How do you clean your bike?

the most critical part of the
the most critical part of the bike to clean is the drivetrain – if you want to get the longest possible life span out of your cassette, chain and chainrings. I wipe these down thoroughly with a dry cloth after each ride to get any grit and sticky muck off. I clean the drivetrain properly once a week or every two weeks depending on weather conditions and mileage using a detergent (used Fenwick for a long time, excellent stuff; but now use No Nonsense Degreaser from Screwfix – works equally well and at £7 for 5L an absolute bargain). I use a round head fairly stiff paint brush which I dip into the degreaser and then work my way round the chain and cassette, rinsing with plenty of warm water – takes me a few minutes. Then hose the chain to remove traces of degreaser, and wipe the chain dry with a clean cloth – try not to leave the chain and cassette dripping wet to airdry as this will encourage rust if the air temperature is anywhere near average UK summer levels…

I also clean the brake blocks and rims with a soapy solution to avoid any grit/grime wearing down the rims excessively – check nothing is embedded in the brake blocks.

I do not spend a lot of time getting my bike super shiny, I get more pleasure from a smoothly running drivetrain.