AMB article on using a pressure washer to clean

4

4wdphil

Likes Bikes
I've seen this in AMB mag but can't remember which edition. Can anyone recall which edition or maybe send me a copy of the article?
Cheers
 
Daisy

Daisy

Likes Dirt
but why ????

Yep, fantastic idea.......NOT
Lets force those grease dissolving chemicals into all the places you DON'T want with a pressure washer.

Personally, I never wash my bike. Dirt just seems to vibrate off on the next few rides.
However, I do maintain/clean my drivetrain & suspension stanchions before each ride.
Cheers, Daisy
 
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Dozer

Dozer

Heavy machinery.
Staff member
You can use a pressure washer on your bike, just not on every part of it at full pressure. I've commonly used it to clean caked muddy tyres and wound the pressure off to get the lumps of mud off from five feet away. I clean my bikes most weeks but I also roll and repack the bearings every couple of months. It is true to assume that a pressure washer can bugger your bearings but not if you have the knack and time to keep your bike properly maintained.
 
S

spoozbucket

Likes Dirt
Yeah I'm with Dozer, spraying from a distance gets most of the rubbish off pretty easily, I think partly because there is so much air moving with the water.
Some bikes are also pressure washer proof but if you are on something like my old Nicolai Ion with needle rollers and no real seals on the pivots you would mess things up pretty quickly.
 
floody

floody

Wheel size expert
Also don't hammer the frame with it, have seen carbon seatstays (admittedly on road bikes) broken with a pressure washer!
 
John U

John U

MTB Precision
I only ever use a watering can. Might not get it perfectly clean but it's clean enough.

Same as Daisy, I try to keep my stanchions and my drive train clean. If anything is going to get washed they'll be looked after first.
 
4

4wdphil

Likes Bikes
Yeah, I found that too, it specifically says not to use a pressure washer which is what I always thought too, however as a couple of other comments have noted if you use the washer intelligently and keep the jet away from seals there shouldn't be too much chance of damage. Maybe it was another magazine and not AMB, kicking myself that I didn't just get the details of it when I flicked through it.:eek:hwell:

fridgie said:
Only one I could find was this....

http://ambmag.com.au/how-to-clean-your-bike/
Click to expand...
 
fridgie

fridgie

Likes Dirt
Mine gets the mist setting on the hose trigger, a spray of muc off, then washed down with the shower setting. Used to use a pressure washer effectively, but after reading the horror stories decided to change. Bike is just as clean using the new method.
 
stirk

stirk

Burner
Multi head hose on shower and flat setting are more than adequate to shift most dirt and mud.

High pressure hose where you can without causing water ingress, why not. Aim a high pressure hose into bearings you deserve what you reap.

My bike always looks a little dirty and that to me is clean enough.
 
C

ChrisJC

Likes Bikes and Dirt
In the time it would take to set up and pack up the karcher, I'm finished using a bucket and garden hose. Who could be stuffed?
 
S

spoozbucket

Likes Dirt
ChrisJC said:
In the time it would take to set up and pack up the karcher, I'm finished using a bucket and garden hose. Who could be stuffed?
Click to expand...

In the time it takes you to wash your bike I could have two beers and fire up the BBQ, I don't see the point, it's just going to get dirty again.
The only time I have dramas as if there's a lot of muddy riding involved but I almost never wipe fork seals and they still make it to their service interval with clean oil in the bottom.

I am going to start this whole chain rotating system when I get a new cassette, I also want to see how well boiling a chain works in regards to cleaning. If it works well I could do three at once and have a beer when I would normally be spinning cranks :love:
 
PerthMTB

PerthMTB

Likes Dirt
Only ever pressure washed my bike once - had ridden all last day in Rotorua and was flying back to Oz and the usual Biosecurity inspection early the next morning. So I pressure washed it in the dark late that night.
Left the bike in it's box for two weeks until I had a chance to unpack it and by then the BB, one suspension pivot bearing, upper headset bearing, and the jockey wheels had all rusted solid!
So on the last trip I only rode in the morning of the last day, and spent the afternoon washing the bike properly (bucket and brush) and letting it dry in the sun. Of course then the bu@@ers didn't even bother inspecting it at the airport!
 
4

4wdphil

Likes Bikes
Found the pressure washer article

OK, tracked down the article and posted the pages here

http://i1036.photobucket.com/albums/a444/Phil_Edwardes/Jetwash1AMB_zpsdffcinfu.jpeg
http://i1036.photobucket.com/albums/a444/Phil_Edwardes/Jetwash2AMB.jpeg_zpsxti3d16p.jpeg
http://i1036.photobucket.com/albums/a444/Phil_Edwardes/Jetwash3AMB.jpeg_zpsxo1luixz.jpeg

It's interesting in how little emphasis they place on avoiding delicate parts of the bike especially given some of the issues reported by others above, maybe this particular pressure washer wouldn't have enough power to blow a hole in a carbon frame or get past a pivot seal??

As mentioned above would it really save time anyway and is it just another piece of consumer 'durable' that we don't need to consume?
 
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