what can i clean my bike with?

If we knowing one thing about moving in 2022, it's that more and more mass were getting on their bikes for exercise and some adventure. And you probably realized the many you go along a particularly muddy ride on the trails, or you'ray looking to bring your indoors for a education sitting, that you'll need to give it a skillful scrub.

But even if your bike International Relations and Security Network't wholly caked in mud and dirt, it tranquillize necessarily some TLC all so often. We recommend cleanup your road bike monthly (or every 20 to 25 rides) and a mountain or 'cross bike more often.

If you need some guidance, watch the telecasting above for a demo on how to properly clean your bike, and keep reading for a a couple of tips and tricks to make the cleaning process inferior of a hassle.

WHAT YOU Deman

You'll need these familiar, household items to clean your bike:

Clean shop rags or familiar cotton T-shirts (atrip!)
Bottle brushes
Scrub brushes
Bucket
Soft, square-head brush for wheels
Garden hose with trigger-style spray head
Sponges
Dawn Ultra

Ex gratia, merely Recommended Tools:

Cycle Stand (see below)
Chain Keeper: Pedro's Chain Keeper Tool
Degreaser: Pedro's Oranj Peelz Citrus fruit Degreaser

Our Favorite Bike Repair Stands

Best Overall

Feedback Sports Pro-Elect Repair Stand

Feedback Sports Amazon.com

$389.72

$330.00 (15% bump off)

Fat-free, stable, and very bundle when folded.

Best Value

Bike Hand Cycle Professional Repair Stand

Best for light jobs. Heavy-duty version disposable for $168.

Lightest Speed Stand

Topeak Prepstand X

Elfin for travel, sturdy for everyday use (and our staff mechanic's dearie).

Sturdiest Construction

Park Joyride PCS-10.2 Home Mechanic Stick out

A proven design that holds 80-Syrian pound bikes.

Set'S AND DONT'S

Coiffure
• Reuse your dish sponges. You'll nonplus another couple of months out of them on bike-wash out duty.
• Floss with a clean rag 'tween chainrings, cogs, and other hard-to-reach places.
• Be committed. A clean bike rides better and lasts thirster.

Father'T
• Mix your buckets, tools, and rags. You don't want to cover your frame with drivetrain grease.
• Use an abrasive sponge or brush on your frame.
• Blast your bike with a high-pressure hose. Water will put on and degrade your bearings.

THE SETUP

Robertus Pudyanto Getty Images

Step 1:
Fill two decent buckets with water and a generous squirt of dish soap. Lay out your brushes, sponges, and rags.

Step 2:
Place your bike in a workstand (here's our picks for some of the best)—this brings IT astir off the footing and makes complete the nooks and crannies easier to reach. No workstand? Try hooking the olfactory organ of your saddle over a taut clothesline.

Footprint 3:
Next, remove your wheels. You can insert a chain keeper—a guide for your chain when the cassette is removed—to observe tension connected the drivetrain. It's fine to skip this step if you don't want to spring for the tool, only victimization ane prevents the chain from folding up on itself or falling off the bike when you try to work on it. Trust us, it's annoying.

Tools for a Proper Clean

Rubbermaid Heavy Duty All Purpose Scrub Brush

Rubbermaid Heavy Duty All Purpose Scrub Sweep

Rubbermaid amazon.com

$68.94

Seachoice 5-Gallon Plastic Bucket

SEACHOICE amazon.com

$14.73

Dramm 9-Pattern Revolver Nebulise Nozzle

Pedro's Oranj Peelz Citrus Bicycle Degreaser

Pedro's Oranj Peelz Citrus tree Bicycle Degreaser

THE WASH

ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT Getty Images

Step 1: Chain
Use a degreaser and turn the cranks backward so that it gets on every link. After about five to 10 minutes, rinse with a noble stream of water from the hose. If the concatenation is calm down soiled, apply small drops of dish scoop like you would a lube, grip the chain in the rough side of your sponge, then turn the cranks for several rotations. Gargle.

Step 2: Drivetrain
Douse a stiff-bristled brush into unmatched of your pre-filled buckets and scrub the chainrings. We commend using a bottle brush or toothbrush to get into crevices around the teeth, pulleys, and rings. Then rinse with a gentle stream of water and recur if you still see whatever lingering filth. Next, catch your rear roll and drip dish soap onto the cassette, scrub, then wash. Repeat if incumbent.

Step 3: Anatomy
Drop a clean, soft sponge into your second (fresh) bucket. Easy lay up the frame, on the job your way from front to back, so rinse. If you take calliper brakes, houseclean the pads with the abrasive side of the sponge.

Maltreat 4: Wheels
We recommend using softer, bigger brushes for tires and rims indeed you can get into every nooks and crannies with stripped effort. Dunk your brush into the bucket you used for your framing. Starting at the valve, scrub totally the style around the wheel, shoot the spokes and hub, and then flip the bike to get the opposite side. Repeat on the other wheel, then rinse. (If you possess disk brakes, consumption the soft side of a clean sponge with scoop and water on rotors.)

THE FINISH

Reattach the wheels and spin the cranks to make a point the drivetrain runs swimmingly. Wipe everything down with a sere, fresh fabric operating theatre let it airwave-dry-shod in the sun. Lubricating substance your chain.