I had my way, and thought it was harmless and no big deal to take out the garden hose and spray it down and then dry off right away with a towel. Of course I knew I was in denial, and figured while it was easy, probably wasn't a good idea in the long run.
Tonight I picked up my bike from Bike Tech in Lincoln Park, NJ, tuned up for the season to come. While there, I figured I'd ask Steve (the guy who worked on my bike, and the nephew of my Chiropractor, David Runfeldt, the mayor of Lincoln Park) what was the best way to clean it. These guys are awesome. They are all willing, excited, humble and so cool about sharing what they know about bikes.
Here were his suggestions:
All you need to keep your bicycle maintained: A couple differently sized scrub brushes, windex, Fantastic, WD-40, Pledge and rags, rags, rags...
1. Put it in the garage/basement/somewhere dry and leave to dry out.
2. Brush off dried out dirt.
3. Windex everything.
4. Fantastic on rims (to clean off that black slim), followed by windex (to take off film).
5. When chain, sprocket and derailleur need cleaning: use WD-40 and rags to wipe down/off parts. WD-40 is more of a degreaser than a lubricant. Then add chain oil.
6. Wipe down frame with Pledge.
My bike looks brand new and I'll be taking it out in the a.m. before work up into the woods behind my house and up to Ramapo Lake. (I'll post a pict of my route in the future)
Paul Rosenbiker
Mountain Bikes should be Dirty... and sooner or later your going to have it on you rack as you go through a thunder storm and it's going to get hosed off whether you like it or not. But that's just one lazy guys opinion.
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