Can using a jet wash on your bike void your warranty?
Discussion
Doesn’t do them any good, Cyclocross bikes are jet washed regularly, sometimes three or four times in a race, and if you aren’t too careful you can shag bearings more or less instantly. Headset bearings seem to be a favourite, less sealing and being fairly exposed means the lower races tend not to last long...
gazza285 said:
Doesn’t do them any good, Cyclocross bikes are jet washed regularly, sometimes three or four times in a race, and if you aren’t too careful you can shag bearings more or less instantly. Headset bearings seem to be a favourite, less sealing and being fairly exposed means the lower races tend not to last long...
Yeah that's what he told me that it doesn't do the bearings any goodAll the manufacturers state that but surely it would be impossible to prove whether or not you’ve pressure washed the bearings etc?
Speaking from an mtb perspective, we all pressure wash our bikes. Just don’t go mental near the bearings. A lot of the trail centres I’ve been to have a pressure adjuster on washer to dial it back a bit too.
Never had an issue personally. The bearings in my mtb lasted just shy of three years of abuse in the Scottish mud.
Speaking from an mtb perspective, we all pressure wash our bikes. Just don’t go mental near the bearings. A lot of the trail centres I’ve been to have a pressure adjuster on washer to dial it back a bit too.
Never had an issue personally. The bearings in my mtb lasted just shy of three years of abuse in the Scottish mud.
Surely the correct answer to "how frequently, and with which method should I wash my bike?" is...
..."washing? What's washing? There'd be no point in washing this bike, because tomorrow it's going to get muddy all over again anyway..."
If it gets cleaned at all, it's usually a dry clean, with a brush (dustpan type) to knock the dry mud off, then if it needs to be transported in a car or stored for a period, it might get a gentle clean with a wrung-out sponge on the frame only. The chain, etc get cleaned with a (dry) toothbrush every ride, and wax-based dry lube applied to chain links and WD40 (or similar) to moving parts of derailleurs. Keep WD40 type stuff away from bearings though, as it breaks grease down as fast as jet-washing does.
I did once knock 750 grams of mud off my MTB frame (dry weight), so cleaning can have a performance benefit, but once you are out on the trails again, picking mud up, the benefit fades away again. So I've become a devotee of the ride/store/ride method of bicycle cleaning.
My road bike gets a strip-down, wash and polish a couple of time per year, usually when wheels etc are off for bearing servicing already. Other bikes get a proper clean if/when any major maintenance is needed.
..."washing? What's washing? There'd be no point in washing this bike, because tomorrow it's going to get muddy all over again anyway..."
If it gets cleaned at all, it's usually a dry clean, with a brush (dustpan type) to knock the dry mud off, then if it needs to be transported in a car or stored for a period, it might get a gentle clean with a wrung-out sponge on the frame only. The chain, etc get cleaned with a (dry) toothbrush every ride, and wax-based dry lube applied to chain links and WD40 (or similar) to moving parts of derailleurs. Keep WD40 type stuff away from bearings though, as it breaks grease down as fast as jet-washing does.
I did once knock 750 grams of mud off my MTB frame (dry weight), so cleaning can have a performance benefit, but once you are out on the trails again, picking mud up, the benefit fades away again. So I've become a devotee of the ride/store/ride method of bicycle cleaning.
My road bike gets a strip-down, wash and polish a couple of time per year, usually when wheels etc are off for bearing servicing already. Other bikes get a proper clean if/when any major maintenance is needed.
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