HOW TO SPRING CLEAN YOUR BIKE: CADE’S BEST KEPT SECRETS

Muddy roads, waterlogged terrain and icy winds can lead to a seriously dirty bike, so here’s Francis Cade’s best kept secrets on how to spring clean your bike.

GT85: How often do you spring clean your bike?
I spring clean my bike immediately after a ride, that’s because the quicker you get around to cleaning it, the easier it is – so let’s crack on!

GT85: What equipment do you use to spring clean your bike?
Things you need before giving your bike a clean include:

• A bucket of water or hose
• A squeeze of dish soap
• A brush (from dustpan and brush or car brush)
• A can of GT85
• A clean rag
• A dirty rag

GT85: Tell us how you spring clean your bike
My quick and easy method will get your bike looking great and performing it’s best – here’s how it’s done.

• Hose down or chuck some water on your bike first to get rid of most of the loose dirt.  
  
  
• Use warm soapy water with a brush to apply, cover the whole bike and leave to soak for a couple of minutes. You don’t need to go nuts with the brush, it’s more just the means of getting the soapy water on the bike. I always try to stay away from the calipers and rotors, but don’t worry too much about it – I’ve never had a problem with contamination from just soapy water.
  
  
• Break out the hose again to wash away the suds, then get a clean rag or towel to dry your bike and clean off any stubborn parts. 
  
  
• Spray some GT85 onto your rag and run it over the frame and anywhere there are oil marks or stubborn bits of dirt that just won’t come off – GT85 will almost definitely get rid of them – so keep going until it’s shiny and clean. Run it all over your chain, all over the derailleurs, cassette (floss between each sprocket, the cassette will naturally spin around, and you’ll be working against that) – you might find it’s a little easier if you take your wheels off.
  
  
• Find the GT85 red straw and pivot points on your bike – if you’ve got caliper brakes (which I don’t have), you’ll want to spray between the caliper but you want to make sure that you cover your up your pads, you don’t want to contaminate them. Always avoid discs from disc brakes, only ever clean with specific disc brake cleaner or isopropyl alcohol! Be delicate when spraying as you only need a tiny bit to lubricate the pivots to make sure they don’t end up seizing. Do this if your ride’s been wet. I also do this on my pedals as it stops cleats from creaking around, and all pivots on the front and rear derailleur as well.
  
  
• For your chain loop, put it in the big ring and on the smaller sprocket on the back. Spray GT85 on your dirty rag. Start on the upper part of the chain and push forwards, that means the cassette’s holding the chain as you push. Squeeze the chain fairly hard in the rag and massage it a bit with your fingers. Once it’s clean enough, pull the chain backwards and work on the next bit.
  
  
• GT85 works as a great cleaner, and it also leaves a little bit of lubricant and stops it from rusting – it’s a water displacer.
  
  
• Disc rotors – you need a clean dry rag, rub it around your rotors but try not to let your fingers touch it.

GT85: Now, that’s a simple and effective quick five-minute clean! 

GT85: Anything else you’d like to share with other avid cyclists?
There’s an app all cyclists should use, it’s called Komoot – it makes exploring a breeze outdoors. It has a route planner where you can select your fitness level, start and finish locations (and waypoints too) as well as route type. The free version is perfect for getting around your local area but if you want more features such as worldwide navigation and live tracking, you’ll want to pay for Komoot premium.

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