question for the gravel cyclists: do you guys wash your bikes after every ride? i had my road bike with me and it got absolutely filthy just hanging off the back of my car while being sad and neglected
photos were taken in southern Vermont, various locations
joelav on
Damn, everyone posting my favorite routes today.
I don’t wash my gravel bike after every ride, but I do wipe it down with a really soft brush to get the dust off. I will wash it if I get it muddy. I do wax my chains though. If I were using lube I’d be careful to clean the chain often. The Dusty northern MA (is that first pic green river road?) and southern VT gravel roads makes a grinding paste with traditional chain lubes. Even “dry” ones. I ride here almost exclusively, and with Rock-n-roll gold applied properly – i.e. wiped off for like 5 minutes until a white paper towel was clean, I’d get around 1200 to 1500 miles out of an Ultegra 11 speed chain. With hot wax I get around 7000 miles
brotbeutel on
I wash it only if it’s super muddy. Otherwise if it’s just dusty I just blow it off with compressed air and wash it like once a month and do a deep drivetrain clean every couple months or so.
StrumUndDrang-83 on
No wonder
moishe-lettvin on
I wash my bike a couple of times per week, mostly because I’m degreasing and re-lubing the drivetrain anyway and it’s not that much more work to go over the bike with a soft brush and some soap. If I waxed my chain it might change that a bit but it’s also kind of a pleasant little chore for me.
_man_of_leisure on
Buy a gravel bike!
I wash mine much less than I should, all depends on how dirty it gets.
liveprgrmclimb on
FYI, this post is essentially porn and should be labeled NSFW.
But you haven’t bought your bike yet, so we can forgive you.
8 Comments
question for the gravel cyclists: do you guys wash your bikes after every ride? i had my road bike with me and it got absolutely filthy just hanging off the back of my car while being sad and neglected
photos were taken in southern Vermont, various locations
Damn, everyone posting my favorite routes today.
I don’t wash my gravel bike after every ride, but I do wipe it down with a really soft brush to get the dust off. I will wash it if I get it muddy. I do wax my chains though. If I were using lube I’d be careful to clean the chain often. The Dusty northern MA (is that first pic green river road?) and southern VT gravel roads makes a grinding paste with traditional chain lubes. Even “dry” ones. I ride here almost exclusively, and with Rock-n-roll gold applied properly – i.e. wiped off for like 5 minutes until a white paper towel was clean, I’d get around 1200 to 1500 miles out of an Ultegra 11 speed chain. With hot wax I get around 7000 miles
I wash it only if it’s super muddy. Otherwise if it’s just dusty I just blow it off with compressed air and wash it like once a month and do a deep drivetrain clean every couple months or so.
No wonder
I wash my bike a couple of times per week, mostly because I’m degreasing and re-lubing the drivetrain anyway and it’s not that much more work to go over the bike with a soft brush and some soap. If I waxed my chain it might change that a bit but it’s also kind of a pleasant little chore for me.
Buy a gravel bike!
I wash mine much less than I should, all depends on how dirty it gets.
FYI, this post is essentially porn and should be labeled NSFW.
But you haven’t bought your bike yet, so we can forgive you.
There are a lot of deals right now.