Gravel cycling is dirty fun. JOM of the Gravel Cyclist crew demonstrates how to clean a bicycle – any bicycle for that matter – in 5 minutes or less.
Remember – It is important to keep your bike looking clean despite the fact it will be totally covered in crud after two or three rotations of one’s wheels on a dirt and gravel road 
Thanks for watching!
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Suggestion- Good idea to wear protective disposable gloves! Some of those degreasers are not healthy – not to mention gunk on your hands which may be hard to scrub off. I personally prefer WD-40 as both a degreaser and lubricant. Don’t hate me for this. If you don’t like WD, don’t use it. I also prefer an inexpensive 2 Gal garden pump sprayer to a hose. The sprayer is portable, can use hot water, and can be adjusted for a fine spray which is less likely to remove grease from critical bearings, and the sprayer wand can be more accurately directed. Overall though, JOM good cleaning recommendations.
Great suggestions Bob… and I totally forgot to mention gloves, good for alternative cleaners, etc. Love the garden pump sprayer idea. I remember you mentioned this in the cleanup article I wrote a while ago. That would be super handy for road trip cleanups. Thanks!
Thanks. My wife – the gardener – keeps stealing mine for the garden. Since I don’t want my bike to start sprouting, here is yet another I just purchased: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039EEN0M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 .
Haven’t tested this one yet; but hopefully I’ll get some use out of it before my wife loads it up with fertilizer or some other obnoxious stuff. My last one was used for deer repellent.
I also claim a “5 min. wash”. The truth is that by the time I assemble my washing bucket, brushes etc., the real job is more like 30 min.
Yes, preparation and packup time is less than optimal. This is almost click bait, but… 😉
Hmmmm, I was thinking of cleaning ALL my bikes before I leave for holidays……Might them leave for a certain Floridian visitor to Oz…..????
Cheeky bugger! Haha.
Uhh……
shouldn’t you re-lube the chain at some point after the wash?
I’m just sayin’…
Hey K-Dogg
Seeing JOM is so good at cleaning bikes, and we all know he LOVES to do it….. maybe you could trick him into cleaning yours, especially after a filthy ride?
Hey Steve
It’s pretty hard to trick JOM especially if it involves taking a turn at the front or paying retail. Last week he wanted a free soda in my fridge at work. I said sure but they weren’t mine and replacement cost was 30 cents. He asked me if I had change for 50 cents!
I’m just sayin’
Highly amusing coming from K-Dogg… who is a known shirker of work at rides and races… and is tight as a camel’s ar$e in a sandstorm!!!
LoL to both of you guys, that’s very funny. JOM you have to bring K-Dogg next time you come to Oz, there would be many funny tales to be told between you both
This wasn’t the after wash video… it is sort of implied.
Great video but I would prefer to make me a cut on my arm instead of laying down the bike on the pavement by the saddle.
I’ve laid my bike saddles down on the pavement, hard, on several occasions. They still work just fine.
Do you wash the bike any different if it had disc brakes?
I definitely take care around the disc brake calipers. No scrubbing of the rotors, no squirting water into the calipers. You could use a clean rag to carefully wipe the external part of the calipers if needed.
Thanks!