How clean is your bike? (on average)

Not very.  Litespeed Saber.  5K + miles last year (less this...).  And I use Infinit.

Frame will often stay sticky and dirty for weeks, until I decide to give her a wash.  But that makes my wife jealous.

I clean off the frame once a week so it stays pretty clean. Currently only doing about 50 miles per week, which is going to increase now that school is out. 09' P2C

I clean my frame about every other week depending how much accelerade I have spilt on it or if I have ridden in the rain or on wet roads.  I generaly clean my drive train every few hundred miles.  I ride about 100-120 miles/week and have an 08 P2C.

Its the most expensive equipment you own and if your like me, it took me a while to save up for it.  I just want to make sure I don't ruin my bike by not maintaining it.

MTB??? Filthy.
Roadie???? Filthy (except for cassette and chain, could eat off of them most of the time.)
Tri bike???? Pretty clean. It is a new Fuji Aloha. Pretty cheap as far as tri bikes go, but a lot of money to me.

I ride roughly 100 miles a week. Most of them have been on the roadie outside, but switching gears to put all my miles on the tri bike now outside for upcoming race.

If I can see spots on the bike I clean it. Mud, HEED, Perpeteum, sweat, whatever. I don't like it looking dirty. I use that chain cleaning tool about once a week and spray it with PTFE chain lube right before a ride once a week.

Felt S32 and I've been doing about 120 miles/week.

I try and clean my bike weekly but have been slacking lately waiting for our outside water to get turned back on. Someone my husband works with bike races and gave Kevin a tip on product they sell that works great for cleaning bikes..simple clean touch ups.

Before my race I was in the parking lot cleaning my chain and after the race since it was in rain I was cleaning my chain. Our bike rack on the car works great for doing simple bike maintenance.

I take some time once a week and clean everything on my bike, frame, and drive train. Just put it on the stand take the wheels off and go to town. '08 Orbea Ora, about 100 miles a week.

I will wipe down the frame as needed (usually every week or two...but more often if rainy weather).  Also I clean the drivetrain and brakes (other componentry) every two weeks and of course, before a race.  '08 P2C DA on about 120 per week when not training for HIM or more

I don't ride my bike in the rain so it stays pretty clean. I dust it off when it needs it. I clean the chain and gears every couple of weeks. Its an 08 QR Lucero w/60mm front, 80mm rear Flashpoints. I ride about 75 miles a week.

My bike is white and shows every bit of dirt.  I am a slob, but I cannot stand to see my bike looking dirty. Felt S22, sold for around $2k when new.

I have not cleaned my Mtn bike since January, when I rode it in an icy race called Snotcycle.  It is muddy, and has a bit of bark from where I 'ate a tree'.

Edited by pga_mike 2009-05-20 10:04 PM

Spotless pretty much always. I rinse every ride and clean the components thoroughly often. I plan to ride 8000 miles in 2009 and I want every one of them to be on a bike in perfect condition. I think retail on my roadie was $5800 and $5200 for my TT bike but I didn't pay close to those amounts.

I rinse my bike down with warm urine around the 40th mile every now and then. I also use warm water and light dish detergent every other week. I get most of my cycling done indoors (unfortunately) at least 5 hours a week spinning. I ride between 40 and 80 outside on the weekends.

I ride a Cannondale Slice frame that I got dirt cheap due to a couple of imperfections. It had a faint discoloration and a human hair stuck under the clearcoat! They shaved $300 off the frame because of it!

i am really bad about cleaning my bike (and car, and room for that matter), so mine gets cleaned. . . a couple times/year? definitly after i ride in the rain i will clean it off. . my frame is white too, so it gets pretty sticky and dirty.

Mountain bikes? The last time I swapped parts from one single speed frame to another I noticed some leaves wedged in between the bash guard and chainring. That was in 2006 and I think they are still there. The geared MTB gets a little more love for the drivetrain, but other then knocking off the big mud clumps they get cleaned never. I do wipe them down around all the tube junctions to check for cracks periodically.

My road bike is a cross bike and looks better with dirt on it. Again, I can't remember the last time I did more then knock the mud clumps off. And again, the drive train gets a bit more love.

The new to me tri bike may be different, but I doubt it. I'll more then likely take care of the drive train, but this bike will be fair weather unless it's a bad weather race. Who knows, maybe I'll get the cleaning bug.

I maintain my bikes but I just don't have time to detail them every time I ride. With 4 decent bikes that all get ridden plus a handful of beaters, if I was cleaning each bike that had been ridden every week that would add up to a ton of time I could have spent riding.

My first bike was pretty inexpensive and I hardly ever cleaned it - but then I hardly ever rode it.

However when I bought my tri bike I was told I should wipe my frame and clean and lube my chain after every 2nd/3rd ride.  The frame is white so it shows even the tiniest speck of dirt.  If it has been raining or wet I will clean my bike when I get home, and I usually try and clean it before a long ride (+120km).

Now I clean both bikes regularly - it does make a difference.

Edited by pamiejane 2009-05-21 2:01 AM

I dont even want to think about this question.
Mtb when i can no longer see the red paint.
road i will usually invite a friend out on a ride and make them feel bad about getting it dirty and let them clean it.
tribike before every race gets detailed and that usually lasts until next race or if it rains it gets wiped down.

If you have alot of bikes like me I have 7 just lend them to friend and have them clean'em.

Mine is mint all the time, BUT i'm a noob, I guess I'll learn.

I've been riding for over20 years.  I wash and wax my road bike after all rides over half an hour (which means nearly all rides), clean the drive train after every ride.  I like the post-ride ritual of making the bike look like new. The mtn bike gets a slightly less intensive treatment, but leaving the bike muddy never made sense to me.  Nothing else in the garage is covered in mud and dirt, everything gets cleaned up after use.  Do you stick your sweaty workout clothes back in the closet or dresser after wearing them? 

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