
Tires and Transmission
- Using the stable brush and not too hot water, pour the washing liquid directly onto the brush and then rub it onto the tires, removing the dirt between the tread and near the sidewall and the rim.
- Inspect for damage such as cuts, broken blocks, or thorns as you go. Bubbles in the soap have the potential to signal a delayed puncture that would otherwise go undetected. Go to the drive train and the cassette.
- Remove grass, sticks, or other debris caught between your teeth or stuck in the jockey wheels, then scrub with the sturdy brush and cleaner.
- Do not use a degreaser for this job. If your cassette is so thick in grease and the soap does not remove it, you were not taking care of your drive train, and the only way we suggest you use degreaser is to remove the cassette from the freehub body. That way, there is no danger of damage.
- Reveal the drive train with its “drive train brushes” and re-freeze everything inside the pulleys in the rear derailleur box
- Holding a sponge on the chain while pedaling backward is a fantastic way to clean up grease that sticks.
- When you are satisfied, use the “shower” setting on the hose again to rinse the entire bike.
Rinse the bike well to make sure no soap or products are left behind, as this can cause problems.
This process of rinsing your bike is far superior without a pressure washer because it is effortless to remove any grease from the bearings, headset, pivots, bottom bracket, bushings, and jockey wheels.
A free-moving water hose or a bucket of clean water and a slow brush is much kinder to your bike.
Take the bike out of the rack or turn it over and bounce it off the tires to remove excess water.
If you see that the bike will not dry out in the 5-10 minute period, find the best clean rags you have and dry them.
Pay particular attention to the screws, transmission, and any other places that tend to hold water. To dry the information, clean the case and chainrings and keep a cloth on the chain while you pedal backward.
Dry the bike
- You can use an air compressor, a leaf blower, or a towel.
- Otherwise, drop your mountain bike numerous times from a few feet, as this will remove any water excess.
- Additionally, you can wrap a clean towel around the chain. Then, turn the crank in reverse for at least 15 seconds.
- This will dry out the chain, which you want before using the lubricant.
- After drying the transmission, always add lubricant so that the chain moves freely.
- Hold the nozzle on the chain and gently squeeze to release a slow stream of lubricant as you pedal backward with the other hand.
- You want to see the entire length of the chain, so back up at least six pedal rotations.
Lubricant
Beyond the fact that bike oil may seem like a straightforward product, many chains lube on the market as different tire tread patterns.
There are commonly “dry” lubricants for riding in dry conditions and “wet” oils for wet conditions to simplify matters.
Dry lubricants are special for dusty Australian roads because they pick up less dirt than heavier wet oils.
However, they do not last as long, so you should apply them more consistently.
Ensure that your chain is 100% dry after cleaning and degreasing.
Then, with the bottle’s tip placed on the bottom of the chain between the chain rings and the derailleur guide wheel, add a dab of lubricant to each roller.
Wipe off excess lube with a cloth
The excess lube will attract more dirt to your drive train.
Rotor Cleaning
If you feel that the rotors have become contaminated by cleaning your bike, use isopropyl alcohol instead. With repeated washing, individual sections of your motorcycle may require fresh grease to prevent squeaking or to seize.
Among these, you will find the seat post and the saddle clamp bolts, as well as the headset and the capacity bolts. You can also find the threads of the pedals, thru-axles, gear pulleys, and other components. Use bike polish to give your bike an added shine.
With a clean, dry cloth, spray some enamel on your rag and wipe the frame and other shiny parts. If you’re looking to improve your tires, you should be careful with your brake pads. Avoid contact whether you have rim brakes or brake pads.
Polishing
Always apply polish to a lint-free cloth that rubs on the frame; never spray directly, as this could spray the rotors and contaminate the brake pads. Rotate the forks and rear shock during your ride to keep dirt off the seals. Clean it, then lubricate the uprights with a concrete suspension lubricant or some fork oil.
Get your mountain bike dirty.
Mountain bikes are not designed to be seen or ridden on the pavement. It is thought that they have to be lovingly abused on a muddy single-track path.
How to Clean Mountain Bike: FAQ
Is it OK to wash my mountain bike?
People end up doing more harm than good while washing their mountain bikes because they pass it with a lot of continuity. But if your bike is filthy, clean it.
It would help if you cleaned your bike after every few rides and finally, after a few trips when it gets caught in the rain.
How often should I clean my mountain bike?
Ideally, you should do light cleaning and re-lubricate after every challenging trip or two. A deeper wash is required if you ride in rain or mud.
Keeping your MTB clean is the essential preventative care you can do on your mountain bike.
How can I clean my bike quickly?
To clean your bike correctly, you must follow the steps outlined in this text.
Conclusion
Cleaning your chain will not only save you money in a short period but will also allow you to prolong the service life of both the chain and the transmission with more recurring cleanings.
The chain and transmission of your bike are also similar to the information in your car. They transmit all the capacity of your feet to the wheels of your bicycle.
Unfortunately, they pick up a lot of dirt, grime, and grime in the process. And that is terrible news for their performance and longevity.
