Power wash your bikes much?

[St. Elia]

Do you guys use a power washer to clean your bikes? I have used one on my MTB after a long hard muddy ride but not my road bike. I have heard that all the pro teams use power washers but that might be because the number of bikes and the fact that they get free BB's and the like.

 

[Pietro]

Do you guys use a power washer to clean your bikes? I have used one on my MTB after a long hard muddy ride but not my road bike. I have heard that all the pro teams use power washers but that might be because the number of bikes and the fact that they get free BB's and the like.

Powerwashers will 'wash' the grease right outta your hubs, BBs and headset. Proteams, that don't fix, just go to the bin that has new stuff, can afford to kill stuff.

 

[justme]

Agreed. When you work for a team you have a bunch of bikes to clean in a short time and power washing is ok. Even so, you still avoid spraying directly the hubs, headset, bb and pulley wheels. For your own bike just use a garden hose, soapy water and a brush.

 

[Black Dog]

There is a better way.

Warm soapy water and a sponge. Rinse with low pressure water from a hose without a sprayer. Cleans everything and does not wash off the grease. Dry with a cotton rag (paper towels will scratch the finish on parts and frames).

 

[ElChingon]

Well if you pay attention to the mechanics cleaning the bikes they are not jamming the nozzle into the bearing areas! They use it to spray areas and not direct to the moving parts. They also wipe the bike down with a sponge for the hard stuff then area rinse the wash to get ride of the grime/soap. Who ever thinks they're use the power wash on the components inner workings is just nuts because it would as you say kill the parts and even though they may have a supply of parts in the truck they don't want to change the BB or any similar part after a few stages or one race, the cost would be astronomical!

Your comments only lead me to only wonder what people are doing with a shower sprayer

 

[Bishfactor]

...but guys don't use washing-up liquid as your "soapy" water; it's mildly corrosive (so it cleans dishes), which means it will mildly corrode your bike too, esp. some paint jobs. car shampoo is best, designed for being friendly to auto paints...but gets road muck off. and definitely no power spray! you'll spray all the grit into your mechs

 

[BigBoat]

I'm guilty of power-washing a lot.

But the truth is, I need de-greaser, paper towels and rags to really "clean" the bike. The power washing is for the mind.

Hot soapy water bucket, followed by hot water, and repeated works good, same as the "power rinse" probably.