How I wash my mountain bikes
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While usually my bikes are covered in mud, right now there's dust in every nook and cranny. Bike cleaning is a somewhat hotly contested topic, and many people have passionate reasons why certain bike cleaning methods are or aren't okay. The truth is though that there's not a whole lot that can hurt a mountain bike short of submerging it in water. I hose off my bikes after every trail ride, so usually the big stuff never gets a chance to dry up and cake on. As needed, I'll do a slightly deeper cleaning to get to the stuff I missed during post ride hose offs. This is what we'll be covering today. The first thing you should know is that spraying your bike with water won’t hurt it. What can hurt your bike is high pressure water which can actually force dirt into moving parts like bearings. To avoid this, I keep my hose on a medium spray, and take care not to blast the ends of the hubs, the bottom bracket, or anywhere else with a bearing seal. Everything else gets blasted. To loosen up grime in the cassette, I use a little WD-40 and a brush. This is the same way I clean my chain and the pulleys on my derailleur. You could use Simple Green, or any other degreaser for this purpose, but just remember that these are all solvents. Solvents remove grease and oil from your bike. WD-40 is sometimes mistaken for a lubricant, but it’s not. WD-40 is a solvent, and it’s great for cleaning. As for this brush I'm using, it's okay, but I used to use a dollar store toilet brush, and in some ways it was actually better. The long bristles you’ll find on a toilet brush can really get all up in that cassette. The rest of my bike gets cleaned with a rag and dish soap. Not very high tech, but it gets the job done. You might also notice that between these two mountain bikes there's only one front wheel. So yeah, that's one less thing I need to clean today. While drying your bike with a towel helps prevent water spots, I just drop them from a couple of feet up to shake them off. You could also ride your bike dry. To me, bike cleaning is more for maintenance purposes than it is for cosmetics so I'm not concerned with them being showroom clean. After all, mountain bikes look better when they're dirty anyway.
Comments
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Hi seth, can i use a washing liquid for cleaning my drivetrain ?
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Dish brush with Dawn for the cassette scrubbing it backwards so it ratchets that way, while getting cleaned. Spotless. I also blow into the nooks and crannies with an air compressor after a wash. You'd be surprised how much water accumulates in bearing pivots, headsets, brakes, crank arms, r/d connections, etc.
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ur a good narrator
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Hey seth do a freecoaster video
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What hardtail is that? Looks nice and slack!
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What type and brand is the full suspention bike?
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your crazy man if that wd40 gets on them disks ...
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I would NEVER spray WD40 on the rear cassete like that.. If WD40 reaches the disk, you're f*cked up.. Good luck cleaning it
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i love that bike.
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Can you use a toothbrush to clean your cassette?
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I agree. Showroom clean isn't the goal, just maintenance clean every now and then. Bikes are tools meant to be ridden. I probably only wash my bike once or twice a year but try to keep the chain clean/lubed on a regular basis.
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I am curious how old you are? I use to mtn. bike but now road bike I am 48 do you think it's to late to start up again.
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i use a pesticide gun it works well and i use dish soap
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What model is that black bike that you were cleaning?
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Simple question here- I'm about to pick up my first work stand for washes and tire changes. If the stand is going to get some soap and water on it from washes, how can I make sure it does not rust and stays in good condition?
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the wd40 oversprayed all over the rear rotor haha
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Thnx for making this vid I get a new bike and it needs washing but I don't want to make it rusty
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HUG A TREE DAY
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I don't own a mountain bike, nor do I have any particular interest in this area but I really enjoy watching many of your videos. Great content (Y) :)
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+Seth's Bike Hacks I was just wondering if you could do a video on brake squeaks and how to stop them thanks. Love your videos Seth
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