Bike Cleaners – Get Your Bike Clean in a Jiffy!

Spraying water, dirt and mud – cycling in bad weather is enough to coat your once shiny bike in a thick layer of dirt. Mountain bike riders in particular, but also commuter cyclists can tell you a thing or two about how quickly their bikes get dirty. However, its appearance is not the only issue caused by mud and grime. Dirt impairs the bike's performance over time. For instance, mud and dust may accumulate in the brake cables and gear cables over time and limit their actuation. The drivetrain chain, cassette, crank and other gear components are also damaged by dirt and therefore wear at a faster rate. In addition to this, rust becomes a real threat which, if left untreated, may considerably reduce the lifespan of your bike. For these reasons, bike cleaning products should be an integral part of your bicycle accessories – meaning you can enjoy riding your bike for longer.

• Cleaning your bike on a regular basis ensures that it always looks its best.
• Cleaning helps to protect paint against wear.
• Regular cleaning care prevents your bike from rusting.
• Cleaning your bike ensures that drive components run more smoothly.
• If you take the time to clean your bike, you will discover other damage or defects quickly.

Cleaning and care products are generally grouped into the cleaning and protection categories. The first helps to clean your bike. The second ensures that components are preserved for as long as possible. You should first consider which bike cleaner is the right one for you. The choice of different cleaners and cleaning agents is vast, ranging from reasonably priced all-purpose cleaners to full bike cleaning kits and portable electric cleaner washers. Moreover, there are also bike cleaners in different forms, such as sprays or liquid cleaning agents. BIKE24 also offers specific brushes and sponges in its range of cleaning care products. No matter which bike cleaner you use, application is best when your bike is hanging in the working stand.

The type of cleaner you need largely depends on how dirty your bike gets, what kind of bike you ride, what part of your bike needs cleaning and what material your bike is made of. For instance, specific cleaning care products are available for carbon parts such as road bike components, which keep them functioning for longer.  Products specially designed to clean e-bikes are also in high demand. Specific lubricant products to grease components such as braking cables and the drivetrain components afterwards, will complete your maintenance equipment. While some parts also need to be lubricated again after cleaning, the brakes in particular should be kept clean with bike degreasers sometimes also called disc brake cleaners or brake silencer.
Finish products are offered to protect your bike, which maintain and preserve the paintwork. So-called anti-static sprays are a popular choice among cyclists, as they repel dirt.

The chain plays a special role in bicycle cleaning.  Due to its construction comprising lots of small metal chain links, it is particularly prone to accumulation of dirt and rust. What’s more, the chain is rather heavily stressed as it transmits the pedal force. When it comes to cleaning your bike, plenty of attention should therefore be paid to the chain. So-called bike chain cleaners are rather handy here, as they are specifically designed with chain cleaning in mind. You can also purchase chain-cleaner tools. This is a device through which you guide the chain and thus clean it.

Currently, there are now numerous bicycle cleaners that are particularly environmentally friendly available. At BIKE24, this information is included in the product descriptions. You can also recognise environmentally friendly bicycle cleaners by certain environmental certifications. The Blue Angel and the EU Ecolabel are widely recognised certifications here.

The Blue Angel has been awarded in Germany since 1978 to particularly environmentally friendly products and services. It is an initiative of Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment. The European environment label (also known as the Flower or EU Ecolabel) is an international seal of quality label for consumer products and services. It was launched with Regulation (EC) 1980/2000 of the European Parliament. It appears on consumer goods that stand out for their particular environmental sustainability and comparatively minimal burden on health.

One question which often comes up in relation to bike cleaning is the frequency of it. This really depends on you. In many cases, completely cleaning your bike every two to three months is enough. Nevertheless, it greatly depends on how often and the conditions in which you ride your bike. The more frequent and the more extreme your bike rides are, the more often you should treat your bike to a good clean. Besides, professional cyclists always turn up to races with immaculately clean bikes. They do, however, have their own mechanical engineers to undertake this task.

• Cleaning your bike on a regular basis not only makes it appearance more pleasantly, it is also conducive to its functioning and lifespan.
• Bike cleaners form part of the basic maintenance equipment of any bike mechanic.
• The bike chain in particular should be regularly cleaned and oiled in order to maintain its functioning and prevent rust from forming. Special chain cleaner tools help to keep your chain squeaky clean.
• There are now numerous bicycle cleaners that are particularly environmentally friendly available. You can spot these by looking out for their corresponding eco labels.
• A high-pressure cleaner may seem like a wise choice, but it can damage sensitive components on the bike. Anyone wanting to give their bike the TLC it deserves should choose a brush, cloth and professional bike cleaning agents.
• A bike care kit includes the essential bike cleaning care products and makes cleaning your bike a breeze.
• How often you need to clean your bike is dependent on various factors and ultimately comes down to your preferences.