Cleaning one's bike

Also plus one on the baby wipes. I think degreaser does more harm then good penetrating bearings and the like and even if you wash it out (in my case the shower in the bath) I not sure even if you do spray oil on it again whether there is still some residue. I wore out a perfectly good chain doing this after a couple of months. The LBS shop gave me some good advice and now before I head out for my morning runs, take the can of spray out of the postbox outside and spray and rotate the chain twice. Do it once or twice and it becomes habit. Not exactly if bike parts are cheap these days. As for cleaning my carbon baby, out comes the wipes and takes all of five minutes watching TV and no mess. When I finished put on the sunglasses and admire the bling..loooool

+1 for baby wipes/ass wipes buy em cheap from pound shops jobs a good un cut down time and when its cold can be done indoors just brush the worst of outside first and i lput my chain in a jar of degreaser and give it a good shake and when i can be arsed i use cue tips for inbetween links but as a ride ss now i don't really need to bother to go to that length anymore.

What sort of mind? God, I'd hate to answer that one...

Get your wife to do it. Actually, on second thoughts....

Can only echo what trikeman says. Brought a smile to my face after a crap day.

Take bike into bath with you. Hold it tenderly from behind, gently soaping all bike's crevices. Whisper sweet nothings into the headset. Use a soapy sponge to work at the downtube. Tenderly thread a flannel around bike's chainset. Let bike know you'll protect bike. Bike must trust you. Bike must love you.

Remember to thoroughly lube up afterwards. Flavoured lube optional.

Fairy liquid, old flannel (easier to get in the nooks and crannies than a sponge), and an old toothbrush. plus a Park Tool chain scrubber, which seems to do a great job. (and their chain cleaning fluid smells lovely)

I tend to whip the wheels off and give them / the frame a good wash down after most rides, but then I'm very much a weekend rider...

Rag clean between services, bit of muck off on rag and wipe having brushed worst off when dry.

Spray rag with degreaser to wipe worst off chain weekly, then relube. Don't waste degreaser spraying on endlessly as it will never be totally clean with out removal. Wipe chain rings etc while at it. You don't have to eat of it though. Clean more regularly with bad weather.

Muc off on wheels in the shower, wipe clean. Avoid spraying water jet directly on hubs. Clean and check brakes pads at the same time to prevent excess wear on rims.

Buy a chain with a power link to easily remove chain to clean it properly every couple of months.

Baby wipes are awesome, a chain cleaner, and toothbrush. for basic cleaning maintenance, always work well for me.

When I can't be bothered to remove the components for a full strip and rebuild, I find that something like an old t shirt or a car polishing cloth works great for areas like your b/b, hub seals, mechs and even cassette sprockets if you use it in a flossing motion.

Cut the handle off a Plastic bag with scissors.

Thred it through each individual link of the chain.

Takes a long time, but v. effective.

Cut down water bottle with degreaser in it placed in bottle cage. Paint brush to apply degreaser into all the awkward, oily, greasy dirty bits including chain. Wash down with soapy water made with car wash soap which was dirt cheap on clearance shelf (don't use wash up liquid as it contains salt). Air dry, relube. Jobs a good 'un and reasonably quick.

I'll no doubt get told I'm wasting my money but I use Muck Off products, they do a great job for me!

Here's an article -- with comments: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/workshop-how-to-clean-and-lube-you...