How to clean your bike

19 Feb 2019

Cleaning your bike will do more than give it back its gleam! Frequent cleaning will:

• Save you money: grease, dirt and grit wear out and damage bike parts
• Provide a better ride: a clean bike in top condition is more likely to deliver the best ride possible
• Get you to work on time: everyone knows a shiny bike is faster!

Cleaning Checklist

Grab yourself the following items to follow our simple 5-step plan:

• A bucket of warm water
• Bike cleaner, lube and bike polish if you're feeling fancy!
• Degreaser
• Rags, a sponge and a chamois leather
• A set of bike cleaning brushes

To save some money, we recommend picking up the Muc-Off 8-in-1 Bike Cleaning Kit - it includes everything you need!

How To Clean Your Bike

1. Stand your bike upright, spray the bike cleaner onto the frame and use a sponge and warm water to remove most of the dirt

2. Dip your chain brush in degreaser and scrub your gear cassete, jockey wheels, chain rings and chain, and then rinse everything off with water

3. Spray the bike cleaner on to your wheels and make sure you brush the braking area of the rims if you have rim brakes

4. Rinse the bike using clean water, and then wipe the rest of your bike down using a sponge or rag

5. Apply some bike polish for that finishing top!

Top Tips

Don't rinse your brakes or gears too much, as they need a small amount of grease

After cleaning, spray or dip lubricant onto your bike chain and all degreased parts and wipe off the excess. Remember to keep this lubricant off your braking surfaces!

Although some companies advertise using pressure washers on bikes, we don't recommend it. Pressure washers can force water into components and remove the grease, which can lead to them becoming damaged

Bike cleaning products are made to be kind to your bike and cut through all the muck that builds up when you're riding, so you can spend less time scrubbing and more time riding.

Take a look at Halford's range of bike cleaning products and get ready to show the competition a clean set of wheels. 

Need more help? Give Cycle2Work a call on 0345 504 6444.