Bike Cleaning

Many cyclists wonder about the frequency of bike cleaning and whether it’s necessary for maintaining their mountain bikes. It’s important to note that regular bike cleaning is essential for ensuring its longevity and performance. Factors such as sweat, exposure to corrosive elements like salt, acidic soils, coastal air, and other environmental factors significantly determine the cleaning frequency. Therefore, assessing these factors and adjusting your cleaning schedule is crucial to protect your bike from potential damage.

Your body’s sweat contains salt, and salt water is highly corrosive. Advanced mountain, gravel, cyclocross, and even road bikes are equipped with seals to protect the bearings and other critical components from the ingress of water, dirt, and road grime.

The seals on the bike do a good job most of the time, but many areas and surfaces are susceptible to wear from sand, mud, and sweat corrosion. Sand and mud can quickly wear down the seals, especially when wet. It’s important to wash off these contaminants as soon as possible. Sweat can leave behind a salty buildup in contact areas, such as seat posts, seat rails, bar clamps, stem clamps, brake levers, shifters, frame pivots, brake hose attachments, and electronic contact points, which not only causes rapid corrosion but can also lead to a creaky bike. Dealing with annoying noises is one thing, but replacing corroded components can quickly become expensive. These are all compelling reasons to regularly wash your bike, but please avoid using pressure washers. In a future post, we will discuss the best methods and techniques for cleaning a bike.

If you have any questions about your bike cleaning or have any other inquiries, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are always here to help.