Quick DIY Post-Ride Maintenance with Household Items

Proper maintenance is one of the keys for a better riding experience. It helps lessen the burden on the pockets too - it is guaranteed that the whole bicycle and its components will have a longer life.

With no further ado, let me share what I usually do after a long ride, regardless if its dry or a wet ride.

Items that you need:

• Dishwashing Liquid
• Baby Oil
• Degreaser
• Sponge
• 1 Dirty Old tooth brush
• 1 Clean Old tooth brush
• 2 Micro Fiber Colths (1 for greasy [Yellow] and another for non-greasy parts [Green])
• 1 Cotton Swab
• Warm water
• Toothpaste

This is how the bike looks before cleaning - it rained mid ride that is why it looks horribly dirty (me too).

Step 1: Initially wet the bike with warm water, here I am using the water directly from the shower to add a little bit of pressure to easily remove the unwanted particles. DO NOT USE high pressurized cleaner/tools as it may cause water to go inside and damage the bearings of your bike.

Step 2: Apply decent amount of degreaser on the whole drive train. Leave it for a few minutes to let it do its job.

**Take caution as not to apply too much as it may enter the bottom bracket and the rear hub.

Step 3: While waiting for the degreser to sink in. If you have a recent race where a sticker is required to be attached to the helmet. Then grab the helmet and apply a few drops of baby oil on the sticker residue and leave it for a few minutes.

Step 4: Grab the the water bottles, remove the remaining contents initially wash with warm water and add a few drops of dish washing liquid.

Step 5: Half fill them with warm water and shake it to the left, shake it to the right and just shake it all around! Then discard the solution by holding the bottle pointing downwards and pressing them, so the solution will pass through the mouth piece.

Step 6: Remove the mouth piece and using cotton swabs clean the whole thing and rinse.

Step 7: Get back to the helmet and use one of the micro fiber cloth to scrub away the sticker residue from the helmet and rinse.

Step 8: Get back to the drive train and scrub everything down, apply additional degreaser if necessary and rinse

Step 9: Now its time to clean the frame, apply a few drops of dish washing liquid on to the frame and on the sponge and scrub using the yellow part (never ever use the rough part!)

Pay extra attention on cleaning the area around the bottle cages as these are prone to left over Sports, Energy, Soda or whatever you put inside those bottles these will cause damage to the frame if missed out.

Step 10: Flip the bike over and scrub the the rest of the frame and rinse.

Step 11: Remove both wheels and scrub those hard to reach places on the fork and rear triangle. Pay extra attention on the brake pads as they may contain sand or even debris which can damage the wheels on the long run.

**If the brake pads are sort of glossy already, get a sand paper and sand it a bit to remove the glossy surface and make it a little bit rough again. Glossy pads tend to make the braking power weaker, sanding them down shall help revert the braking power back to normal.

Step 12: Get the rear wheel and use one of micro fiber cloth (greasy one) to floss the cassette and remove the gunk stuck in between.

Step 13: Attach the wheels and pat dry the bike using the corresponding cloth for each part. 

Step 14: Carefully apply a tiny drop of chain lube for each of the links of the chain. No need to squeeze the bottle, just tap the nozzle on to the link and it is enough. Apply a bit of silicone lubricant on to the springs of the front and rear derailleurs, apply also on the shifters if necessary. Let it sit for a few minutes and wipe of the excess.

**Using ceramic chain lube for less friction

 Step 15: Grab the shoes, and the clean it with the tooth brush and toothpaste. Rinse. (Skip this if ride is not under raining conditions).

Step 16: Wash the eye wear with water, as dried out sweat will damage it.

Step 17: Take of the padding from the helmet and throw it to the laundry together with your cycling clothes

Aaaaaand we are done! The total cleaning time is around 30 minutes and will increase or decrease depending on the proficiency and level of detail.

If you have questions hit it at the comment box below. Tata!