Bath Time
I receive a lot of e-mail. The questions range from what kind of handlebars I suggest for commuting, to a particular bag’s carrying capacity, to what kind of gearing I recommend for city riding, and so on, and so forth. I’m no expert on any of these subjects, but I’m happy to provide input based upon my own experiences, as long as the advice is taken with a suitable dose of salt. Interestingly—and I find this quite humorous—the most frequently asked question is, “How do you keep your bikes so clean?”
Without trying to be too facetious, the answer is, “I wash them.” My bikes get dirty just like everyone else’s, and they sometimes stay dirty for quite awhile, but they usually get a quick washing before I take any close-up photos. I don’t make a big production out of it, I simply place the bikes in a work stand, pour a little Simple Green in a bucket of warm water and give them a once over with a soft sponge. I rinse off the soap with a garden hose and towel dry with an old bath towel recycled for that purpose. If they need it, I’ll squirt on a little chainlube when I’m done. I always place a plastic bag over the saddles, and I avoid directing high pressure water into places like hubs, headsets, bottom brackets, etc. The entire process takes all of about 15 minutes – no big deal.
2 Responses to “Bath Time”
> no big deal.
…if you have somewhere outside to do it (or where you don’t mind soaking the floor) and somewhere secure to let the bike dry. Not the case for many city apartment dwellers.
I’ve lived in several places where the bike parking was either indoors or just too cramped to do any mechanical work or cleaning – it ended up being done on the street outside or on old newspapers indoors. I’ve heard some people resort to cleaning their bikes in the bath/shower :-).
Either way, when I lived in such places, I generally just didn’t bother unless doing some repairs or whatever, and then I’d usually just clean around the affected area.
Nothing wrong with that. A dirty bike is a thing to be proud of. The dirt is your badge of honour from the miles you’ve ridden in all weathers. And dirt is a thief deterrant too :-)
Now I’m in a house with a back yard where I can clean stuff, the weekend/touring bikes (and Velo Vision test bikes) do get cleaned after a wet ride and kept nice, but the daily commuter still soldiers on with a layer of gunk on board – hub gears/hub dynamo/chaincase/hydraulic brakes mean a bit of dirt has little if any effect on performance.
On the other hand…;-) A friend of mine has a MTB that is so gunky and in need of some TLC that the local bike shops won’t touch it. He’s a working stiff like me with a family, so it’s fairly low on the priority list, but there is no honor in a dirty bike, at least beyond a point. Most bicycles will continue to function with a modicum of grime, but there is a point beyond which performance and efficiency degrade.
I’m going to start washing my bike that way. I like a clean, well-maintained machine, and I don’t worry too much about theft with the right locks and storage locations.