After a ride, cleaning your bike can feel like a chore, but it doesn’t have to be time-consuming. These tips will help you do the job quickly without damaging your bike.

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First, dirty up your mountain bike

Washing a mountain bike too often can result in more damage than good. You don’t need to bust out the scrub brushes just because there are a few dirt specks on the down tube… it’s a mountain bike. Give your bike a bath if it’s really dirty.

Find a good place where it can be washed

This is a simple task for most homeowners: grab the garden hose and get started. It’s harder to find a hose for those who live in apartments or who live the nomadic mountain biking dream.

Nowadays, many purpose-built mountain biking trail systems have bike wash stands right at the trailhead. Your local bike shop may have a washstand if your favorite trail doesn’t have one. Most shops will wash your bike for free. (If they aren’t, you might need to find a new shop.)

You should use the hose to rinse the mud off your bike. Don’t spray high-pressure water into areas with bearings to prevent ruining your rig. Stand back and allow the normal pressure of the hose to do most of the work. When you’re ready to focus on the components, reduce pressure and make the hose spray more of a mist.

Get a good brush set

A brush set is relatively inexpensive, so if you’re already going to the bike shop to wash your bike, why not buy one? Get those brushes and scrub your bike down. We recommend three brushes: big brushes for frames, medium brushes for hard-to-reach parts, and small brushes for components, especially chains and cassettes.

When it comes to greasy, hard-to-clean areas, soap will help. However, you can skip the soap if you want a quick wash.

Cleaning your Chain

Clean frames are nice, but what matters is your drivetrain and other moving parts. Make sure the chain is well-cleaned.

Clean the cassette and other components

After cleaning the cassette, you should also carefully clean the chainrings and derailleurs.

You can skip the tires

Our goal is to clean the bike in the shortest time possible. To accomplish this, skip scrubbing the tires. It doesn’t hurt to spray them down with the hose to knock off the muck, but don’t bother scrubbing and detailing them. What would the point be? As soon as the tires get dirty again, a little red stain from the local clay won’t affect performance.

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Dry

Make sure your mountain bike is dry after riding. Pay attention to the chain, components, and other moving parts. You can bump your bike side-to-side to keep the bolt heads from rusting.

Lube

When you think your bike is sufficiently dry, lube it thoroughly. Lubricate all moving parts, including your chain and derailleurs. After soaking in the lube for a few minutes, wipe away the excess.

Dirty up your mountain bike again!

A mountain bike isn’t meant to be viewed or ridden on pavement-it’s meant to be abused on a dirty singletrack trail! Ride, get dirty, and go back to step 2!

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