What soap should I use to wash my road or mountain bike?
Use a mild grease-cutting soap like Dawn Dishwashing Liquid. Dawn cleans and cuts grease better than many of the bike-specific soaps, and other dishwashing liquids, which is why it’s preferred by many bike mechanics, and dedicated riders.- Dawn is easy to find, affordable, and it’s just plain effective in cleaning your bike. However, any standard dish soap will get the job.
After cleaning, it’s VERY important to lube the necessary parts of your bike.
Soaps & bicycle cleaning
The Trek Owner’s Manual recommends:
"Clean your bicycle with water or mild detergent and a non-abrasive sponge if your bicycle is very dirty. Never use harsh chemicals or alcohol wipes to clean your bike.”
I contacted Trek, and a Trek representative also added that:
“It is very important to remember that you need to use products which are not aggressive and can cause damage to both the bikes frame and components.”
Trek also recommended:
“you wipe the bike down afterwards and are not leaving the components wet/damp.”
what about bike specific soaps?
Are bike specific soaps better?
This depends on who you ask, however, most bike mechanics use Dawn or regular dish soap.
I contacted Yeti Bicycles, as their representative said:
"just a drop or two of Dawn/regular dish soap will do. No harsh cleaners is the main thing.”
I also contacted Salsa Cycles, and their specialist said:
"Dawn dish soap is a good option. Otherwise there is a whole host of companies making bike specific washes. Muc-Off is one such company and their product work really well, so I’d also recommend them.”
how often should i clean my bike?
How often should I clean my bicycle? According to the Specialized Owner’s Manual:
“After every long or hard ride; if the bike has been exposed to water or grit; or at least every 100 miles: Clean the bike and lightly lubricate the chain’s rollers with a good quality bicycle chain lubricant.”
Salsa Cycles Owners Manual’s also says the exact same thing, which is:
After every long or hard ride
If the bike has been exposed to water or grit
Or, at least every 100 miles
After cleaning, lightly lubricate the chains rollers with a good quality bicycle chain lubricant.
Both Giant Bicycle and the Cannondale Bicycle Owner's Manual says the same, as mentioned above. Basically, if your bike is dirty, or has been exposed to water or grit, it’s a good idea to do a preventative maintenance wash.
Don’t use High pressure sprayers
High-pressure washers are for cars and not bicycles
Can I use a high-pressure washer to wash my bicycle?
According to the Trek Owner’s Manual:
“Never spray your bicycle using high pressure, and never spray directly onto bearing points or electrical parts on e-bikes.”
It is most important NOT to use a jet washer or similar device since this effectively blasts any of the protective greases from around the bearing and drivetrain. Also, you run the risk of damaging other components, by forcing water through seals and tiny spaces, which will leave your bike with annoying squeaks, reduced performance, and cause components to wear rapidly.
Finally, you risk getting grease onto your disc brake rotors, which has the potential to make them useless….or close to it.
Chain, Chainring & sprockets
The drivetrain components may need a more powerful soap as this not only gets the dirtiest but also is responsible for transferring your effort into movement.
On the chain, chainring, and the sprockets you can, and in some cases should use a more powerful degreaser. Because these parts are low, exposed and lubricated, they usually are the dirtiest. Repeated cycling without cleaning a dirty drivetrain will excessively erode and wear it out, which also causes a loss in pedal efficiency and power transfer.
After washing the drivetrain, remember to apply lubricant.
Can I use a tire protectant?
Can I use a tire protectant like Armor on my MTB or other bicycle tires?
No. Never apply tire protectant products to any part of the tire, since it will make the tires slippery. Tire protectants will make your tires slick, which means that when you enter a tight corner with any amount of speed the tire will slide out, possibly causes a crash or washout.
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Jesse is Director of Pedal Chile and lives in La Patagonia, most of the year. Jesse has a Master of Science in Health and Human Performance, and is an avid MTBer and sometimes washer of his Giant Trance 2. Jesse is also a reader of non-fiction books.
