Dirty or clean, which bike is a happy bike?

[Philpug]

 

[Ron]

are your seats down or do you ride with the bars that high?

 

[Philpug]

are your seats down or do you ride with the bars that high?

Both are down.

 

[Ron]

OK, I thought so but wasn't sure. Have you changed the oil and plugs yet? .

 

[Ron]

a timely FB post from Routt County Riders, we have 40 "ambassadors" out riding and patrolling our trails.

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[Philpug]

OK, I thought so but wasn't sure. Have you changed the oil and plugs yet? .

No, but do you know how hard it is to find a 10 mile long extension cord?

 

[Ron]

Amazon?

 

[Tricia]

Early season here, you ride in the mud or you don't ride...

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I remember those days.
I have more dusty trail days now.

 

[graham418]

Road Bike - Clean & polish.
Mountain Bike - Not so much. Dusty, but not muddy. Have to wash it so it works smooth. I used to use S100. Makes all the alloy parts sparkle. Spray on , rinse off.
Shopping Bike - ??? Not in recent or distant memory

 

[Ski&ride]

probably due to different soil composition. Riding or even walking on muddy trails causes ruts which dry out and lead to trail damage. Its taken quite seriously here. People will get very mad if you ride on muddy trails. they are legally closed. the rule is if you leave a foot print or a tire trail, they are too soft. there are trail status pages that post up the open and closed trails.

No, it’s east vs west.

A gentle reminder, it’s so green and lush in the east because it rains every other day! So if you wait for the trail to dry, you never get to ride much! Maybe 3 time a year?

Only exception is spring time. Trails are CLOSED till the melting snow drained away. But after that, it’s fair game!

 

[scott43]

Well..it depends..it rains..but also the soil is usually either clay, organic goop over rock or muskeg. the sandy places are nice but not often found. it's not so bad when it all dries out in july/august..until a thunderstorm makes it muck again..

 

[Doug Briggs]

A step further -
When you clean your bike, what do you use?

Water and one of these:

 

[Philpug]

Amazon?

I will look, Costco has them but only in a 4 pack.

 

[EricG]

No, but do you know how hard it is to find a 10 mile long extension cord?

Can’t you just put one of these in your backpack?

 

[Ski&ride]

Well..it depends..it rains..but also the soil is usually either clay, organic goop over rock or muskeg. the sandy places are nice but not often found. it's not so bad when it all dries out in july/august..until a thunderstorm makes it muck again..

The only soil that dries immediately after a thunderstorm is sand. Everything else, takes hours to dry off.

And thunderstorm is a daily occurrence in many part of the east. So, no riding for several hours after thunderstorm is literally no riding most days.

 

[Jwrags]

are your seats down or do you ride with the bars that high?

Or have really short legs

 

[Tom K.]

I don’t bother keepIng my bike clean. But if it creaks... it drives me nuts!

SAME! I've developed pretty good "creak sense" over the years, but failed yesterday, even after complete disassembly of the rear suspension. Gave up, and sprayed the bike down with a mildly aggressive solvent -- which I never do -- to take it down to the LBS pros.

And the creak disappeared! I'll take the win.

No, but do you know how hard it is to find a 10 mile long extension cord?

Closest I could find:


And one is hanging on the wall of my garage!

 

[KevinF]

I have a road bike, so obviously it doesn't get that dirty. It's also a carbon frame and it's beautiful (IMHO) and I feel better looking it over periodically for cracks, chips, etc. I just take soap and water and a soft brush and go to work. Polish it up with a little car Turtle Wax (the brand I purchased years ago because it was the one on sale).

Seems to work. Takes 15, 20 minutes every month or so.

That said, I haven't washed the car since I got it. Seriously. Why bother? Which reminds me of a (possibly true) story involving Sean Kelly and his (presumably now ex) wife who exploded at him one time saying "your priorities are your cars first, then your bikes, and then me!" to which Kelly (supposedly) calmly responded "you've got it wrong; the bike come first".

 

[Crank]

No, it’s east vs west.

A gentle reminder, it’s so green and lush in the east because it rains every other day! So if you wait for the trail to dry, you never get to ride much! Maybe 3 time a year?

Only exception is spring time. Trails are CLOSED till the melting snow drained away. But after that, it’s fair game!

Policy "round here" is don't ride the trails for 24 hours after rain. Some places drain and dry faster and we have been known to stretch that rule. Mostly though we stay off for a day. Trails 'round here always have some muddy spots and usually some stream crossings anyway.

Oh and my bikes get washed maybe once a year...about as often as I tune my skis.

 

[Ski&ride]

Policy "round here" is don't ride the trails for 24 hours after rain. Some places drain and dry faster and we have been known to stretch that rule. Mostly though we stay off for a day. Trails 'round here always have some muddy spots and usually some stream crossings anyway.

Oh and my bikes get washed maybe once a year...about as often as I tune my skis.

‘Round here being Westchester?

I never knew there’s a 24hr moratorium. Parks like Blue Mountain, the trails are so rocky water never pools. In fact, it’s kind of “extra challenge” to ride the slippery rocks. (Not that Blue needs any extra challenge, not for me anyway)