Any quality road bike can serve you for years, but it depends on the maintenance you provide to this. And proper cleaning is a big part of bike maintenance. We all know that road bike is a collection of moving parts and proper cleaning ensure the long life of your bike. We research a lot on this topic and find some tips on bike cleaning. Please read our content on – “How to clean a road bike” for in-depth knowledge.
What You Need To Wash A Road Bike:
To clean a road bike we need some important things. Let’s check this out.
- Clean water
- A medium bucket
- Sponge or Hose
- A Small Piece Of Old cotton
- Bike wash fluid
- Different Types Of Brushes (Bottle brushes, Scrub brushes)
- Degreaser
- Chain Lube
- Chain cleaning device etc.
Guideline On How To Clean A Road Bike
You may use a road bike or mountain bike, cleaning is a must. Let’s check our guideline on cleaning road bike.
– Clean the Frame
It is very important to clean the frame of the bike. The look of a road bike depends on the frame. If there are mud and dirt in your bike frame, then it will look very horrible. And most importantly, if your road bike carries those mud and dirt all the time, then there is a possibility of discoloring and rust. So regular cleaning is a must.
For this, we need two buckets of clean water (warm and normal), soap, brush and a soft sponge. First, we have to soap up the frame with warm water and gently brush the frame to reduce the main dirt and grime. Don’t do it in hard hand. Though the color of road bikes is very hard to wash out. But hard washing may discolor the bike. Then we have to use the soft sponge with soap to rinse the whole frame from front to back and clean the remaining dirt.
Some bike has caliper brakes, use the abrasive part of sponge to clean the pads. Then bath it with clean water. Then dry the bike in sunlight.
N.B: Make special attention in cleaning handlebars, seat post, headset, brakes and front fork. If your bike contains disc brakes, keep your soap away from this.
– Clean the chain
Chin is one of the most important parts of a road bike. To continue its running chain plays a vital role and carry a lot of pressure. So chain cleaning is very necessary.
We can use a chain cleaning device for this. With the help of degreaser, we can remove mud, oil and grime from the chain. In case we do not have a chain cleaner tool, a brush can do a lot. After that, we have to clean the chain with clean water.
Note: Before any kind of traveling , you should check your chain.
– Clean the discs
Some road bike has disk brakes. It is very easy to clean, just spray some degreaser in the disk rotors and wipe down with cotton clothes to remove drivetrain grease.
– Wheels
Here is an important part of a road bike which need to clean regularly. It is the most dirtiest part of the bike.
To clean the wheels of the bike with minimal efforts, we need a big and soft brush. Just dunk the brush in the water bucket, mix some soap with it and rinse the first wheel carefully. Repeat the same step again for the second wheel also. Then wash it out with clean water and dry in the sunlight.
– Lube the chain
Now, we are at the end of the cleaning process. Next process is lubing the chain.
For this, we need to hold the bottle and steadily drop in into the chain and turning the pedals backward at the same time. Use the cotton piece to wipe off excess.
Final words:
Cleaning road bike is not that hard task. All we have to follow some simple guidelines to clean your bike. And we possibly discuss every point of it. Hopefully, this guideline on how to clean a road bike will help you to do so. Please like and share with your family and friends if you like the writing. In any case, make sure to ask us for any query over the comment section or email. Best of luck!
